Book of Obadiah
book of the Bible of the Assyrian Period
The Book of Obadiah is a book of the Bible whose authorship is attributed to Obadiah. Obadiah is one of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the final section of Nevi'im, the second main division of the Hebrew Bible. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses with 440 Hebrew words, making it the shortest book in the Tanakh (The Hebrew Bible), though there are three shorter New Testament epistles in Greek (Philemon with 335 words, 2 John with 245 words, and 3 John with 219 words). The Book of Obadiah is a prophecy concerning the divine judgment of Edom and the restoration of Israel.
The majority of scholars date the Book of Obadiah to shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. Other scholars hold that the book was shaped by the conflicts between Yehud and the Edomites in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE and evolved through a process of redaction.
Content
The Book of Obadiah is based on a prophetic vision concerning the fall of Edom, a mountain-dwelling nation whose founding father was Esau. Obadiah describes an encounter with Yahweh, who addresses Edom's arrogance and charges them for their "violence against your brother Jacob".
Throughout most of the history of Judah, Edom was controlled absolutely from Jerusalem as a vassal state. Obadiah said that the high elevation of their dwelling place in the mountains of Seir had gone to their head, and they had puffed themselves up in pride. "'Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,' declares the LORD".
The public source identifies “Book of Obadiah” as book of the Bible of the Assyrian Period. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Book, Obadiah and book.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Book of Obadiah”, the useful work is to connect “book of the Bible of the Assyrian Period” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q174753. VIAF identifies the subject as 184209830. The Library of Congress control number is n80057139. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Book of Obadiah”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Book of Obadiah primary sources, Book of Obadiah archive and Book research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Book of Obadiah”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Book of Obadiah” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.