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Selected Verse: Obadiah 1:2 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Ob 1:2	Strong Concordance	Behold, I have made [05414] thee small [06996] among the heathen [01471]: thou art greatly [03966] despised [0959].
	King James	Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
I have made thee small--Thy reduction to insignificance is as sure as if it were already accomplished; therefore the past tense is used [MAURER]. Edom then extended from Dedan of Arabia to Bozrah in the north (, ). CALVIN explains it, "Whereas thou wast made by Me an insignificant people, why art thou so proud" ()? But if so, why should the heathen peoples be needed to subdue one so insignificant? , confirms MAURER'S view.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

I have made thee small--Thy reduction to insignificance is as sure as if it were already accomplished; therefore the past tense is used [MAURER]. Edom then extended from Dedan of Arabia to Bozrah in the north (, ). CALVIN explains it, "Whereas thou wast made by Me an insignificant people, why art thou so proud" ()? But if so, why should the heathen peoples be needed to subdue one so insignificant? , confirms MAURER'S view.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Behold, I have made thee small - God, having declared His future judgments upon Edom, assigns the first ground of those judgments. Pride was the root of Edom's sin, then envy; then followed exultation at his brother's fall, hard-heartedness and bloodshed. All this was against the disposition of God's Providence for him. God had made him small, in numbers, in honor, in territory. Edom was a wild mountain people. It was strongly guarded in the rock-girt dwelling, which God had assigned it. Like the Swiss or the Tyrolese of old, or the inhabitants of Mount Caucasus now, it had strength for resistance through the advantages of its situation, not for aggression, unless it were that of a robber-horde. But lowness, as people use it, is the mother either of lowliness or pride. A low estate, acquiesced in by the grace of God, is the parent of lowliness; when rebelled against, it generates a greater intensity of pride than greatness, because that pride is against nature itself and God's appointment. The pride of human greatness, sinful as it is, is allied to a natural nobility of character. Copying pervertedly the greatness of God, the soul, when it receives the Spirit of God, casts off the slough, and retains its nobility transfigured by grace. The conceit of littleness has the hideousness of those monstrous combinations, the more hideous, because unnatural, not a corruption only but a distortion of nature. Edom never attempted anything of moment by itself. "Thou art greatly despised." Weakness, in itself, is neither despicable nor "despised." It is despised only, when it vaunts itself to be, what it is not. God tells Edom what, amid its pride, it was in itself, "despicable;" what it would thereafter be, "despised" .

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The Lord threatens Edom with war, because He has determined to reduce and humble the nation, which now, with its proud confidence in its lofty rocky towers, regards itself as invincible. Oba 1:2. "Behold, I have made thee small among the nations; thou art greatly despised. Oba 1:3. The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee; thou that dwellest in rocky castles, upon its lofty seat; that saith in its heart, Who will cast me down to the ground?: Oba 1:4. If thou buildest high like the eagle, and if thy nest were placed among stars, thence will I cast thee down, is the saying of Jehovah." Oba 1:2 is correctly attached in Jeremiah (Oba 1:15) by כּי, inasmuch as it contains the reason for the attack upon Edom. By hinnēh (behold), which points to the fact itself, the humiliation of Edom is vividly presented to the mind. The perfect nâthattı̄ "describes the resolution of Jehovah as one whose fulfilment is as certain as if it had already occurred" (Caspari). What Jehovah says really takes place. קטן refers to the number of the people. The participle בּזוּי is perfectly appropriate, as expressing the ideal present, i.e., the present which follows the קטן נתתּיך. When the Lord has made Edom small, it will be very much despised. It is only through an incorrect interpretation of the historical present that Hitzig would possibly be led to regard the participle as unsuitable, and to give the preference to Jeremiah's בּזוּי בּאדם. Oba 1:3 Oba 1:3 contains a consequence which follows from Oba 1:2. Edom will be unable to avert this fate: its lofty rocky castles will not preserve it from the overthrow which has been decreed by the Lord, and which He will carry out through the medium of the nations. Edom has therefore been deceived by its proud reliance upon these rocky towers. שׁכני, which the connecting sound י attached to the construct state (see at Gen 31:39), is a vocative. הגוי סלע are rocky towers, though the primary meaning of חגוי is open to dispute. The word is derived from the root חגה, which is not used in Hebrew (like קצוי from קצה), and is found not only here and in the parallel passage of Jeremiah, but also in the Sol 2:14, where it occurs in parallelism with סתר, which points to the meaning refugium, i.e., asylum. This meaning has also been confirmed by A. Schultens (Anim-adv. ad Jes. xix. 17) and by Michaelis (Thes. s.v. Jes.), from the Arabic ḥj'a, confugit, and maḥjâ'u, refugium. (Note: The renderings adopted on the authority of the ancient versions, such as clefts of the rock, scissurae, jagged rocks, fissures (ὀπαί, lxx), caves, which are derived either from the supposed connection between חגה and חקה, and the Arabic chjj, fidit, laceravit, or from the Arabic wajaḥ, antrum (with the letters transposed), have far less to sustain them. For the meanings assigned to these Arabic words are not the primary meanings, but derivative ones. The former signifies literally propulit, the latter confugit, iv. effecit ut ad rem confugeret; and Arabic mawjaḥun means refugium, asylum.) In the expression מרום שׁבתּו the ב is to be considered as still retaining its force from חגוי onwards (cf. Isa 28:7; Job 15:3, etc.). The emphasis rests upon high; and hence the abstract noun mârōm, height, instead of the adjective. The Edomites inhabited the mountains of Seir, which have not yet been carefully explored in detail. They are on the eastern side of the Ghor (or Arabah), stretching from the deep rocky valley of the Ahsy, which opens into the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, and extending as far as Aela on the Red Sea, and consist of mighty rocks of granite and porphyry, covered with fresh vegetation, which terminate in the west, towards the deeply intersected sand-sea of the Ghor and Arabah, in steep and lofty walls of sandstone. The mountains are hardly accessible, therefore, on the western side; whereas on the east they are gradually lost in the broad sandy desert of Arabia, without any perceptible fall (see Burckhardt in v. Raumer's Pal. pp. 83-4, 86; and Robinson's Palestine, ii. p. 551ff.). They also abound in clefts, with both natural and artificial caves; and hence its earliest inhabitants were Horites, i.e., dwellers in caves; and even the Edomites dwelt in caves, at least to some extent. (Note: Jerome observes on Oba 1:6 : "And indeed ... throughout the whole of the southern region of the Idumaeans, from Eleutheropolis to Petra and Hala (for this is a possession of Esau), there are small dwellings in caves; and on account of the great heat of the sun, since it is a southern province, subterranean huts are used.") The capital, Sela (Petra), in the Wady Musa, of whose glory at one time there are proofs still to be found in innumerable remains of tombs, temples, and other buildings, was shut in both upon the east and west by rocky walls, which present an endless variety of bright lively colours, from the deepest crimson to the softest pale red, and sometimes passing into orange and yellow; whilst on the north and south it was so encircled by hills and heights, that it could only be reached by climbing through very difficult mountain passes and defiles (see Burckhardt, Syr. p. 703; Robinson, Pal. ii. p. 573; and Ritter, Erdk. xiv. p. 1103); and Pliny calls it oppidum circumdatum montibus inaccessis. Compare Strabo, xvi. 779; and for the different roads to Petra, Ritter, p. 997ff. Oba 1:4 Oba 1:4 shows the worthlessness of this reliance of the Edomites. The object to תּגבּיהּ, viz., קנּך, does not follow till the second clause: If thou makest thy nest high like the eagle, which builds its nest upon the loftiest jagged rocks (Job 39:27-28). This thought is hyperbolically intensified in the second clause: if thy nest had been placed among stars. שׁים is not an infinitive, but a passive participle, as in the primary passage, Num 24:21, which Obadiah had before his mind, and in Sa1 9:24; Sa2 13:32; but קנּך is nevertheless to be taken as an accusative of the object, after the analogy of the construction of passives c. accus. obj. (see Ges. 143, l, a.).

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

The Lord threatens Edom with war, because He has determined to reduce and humble the nation, which now, with its proud confidence in its lofty rocky towers, regards itself as invincible. Oba 1:2. "Behold, I have made thee small among the nations; thou art greatly despised. Oba 1:3. The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee; thou that dwellest in rocky castles, upon its lofty seat; that saith in its heart, Who will cast me down to the ground?: Oba 1:4. If thou buildest high like the eagle, and if thy nest were placed among stars, thence will I cast thee down, is the saying of Jehovah." Oba 1:2 is correctly attached in Jeremiah (Oba 1:15) by כּי, inasmuch as it contains the reason for the attack upon Edom. By hinnēh (behold), which points to the fact itself, the humiliation of Edom is vividly presented to the mind. The perfect nâthattı̄ "describes the resolution of Jehovah as one whose fulfilment is as certain as if it had already occurred" (Caspari). What Jehovah says really takes place. קטן refers to the number of the people. The participle בּזוּי is perfectly appropriate, as expressing the ideal present, i.e., the present which follows the קטן נתתּיך. When the Lord has made Edom small, it will be very much despised. It is only through an incorrect interpretation of the historical present that Hitzig would possibly be led to regard the participle as unsuitable, and to give the preference to Jeremiah's בּזוּי בּאדם.

Oba 1:3

Oba 1:3 contains a consequence which follows from Oba 1:2. Edom will be unable to avert this fate: its lofty rocky castles will not preserve it from the overthrow which has been decreed by the Lord, and which He will carry out through the medium of the nations. Edom has therefore been deceived by its proud reliance upon these rocky towers. שׁכני, which the connecting sound י attached to the construct state (see at Gen 31:39), is a vocative. הגוי סלע are rocky towers, though the primary meaning of חגוי is open to dispute. The word is derived from the root חגה, which is not used in Hebrew (like קצוי from קצה), and is found not only here and in the parallel passage of Jeremiah, but also in the Sol 2:14, where it occurs in parallelism with סתר, which points to the meaning refugium, i.e., asylum. This meaning has also been confirmed by A. Schultens (Anim-adv. ad Jes. xix. 17) and by Michaelis (Thes. s.v. Jes.), from the Arabic ḥj'a, confugit, and maḥjâ'u, refugium.

(Note: The renderings adopted on the authority of the ancient versions, such as clefts of the rock, scissurae, jagged rocks, fissures (ὀπαί, lxx), caves, which are derived either from the supposed connection between חגה and חקה, and the Arabic chjj, fidit, laceravit, or from the Arabic wajaḥ, antrum (with the letters transposed), have far less to sustain them. For the meanings assigned to these Arabic words are not the primary meanings, but derivative ones. The former signifies literally propulit, the latter confugit, iv. effecit ut ad rem confugeret; and Arabic mawjaḥun means refugium, asylum.)

In the expression מרום שׁבתּו the ב is to be considered as still retaining its force from חגוי onwards (cf. Isa 28:7; Job 15:3, etc.). The emphasis rests upon high; and hence the abstract noun mârōm, height, instead of the adjective. The Edomites inhabited the mountains of Seir, which have not yet been carefully explored in detail. They are on the eastern side of the Ghor (or Arabah), stretching from the deep rocky valley of the Ahsy, which opens into the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, and extending as far as Aela on the Red Sea, and consist of mighty rocks of granite and porphyry, covered with fresh vegetation, which terminate in the west, towards the deeply intersected sand-sea of the Ghor and Arabah, in steep and lofty walls of sandstone. The mountains are hardly accessible, therefore, on the western side; whereas on the east they are gradually lost in the broad sandy desert of Arabia, without any perceptible fall (see Burckhardt in v. Raumer's Pal. pp. 83-4, 86; and Robinson's Palestine, ii. p. 551ff.). They also abound in clefts, with both natural and artificial caves; and hence its earliest inhabitants were Horites, i.e., dwellers in caves; and even the Edomites dwelt in caves, at least to some extent.

(Note: Jerome observes on Oba 1:6 : "And indeed ... throughout the whole of the southern region of the Idumaeans, from Eleutheropolis to Petra and Hala (for this is a possession of Esau), there are small dwellings in caves; and on account of the great heat of the sun, since it is a southern province, subterranean huts are used.")

The capital, Sela (Petra), in the Wady Musa, of whose glory at one time there are proofs still to be found in innumerable remains of tombs, temples, and other buildings, was shut in both upon the east and west by rocky walls, which present an endless variety of bright lively colours, from the deepest crimson to the softest pale red, and sometimes passing into orange and yellow; whilst on the north and south it was so encircled by hills and heights, that it could only be reached by climbing through very difficult mountain passes and defiles (see Burckhardt, Syr. p. 703; Robinson, Pal. ii. p. 573; and Ritter, Erdk. xiv. p. 1103); and Pliny calls it oppidum circumdatum montibus inaccessis. Compare Strabo, xvi. 779; and for the different roads to Petra, Ritter, p. 997ff.

Oba 1:4

Oba 1:4 shows the worthlessness of this reliance of the Edomites. The object to תּגבּיהּ, viz., קנּך, does not follow till the second clause: If thou makest thy nest high like the eagle, which builds its nest upon the loftiest jagged rocks (Job 39:27-28). This thought is hyperbolically intensified in the second clause: if thy nest had been placed among stars. שׁים is not an infinitive, but a passive participle, as in the primary passage, Num 24:21, which Obadiah had before his mind, and in Sa1 9:24; Sa2 13:32; but קנּך is nevertheless to be taken as an accusative of the object, after the analogy of the construction of passives c. accus. obj. (see Ges. 143, l, a.).

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Small - Thou art a small people. In comparison with other nations. Despised - What ever these Edomites had been, now they were despised.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
I have made thee small among the heathen - God ever attributes to himself the rise and fall of nations. If they be great and prosperous, it is by God's providence; if they be tow and depressed, it is by his justice. Compared with the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Syrians, Arabs, and other neighboring nations, the Idumeans were a small people.

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³² And Jonadab [03122], the son [01121] of Shimeah [08093] David's [01732] brother [0251], answered [06030] and said [0559], Let not my lord [0113] suppose [0559] that they have slain [04191] all the young men [05288] the king's [04428] sons [01121]; for Amnon [0550] only is dead [04191]: for by the appointment [06310] of Absalom [053] this hath been determined [07760] from the day [03117] that he forced [06031] his sister [0269] Tamar [08559].

²⁴ And the cook [02876] took up [07311] the shoulder [07785], and that which was upon it, and set [07760] it before [06440] Saul [07586]. And Samuel said [0559], Behold that which is left [07604] ! set [07760] it before [06440] thee, and eat [0398]: for unto this time [04150] hath it been kept [08104] for thee since I said [0559], I have invited [07121] the people [05971]. So Saul [07586] did eat [0398] with Samuel [08050] that day [03117].

²¹ And he looked [07200] on the Kenites [07017], and took up [05375] his parable [04912], and said [0559], Strong [0386] is thy dwellingplace [04186], and thou puttest [07760] thy nest [07064] in a rock [05553].

²⁷ Doth the eagle [05404] mount up [01361] at thy command [06310], and make [07311] her nest [07064] on high [07311]?
²⁸ She dwelleth [07931] and abideth [03885] on the rock [05553], upon the crag [08127] of the rock [05553], and the strong place [04686].

⁴ Though thou exalt [01361] thyself as the eagle [05404], and though thou set [07760] thy nest [07064] among the stars [03556], thence will I bring thee down [03381], saith [05002] the LORD [03068].

⁶ How are the things of Esau [06215] searched out [02664] ! how are his hidden [04710] things sought up [01158] !

³ Should he reason [03198] with unprofitable [05532] talk [01697]? or with speeches [04405] wherewith he can do no good [03276]?

⁷ But they [0428] also have erred [07686] through wine [03196], and through strong drink [07941] are out of the way [08582]; the priest [03548] and the prophet [05030] have erred [07686] through strong drink [07941], they are swallowed up [01104] of [04480] wine [03196], they are out of the way [08582] through strong drink [07941]; they err [07686] in vision [07203], they stumble [06328] in judgment [06417].

¹⁴ O my dove [03123], that art in the clefts [02288] of the rock [05553], in the secret [05643] places of the stairs [04095], let me see [07200] thy countenance [04758], let me hear [08085] thy voice [06963]; for sweet [06156] is thy voice [06963], and thy countenance [04758] is comely [05000].

³⁹ That which was torn [02966] of beasts I brought [0935] not unto thee; I bare the loss [02398] of it; of my hand [03027] didst thou require [01245] it, whether stolen [01589] by day [03117], or stolen [01589] by night [03915].

² Behold, I have made [05414] thee small [06996] among the heathen [01471]: thou art greatly [03966] despised [0959].

³ The pride [02087] of thine heart [03820] hath deceived [05377] thee, thou that dwellest [07931] in the clefts [02288] of the rock [05553], whose habitation [03427] is high [04791]; that saith [0559] in his heart [03820], Who shall bring me down [03381] to the ground [0776]?

¹⁵ For the day [03117] of the LORD [03068] is near [07138] upon all the heathen [01471]: as thou hast done [06213], it shall be done [06213] unto thee: thy reward [01576] shall return [07725] upon thine own head [07218].

² Behold, I have made [05414] thee small [06996] among the heathen [01471]: thou art greatly [03966] despised [0959].