In my article
I discussed many instances of biblical
prophets changing the words of their revelations and/or the words of previous
prophets. The book of Obadiah, notwithstanding being the smallest book in the
Old Testament, provides us with many instances of (1) Obadiah reworking the
words of prior prophets and (2) prophets reworking the works of Obadiah.
On pp. 30-31 of his commentary on the book
of Obadiah, Thomas E. Gaston provided the following examples of Obadiah’s use
of Jer 49:
|
Obadiah |
Jeremiah
49 |
|
1 The
vision of Obadiah. |
|
|
Thus
says the Lord God concerning Edom: |
7a Concerning Edom. Thus says the Lord of hosts. |
|
We have
heard a report from the Lord. |
14 I have
heard a message from the Lord |
|
and a
messenger has been sent among the nations |
An
envoy was sent to the nations to say, |
|
“Rise
up! Let us rise against her for battle!” |
“Assemble
yourselves to attack it. Rise up for battle!” |
|
2
Behold, I will make you small among the nations: |
15 “Now I
will make you small among the nations, |
|
you shall
be utter despised |
despised among
men |
|
|
16a The terror
you inspire |
|
3 The
pride of your heart has deceived you |
and the
pride of your heart have deceived you, |
|
you who
live in the clefts of the rock, |
you who
live in the clefts of the rocks, |
|
in your
lofty dwelling, |
who occupy
the heights of the hill |
|
who say
in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” |
|
|
4 Though
you soar aloft like the eagle, |
|
|
though your
nest is set among the stars, |
16b Though
you build your nest as high at the eagle’s |
|
from there
I will bring you down, declares the Lord |
from there
I will bring you down,” declares the Lord. |
|
5 If
thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night-- |
9b If
thieves came during the night, |
|
how you
have been destroyed!-- |
|
|
would they
not steal only enough for themselves? |
would they
not steal only as much as they wanted? |
|
If
grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave
gleanings? |
9a If
grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes? |
|
6 How Esau
has been pillaged, his treasures sought out! |
10 But I
have stripped Esau bare; I have uncovered his hiding places, and his
hiding places, and he is not able to conceal himself. His children are
destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more. |
|
7a-c All
your allies have driven you to your border; those at peace with you have
deceived you’ they have prevailed against you’ those who eat your bread have
set a trap beneath you. |
|
|
7d you
have no understanding |
7b “Is wisdom
no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom
vanished? |
|
9 And
your might men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau
will be cut off by slaughter. |
10b His
descendants are plundered, his brethren and his neighbors, and he is more. |
|
10-14 description
of Edom’s sin |
**no
parallel** |
|
15 Day of
the Lord |
**no
parallel** |
|
16 For as
you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink
continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had
never been |
12 For
thus says the Lord: “If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink
it, will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. |
|
17a But in
Mount Zion there shall be those escape. |
11 Leave
your fatherless children; I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust
in me. |
|
18 description
of Israel’s victory |
**no
parallel** |
|
19-20 description
of distribution of land |
**no
parallel** |
|
21 Saviors
shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. |
19b And I
will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon
me? What shepherd can stand before me? |
Gaston provides the following commentary:
There are
clear parallels between the two passages. Not only does Obadiah borrow phraseology
from Jer 49 but builds his prophecy around key themes of the passage. Yet
Obadiah does not simply regurgitate Jeremiah’s prophecy, he is creative and
turns his old words to a new purpose. Several sections in Obadiah’s prophecy
find no parallel in Jer 49, specifically: the description of Edom’s sin
(vv10-14), the introduction of the Day of the Lord (v15) and the description of
Israel’s victory and distribution of the land (vv18-20). These additions add
depth, making the judgment of Edom retributive on the one hand and on the other
providing an eschatological hope to his listeners.
The intention
behind re-using Jeremiah’s prophecy is, presumably to compliment the previous
prophetic-tradition. J. Barton states that this is a “general tendency of
postexilic prophecy” to revise and reshape earlier material “to its own end”
(Barton, Joel and Obadiah: A Commentary [Louisville: John Knox Press,
2001], 126). This is probably accurate as far as it goes, but the idea of
actualizing an older prophecy for contemporary circumstances misrepresents
Obadiah’s intention. Obadiah is not an apologist for Jeremiah but believed that
Jeremiah uttered a true prophecy. Obadiah’s own prophecy is an extension of the
original, adding new aspects for greatest relevance to his audience. (Thomas E.
Gaston, Obadiah: A Christadelphian Academic Commentary [Lulu: 2009], 31-32)
Gaston then discusses Obadiah’s relationship
to Joel (Ibid., 34-35):
Obadiah
and Joel
One of
the strongest relationships is between the books of Obadiah and Joel. Several
commentators assert that Joel 2:32 quotes Obad 1:17, and thus date Obadiah
prior to Joel (e.g. J.R. Lillie, ‘Obadiah—A Celebration of God’s Kingdom’, Currents
in Theology and Mission 6 [1979] 19). There is clearly a dependence as the
phrase ‘in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape’ (or ‘shall be
deliverance’) occurs in both. Primacy is given to Joel 2:32 due to the phrase ‘as
the LORD has said’, which Joel includes (R.J. Coggins ‘Judgment Between
Brothers: A Commentary on the Book of Obadiah’, in Israel Among the Nations:
A Commentary on the Book of Nahum and Obadiah and Esther [ed. R.J. Coggins
& S.P. Re’emi; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985], p. 73). This may imply aa quotation from an
earlier prophecy (i.e., ‘as the LORD has previously said’) and, if this is the
case, then Obadiah is probably the source. The concept that Zion is/will be the
epicenter of God’s deliverance did not begin with either Obadiah or Joel but
runs throughout the OT (cf. Ps 14:7, 54:6; 69:35; Is 46:13; 62:1, 11).
Obadiah
also demonstrates a number of other intertextual links with Joel (see table
below). As Joel’s theme is not Edom-centric (as Obadiah’s), these links are not
so close as those with Jer 49 but the choice of phraseology does indicate some
familiarity with Joel’s prophecy. Though the invader and occasion is different,
God’s indignation is the same:
|
Obadiah |
Joel |
|
10 Because
of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and
you shall be cu off forever. |
3:19b Edom a
desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah,
because they have shed innocent blood in their land. |
|
11b on the
day that strangers carried off his wealth |
3:5b For you
have taken my silver and my gold |
|
11b on the
day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his
gates. |
3:17b and
Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through
it. |
|
11c and cast
lots for Jerusalem, |
3:3a and
have cast lots for my people |
|
15a For the
day of the LORD is near upon all the nations |
3:14 Multitudes,
multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near
in the valley of decision. |
|
15b As you
have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own
head. |
3:4b I will
return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily |
|
15b As you
have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own
head. |
3:7b I will
return your payment on your own head |
|
16a For as
you have drunk on my holy mountain |
17a So you
shall know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy
mountain |
|
17a But in
Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, |
2:32b For in
Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as
the LORD has said |
|
18a The
house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame |
2:3a Fire
devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. |
|
18a-b The
house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau stubble; |
2:5b like
the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, |
One final example, again of Obadiah reworking
a prior prophet, is that of Amos (Ibid., 36):
There
also appears to be a dependence on the book of Amos, in terms of both themes
and phraseology . . . Amos also refers to the brotherhood between Israel and
Edom. Other paralleled themes include the Edomites taking Israelites captive
(Obad 1:14/Amos 1:6, 9) and the restoration of Israel to include Edomite territory
(Obad 1:19-21/Amos 9:12-14). A few possible textual connections are noted below:
|
Obadiah |
Amos |
|
4 Though
you soar like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from
there I will bring you down, declares the Lord. |
9:2 If
they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to
heaven, from there I will bring them down. |
|
10 Because
of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and
you shall be cut off forever. |
1:11 Thus
says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not
revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword
and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his
wrath forever. |
|
18a The
house of Jacob shall be a fire |
1:12 So I
will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the strongholds of
Bozrah.” |