not at
all more definitely characterized than in the first part of Hosea, in
Joel, and Amos;--that, in like manner, the heathen power from which the
overthrow of Edom is to proceed, is neither mentioned, nor more
definitely pointed out in any other way;--that Jeremiah already made
use of Obadiah's prophecy; and if such be denied, the older foundation
would then be withdrawn from the prophecy of Jeremiah--which would be
contrary [Pg 400] to the analogy of Jeremiah's prophecies against
foreign nations;--and, finally, that, in vers. 12-14, the prophet
exhorts the Edomites neither to rejoice nor to co-operate in the
destruction of Jerusalem, because, otherwise, they would certainly
receive the well-merited reward of such wickedness committed against
the Covenant-people, to whom they were so nearly related. Such an
exhortation would have been out of place, after the wickedness had been
committed.--The view of _Hofmann_ (which was revived by _Delitzsch_ in
his treatise, "When did Obadiah prophesy?" [_Guerike's Zeitschrift_ 51,
_Hft._ 1])--according to which the capture of Jerusalem by the
Philistines and Arabians under Jehoram (2 Chron. xxi. 16 ff.) was the
occasion of the prophecy before us, and according to which Obadiah is
thus made the oldest among all the prophets in the Canon, and separated
by nearly a century from the three prophets who preceded him--overlooks
the fact that only cogent reasons could induce us to assume so isolated
a position, since it is certainly not a matter of accident that the
written prophecy began its course under the reign of Jeroboam
and Uzziah. The guilt and punishment of Edom are, in like manner,
spoken of in the Preterite; and it is inadmissible to understand the
Preterites as historical, in so far as they refer to the guilt, and as
prophetical, in so far as they refer to the punishment. The words, "Day
of their destruction," in ver. 12, are decisive against every other
catastrophe upon Judah, but that of the Chaldean. Ver. 20, when rightly
interpreted, supposes the carrying away of Israel and Judah, and hence
allows us to think only of the Assyro-Chaldean catastrophe. In ver. 21,
Mount Zion is forsaken, and "the saviours" return to it from the land
of captivity.

In strict accordance with the position of the book in the Canon, is the
fact, that Obadiah connects himself most closely with Joel, and,
excepting him, among all the prophets, with Amos only; compare
_Caspari_, S. 20 ff., 35; _Hae