Obadiah 1:20

And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel [shall possess] that of the Canaanites, [even] unto Zarephath,.... That is, the host or army, the great number of the children of Israel, that

And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.

The captivity of this host of the children of Israel, those of the ten tribes that were carried away captive by Shalmaneser, one hundred and thirty years before Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, shall possess that of the Canaanites; all the country they anciently possessed, with this addition also, that what the Canaanites held by force, and the Israelites could not take from them, shall now be possessed by these returned captives. Zarephath, called Sarepta, , near Sidon. The captivity of Jerusalem; the two tribes, carried captive when Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar. In Sepharad; the modern Jews call Spain Sepharad, but without any good ground, nor was it so called anciently, nor doth the Chaldee paraphrase so interpret it; nor do I meet with any thing better than a tacit confession, that most believe it is a city of Chaldea or Assyria, and toward the northern and farthest bounds of it, but where it was exactly they know not. Shall possess the cities of the south; all the cities, which were once their own, in Judea, which lay southward from this Sepharad, where the captives dwelt, and whence they return.

Obadiah 1:20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel [shall possess] that of the Canaanites, [even] unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which [is] in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.Ver. 20. And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel, &c.] i.e. The multitude of the Jews carried captive to Babylon, returning at length into their own country, shall possess all the places of the Canaanites, all the maritime cities, all the tract of ground as far as Sarepta, which is between Tyre and Zidon, therefore called Sarepta of Zidon, 1 Kings 17:9. Here dwelt the Canaanites, whom Asher could not expel, Judges 1:31-32. See Matthew 15:22. And the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad] That is, either in some city of Assyria or in the utmost bounds of the Babylonish dominion (as some interpret the word Sepharad, by taking it asunder), or as far as Apharad (so the Septuagint), that is, Euphrates. The Hebrew doctors, as by Canaanites here they understand the Dutch, and by Zarephath France, so by Sepharad they will needs have Spain to be meant, subdued, say they, by Nebuchadnezzar, after other of his great conquests, and by him planted with Jews, carried captive from Jerusalem. With such bold and frivolous fancies do these poor deluded creatures fondly feed themselves. They are generally light, aerial, and fanatical brains, saith one; apt to rework themselves into the fool’ s paradise of a sublime dotage. They not only expect a corporal restitution to their own country, but also a sovereignty over all other nations, and possession of their provinces, saith another; they believe that the Messiah is not yet come, because the Christian Empire is not yet destroyed; and therefore they pray daily for the overthrow of the Roman Empire (Buxtorf. Synag. c. 5). Out of the east it is that they expect their Messiah, whither the Spanish Jews fled (when they were banished), and are exceedingly multiplied; for those do they hold to be this captivity of Jerusalem here mentioned, viz. of the tribe of Judah; and the other in Germany and Italy, to be of the tribe of Benjamin; who, in honour of the more noble tribe, and to correspond with them the better, do learn the Spanish tongue; which those still retain, in hope, belike, to be one day lords of that large and rich country. Shall possess the cities of the south] i.e. Shall return to their own southerly cities and provinces. And this prophecy of recovering the holy land is to be taken in a spiritual sense; and it importeth, that all those that are Israelites indeed, Jews inwardly, shall flee to the Church of Christ, Romans 9:24-29.

17-21.— OF THE KINGDOM OF JEHOVAH ON MOUNT ZION.(17) Deliverance.—Better, as in margin, the fugitives of Israel who have survived the recent calamity. This is clear from Isaiah 10:20, where phelκytah is in parallelism with shear=remnant, as well as Joe 2:32; Hebrews 3:5, where it is parallel to serξdξm, also remnant. (Comp. also Judges 21:17; 2 Chronicles 20:24.) While the judgment is falling upon all the heathen nations, Mount Zion will be an asylum for all the Israelites who had fled for safety, and been scattered and dispersed. Holiness.—See margin. Zion was once more to become a sanctuary, and those who inhabited it holy. (Comp. Isaiah 6:13.) Their possessions.—Whose—their own that had been lost, or those of the nations? The Vulgate, following the LXX., read “those who had possessed them,” indicating subjugation of the heathen tribes. But the parallelism is undoubtedly in favour of the other view—the remnant of Israel would be saved, and regain their old possessions. Having stated this, the prophet goes on to describe what would happen to Edom and its possessions. (18) Though, in the preceding verse, “house of Jacob” would seem to embrace all the restored Israel, without any reference to the distinction of the two kingdoms, in this verse, being opposed to “house of Joseph,” it requires to be taken as synonymous with Judah; as in Isaiah 46:3 : “Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel.” (Comp. Psalms 77:15; Psalms 80:1; Psalms 81:4-5.) For the expressive imagery, comp. Nahum 1:10; Isaiah 27:4; Isaiah 10:17. Any remaining.—Heb., sarξd, a fugitive. The LXX. must have had a different text, as they read here πυροϕόρος, i.e., wheat-bearer, apparently (as the various reading shows) a mistake for πυρϕόρος, fire-bearer.(19) After the destruction of the heathen the new kingdom of Zion will be restored, at least as far as the ancient territories which are at present held by the Idumζans, to the north and west of the original Edom, are concerned. Three divisions are enumerated of the house of Jacob (i.e., Judah; see Note, Obadiah 1:18), and separate mention made of Benjamin. They of the south.—Those at present occupying the south—Heb., negev—i.e., the dry parched country forming the southern portion of the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:21), are to inhabit Mount Esau: i.e., are to extend their territory to its extreme south-eastern limit; they of the Shephelah, i.e., the western lowland on the Mediterranean, are to seize on the neighbouring Philistia, at present Idumζan; while they at present confined to the hill-country in the north and centre of Judah are to spread themselves over Ephraim and Samaria. Our present Hebrew text leaves the subject of this latter clause uncertain, as it is in the Authorised Version “they.” But the LXX., τὸὄρος indicates that hahor=the mountain, has dropped out, a conjecture which is abundantly borne out by the geographical arrangement of the localities in the passage. Benjamin, for which no room is left on the west of Jordan, is to push across it into Gilead instead.

Verse 20. Zarephath] Sarepta, a city of the Sidonians, 1Kg 17:9. That is, they should possess the whole city of Phoenicia, called here that of the Canaanites. Which is in Sepharad] This is a difficult word. Some think the Bosphorus is meant; others, Spain; others, France; others, the Euphrates; others, some district in Chaldea; for there was a city called Siphora, in Mesopotamia, above the division of the Euphrates. Dr. Lightfoot says it was a part of Edom. Those who were captives among the Canaanites should possess the country of the Canaanites; and those whom the Edomites had enslaved should possess the cities of their masters. See Newcome and Lowth.

20. Two ways of rendering this verse are given in our English Bibles, one in the text, the other in the margin. The latter of these fully expressed would be: “And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that (i.e. the land) of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem shall possess that which is in Sepharad; they shall possess the cities of the south.” But a third rendering of the verse is possible and appears to be more satisfactory than either of these:—“And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel which the Canaanites (have carried captive) even unto Zarephath and the captivity of Jerusalem which is in Sepharad (these) shall possess the cities of the south.” The prophet having assigned their dwelling-place to the main body of the people, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin who returned from Babylon, now bethinks him of their brethren, who in the general disruption of the Chaldean invasion had been carried captive in other directions. He mentions two such bodies of captives, whether as including or as representing all Jews who were in such a case, and for them he finds a home in the regions of the south. Another rendering is adopted in R.V. this host of the children of Israel] It is suggested in the Speaker’s Commentary, that the word “this” here “indicates the body (of exiles) to which Obadiah himself belonged, and of which he formed one. We know nothing,” it is said, “of Obadiah’s history; he may well have been one of the many inhabitants of Judah who had to flee before the Babylonish inroad, and were afterwards spread as homeless exiles through the cities of Palestine and Phœnicia. If this be so, a touching personal interest attaches itself to the prophet’s words. He comforts his brother-exiles in Canaan by telling them that they, as well as the exiles in Sepharad, should return, and take possession of the cities of the south.” The suggestion is interesting, but it is more natural to understand the expression, “this host of the children of Israel,” of the entire body of the Jews, uprooted and doomed to exile as Obadiah saw them when he wrote. Of this whole captive host, he says, that portion which has been carried into Phœnicia shall be thus provided for. In this sense the word “host” (“forces”) is perhaps used in Obadiah 1:11. See note there. even unto Zarephath] The Sarepta of the New Testament (Luke 4:26) famous in the history of Elijah, 1 Kings 17:9-24. It was a considerable town, as its ruins now shew, on the coast road between Tyre and Sidon. Its modern representative, Sarafend, is a small village on the hill above. in Sepharad] Great difference of opinion exists as to the meaning and reference of this word. The conjecture of Jerome that it is not a proper name, but the Assyrian word for “boundary,” which the prophet has adopted, is accepted by some.

And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel - , (it must, I believe, be rendered,) “which are among the Canaanites, as far as Zarephath, and the captivity of Jerusalem which is in

The exaltation of the Jews, Obadiah 1:17-21.The judgment upon the nations is accompanied and followed by the restoration and glorification of Zion (compare Joe 2:32 ff.).