Equip: Resources on the Book of Obadiah

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, and the fourth shortest book in the entire Bible. It’s obscure, almost never preached or taught in churches, and admittedly difficult to apply to Christian life today. The book of Obadiah may be the single most neglected book of the Bible.

Nevertheless, Obadiah, like the rest of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17), is a treasure-trove of truth.

The prophet Obadiah ministered some time not long after Babylon’s sack of Jerusalem in 587/586 B.C. Interestingly, the target of Obadiah’s prophetic condemnations is not Israel or Babylon, but Edom.

The Edomites, descended from Esau (Genesis 25:19-28:9, 32:1-33:20, 36:1-43), were Israel’s “cousins,” in a manner of speaking, and the nation’s neighbors to the southeast.

Despite, or perhaps because of, Israel and Edom’s ancestral connections via Jacob and Esau, the two nations frequently fought with each other (Numbers 20:14-21, 2 Kings 8:20-22). This longstanding conflict reached a head when the Edomites assisted Babylon in sacking the city of Jerusalem (Psalm 137:7-8, Ezekiel 35), for which the prophet Obadiah fiercely condemns them.

I had the privilege of writing a Baptist Standard article about Obadiah a few years ago, and one of these days, I intend to preach through the book for my congregation. Of course, carefully studying and teaching a biblical book as obscure, difficult, and neglected as Obadiah requires some good resources. Here are a few I recommend.

Tyndale Old Testament Commentary: Obadiah, Jonah and Micah by Daniel C. Timmer

I love the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. They are simple enough to be accessible to a wide audience, brief enough to be useful for a busy pastor, yet deep enough to give you substantial insight into the meaning of the biblical text. Daniel C. Timmer’s volume on Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah continues that trend.

Timmer is something of a “rising star” among evangelical scholars of the Minor Prophets, having published several well-received commentaries and other academic works on various prophetic books over the past decade or so, and he has more on the way. He is also a seasoned preacher.

Timmer brings his expertise to bear on three prophetic books in this volume. Naturally, Obadiah is grouped together with multiple other prophetic books in most commentaries because of Obadiah’s short length.

One perk of this approach is, if you get Timmer’s volume on Obadiah, you have an excellent commentary on not one, but three Old Testament books.

Timmer does a great job distilling his academic research and robust theological reflections down to a size and style accessible to a wide audience. This is an ideal commentary on Obadiah for regular readers, Sunday school teachers, and busy pastors.

Word Biblical Commentary: Hosea–Jonah by Douglas Stuart

I must admit I find the formatting of the Word Biblical Commentary series baffling and frustrating. It’s hard to explain. You just need to read one of them to understand what I mean. As a result, some folks understandably try to avoid the Word commentaries if they can.

That would be a huge mistake, especially when it comes to Douglas Stuart’s work on Hosea through Jonah. Stuart’s commentary has long been considered a standard work on the first five Minor Prophets, widely used and respected by numerous biblical scholars and pastors.

Although Stuart’s commentary is a bit dated, having originally been released in 1987, there is a revised edition due out in the near future.

Once again, Obadiah is tucked in alongside multiple other biblical books in a single commentary. Of course, as with Timmer’s Tyndale volume, you get a great deal when you grab Stuart’s work. Timmer covers Obadiah in about 30 pages, whereas Stuart uses a little over 20.

However, Stuart’s commentary is more technically detailed (and the pages are physically larger). Stuart carefully considers the structure, Hebrew grammar and syntax, and theology of Obadiah on a level that requires at least some background training in biblical studies and Hebrew. But you don’t have to be a professional scholar to benefit from Stuart’s commentary.

I have found Stuart’s Word Biblical Commentary volume incredibly helpful on all of the books it covers, including Obadiah, and I look forward to the release of the second edition.

Zondervan Exegetical Commentary: Obadiah by Daniel Block

Daniel Block is one of my favorite Old Testament scholars. All of his commentaries, of which there are several, are worth consulting. I own most of them.

Block’s single-volume, 144-page commentary on the book of Obadiah is one of only two I know that covers only Obadiah and one of the definitive modern scholarly works on Obadiah’s prophecy. Make sure you get the second edition, from 2017.

Despite its enormous size relative to the length of the book it covers and incredible attention to detail, Block’s commentary on Obadiah is written and organized in such a way that makes it remarkably accessible and easy to understand. The information is divided up and presented in such a way you can easily find what you need to know and pass by any extra information you don’t.

Honorable Mentions

James Montgomery Boice’s two-volume commentary is a fantastic devotional and homiletical work on all twelve of the Minor Prophets.

Irv Busenitz has written a very helpful brief commentary on Obadiah available free online through The Gospel Coalition.

Mark Dever has preached one of the few sermons on Obadiah I’ve ever heard.

And I haven’t even mentioned many of the other excellent commentaries out there on the Minor Prophets, most of which provide solid coverage of Obadiah.

Don’t neglect the Old Testament’s shortest book, and don’t neglect the resources above when you study it.

Joshua Sharp is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Chappell Hill, and a graduate of Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., and Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary in Waco. The views expressed in this resource article are those of the author.