Obadiah is the shortest book of the old testament, and the fourthshortest book of the bible after third john, second john, and philemon. The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament, and nothing is known about obadiah except that he lived during the fall of jerusalem. Its author is the prophet obadiah, and it is the shortest book in the old testament. It may surprise you to learn that they are also summarizedand prophesied overin the shortest book of the bible. Perhaps this message should be more sobering to the saints than any of gods messages.
The book is named after the prophet who received the vision 1. The fifth shortest book of the bible is jude with a count of 461 words. It covers the post exilic period meaning before judah went into exi. The book is named after the prophet who received the vision. Obadiah is the shortest book in the ot and is not quoted in the nt. However it is quoted in several places by the prophet joel and jeremiah. The shortest book in any version of the bible is psalm 117 with only 2 verses if you define each psalm as a book. Obadiahs repeated twofold theme, the sin of and judgment upon edom serves as a background, explaining the prophet malachis strange work. Edom and its people edomites are the descendants of esau. Obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament, only 21 verses long.
May 22, 2015 the ten shortest books in the bible 3 john 1 chapter, 14 verses, 299 words 2 john 1 chapter, verses, 303 words philemon 1 chapter, 25 verses, 445 words jude 1 chapter, 25 verses, 6 words obadiah 1 chapter, 21 verses, 670 words titus 3 chapters. Obadiahs name means servant of yahweh, and he delivered a message regarding the edomites who had helped the babylonians in their conquest of jerusalem in. May 07, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of obadiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Second john has fewer verses than third john, but more.
The fourth shortest book of the bible, and shortest book of the entire old testament, is obadiah with 440 hebrew words. I do not recall having ever seen an academic commentary on the old testament book of obadiah that wasnt paired with one or more other prophetic books. Obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament and is not quoted in the new testament. The author was obadiah, whose name means the servant of the eternal. Aug 05, 2017 obadiah with 1 chapter, 21 verses and 670 words. Its authorship is generally attributed to a person named obadiah, which means servant or worshipper of the lord. Welcome to the study of the shortest book in the word. Bible book number 31obadiah watchtower online library. Its also the least read book of all the books in the bible. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible. Author and date nothing is known for certain about the author.
The book of obadiah was likely written in the sixth century bc. There is a vital reason why god is finally revealing it now. Gods judgment on the unbelieving gentiles who opposed gods chosen people israel, and gods grace and ultimate deliverance of the believing israel. The book of obadiah is the only one chapter book in the old testament. This fact makes it difficult to date the time of writing. Summary of the book of obadiah the story of the bible. These are arrange in descending order using the kjv english bible. And the house of jacob shall possess their possessions. The book closes with the promise of deliverance for zion. Jul 18, 2017 obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament, only 21 verses long. Apparently, he was unable to afford any words describing himself or his family in any way. The book of nahum was, literally, their final chapter. Some believe obadiah may have been a contemporary of.
Obadiah probably lived in the southern kingdom of judah. Nothing is known of the author, although his prophecy against edom, a neighbor and rival of israel, indicates a date of composition sometime after the babylonian destruction of jerusalem in 587 b. Obadiah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins.
There are on record the account of four captures of jerusalem, 1 by shishak in the reign of rehoboam 1 kings 14. Book of obadiah christianity knowledge base fandom. Yet, all the prophecies of obadiah have been fulfilled with the exception of vs 21 that is yet to be completely fulfilled. They debate its author and date of composition, and they point to the striking similarity between passages in obadiah and jeremiah to question whether obadiah. Obadiah 1, modern english version mev the bible app. Obadiah meansservant of the lord and occurs 20 times in the ot, referring to at least 20 other ot individuals. Obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament and is. Is there any part of the christian bible that rescinds old testament laws and. It is the shortest book in the hebrew bible and third shortest in the catholic bible.
Obadiah has the dubious distinction of being the shortest book in the old testament. As brief as this book is, scholars raise many questions about it. The second shortest book of the bible is 2 john with 245 words. The shortest book in the tanakh hebrew bible was written by the prophet obadiah, whose name means servant of the lord.
The bible is a pretty long book, and that might give the impression that every book of the bible is long, too. Jan 27, 2014 the book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament, and nothing is known about obadiah except that he lived during the fall of jerusalem. The secondshortest book by word count, 2 john, has 245 words, but it has fewer verses than 3 john. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of obadiah in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. A discourse analysis of the hebrew bible zondervan. Jan 02, 2020 the fourth shortest book of the bible, and shortest book of the entire old testament, is obadiah with 440 hebrew words.
Point of note this is one of the 7 old testament books that are not quoted in the nt. Obadiah is classified as a minor prophet in the christian bible due to the brevity of the writing only 21 verses and. Special thanks go to logos bible software for making the process of determining the shortest book of the bible by hebrew or greek word count much easier. Nothing is known about the prophet obadiah except the meaning of his name, servant or worshipper of god. There are many people with this name in the old testament. The book of obadiah was likely written between 848 and 840 b. The shortest book in the old testament and among all the writing prophets, obadiah provides an overview of the message presented in each of the writing prophets. Some believe obadiah may have been a contemporary of elisha.
What are the longest and shortest books of the bible. It is quoted from or alluded to only once in the new testament. Sep 20, 2018 this is the shortest book in the old testament. Obadiah is the shortest book of the old testament, and the fourth shortest book of the bible after third john, second john, and philemon. Gods judgment on the unbelieving gentiles who opposed gods chosen people israel, and gods. The second shortest book by word count, 2 john, has 245 words, but it has fewer verses than 3 john. His message was focused on the people of edom the descendants of esau, and was critical of them for their failure to come to the aid of judah. Obadiah verse 1 identifies the author of the book of obadiah as the prophet obadiah. In just 21 verses, obadiah, the shortest book of the hebrew scriptures, proclaims a judgment of god that resulted in the end of a nation, while foretelling the eventual triumph of the kingdom. We do not know anything of the books author but his name obadiah servant or worshipper of jehovah. Obadiah means servant of the lord and occurs 20 times in the old testament, referring to many other old testament individuals. When saviours shall come to mount zion messianic bible. The enemies of israel are in the front pages of every newspaper and newscast. What is the shortest book in the king james version of the.
But it has the single most terrifying message of any book in the bible. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration of israel. The prophecy is largely concerned with the condemnation of edom descendants of esau for treachery toward their brother israel descendants of jacob and the resultant punishment. Obadiah announces edoms downfall to babylon, which is an image of how. Philemon has more verses than obadiah the shortest book in the old testament, but fewer words. The book of obadiah is found in both the hebrew bible and the old testament of the christian bible, where it is the shortest book, only one chapter long. Sandwiched between the prophetic utterances of amos, a farmer, and jonah, who was sent by god to speak to the ninevites but refused and ended up spending a few nights in the belly of a fish before obeying, obadiah speaks of a. Obadiah may have been the earliest of the writing prophets. Watch our overview video on the book of obadiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. More than ten persons of the ot bear the same name but none of them is identical with the prophet.
The shortest book in the bible by word count is 3 john, with only 219 words in the bible s original language. Obadiah is only one chapter the shortest book in the old testament yet it tells of gods prophet obadiah as he announces gods powerful and authoritative judgment on the nation of edom. This book, the shortest among the twelve minor prophets, is a single twentyoneverse oracle against edom. Obadiah predicts the coming of the day of the lord and the establishment of. The bible projects video on the short book notes that its hardly a coincidence that. The shortest book in the bible by word count is 3 john, with only 219 words in the bibles original language. Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is only 21 verses long. Obadiah s name means servant of yahweh, and he delivered a message regarding the edomites who had helped the babylonians in their conquest of jerusalem in 586 bc during the reign of king zedekiah of judah. Book of obadiah overview insight for living ministries. The book of the prophet obadiah is the shortest book of the ot with 21 verses only.
We do not know anything of the book s author but his name obadiah servant or worshipper of jehovah. There is no additional information about this prophet, even though the name obadiah is frequently found in the old testament, identifying at least a dozen different persons. They had been in conflict with israel since ancient times, in reality edom is the descendants of esau. Obadiah, with only one chapter consisting of 21 verses, is the shortest of all old.
The book of obadiah contains only one chapter and is the shortest book of the whole old testament. Edoms pride and downfall is disclosed in the book of. The smallest old testament account, the book of obadiah is a vision written by the lords prophet known as obadiah, who prophesied against israels relative nation edom. Obadiah 17 the first step in the future successes of the jews is the recovery of what was previously their own speakers commentary. Yet it tells the prophet obadiahs mission to carry gods message that the kingdom of edom shall be ultimately destroyed for its sins. It is the shortest book in the old testament, and probably the leastpreached book in the whole bible. The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament of the bible, with only 21 verses. The ten shortest books in the bible 3 john 1 chapter, 14 verses, 299 words 2 john 1 chapter, verses, 303 words philemon 1 chapter, 25 verses, 445 words jude 1 chapter, 25 verses, 6 words obadiah 1 chapter, 21 verses, 670 words titus 3 chapters. The book of obadiah is the shortest old testament book. Obadiah, book of international standard bible encyclopedia. Obadiah is not only the shortest prophecy, but also the shortest book of the old testament. The twelve, book of the hebrew bible that contains the books of 12 minor. The shortest book in the old testament is obadiah with 21 verses beating haggai 2 chapter book and zephaniah 3 chapter book history the name obadiah means.
Obadiah also has one of the most inspiring conclusions of any. Obadiah overview and outline reasons for hope jesus. Consequent upon the overthrow of edom is the enlargement of the borders of judah and the establishment of the kingship of yahweh. Obadiah means servant of the lord or one who serves shortest book in the old testament. It is comprised of a single oracle, spoken by a prophet of that name. The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament. The shortest book in the old testament is obadiah with 21 verses beating. In this, the shortest book of the old testament, it seems the prophet obadiah considered each word a highpriced commodity.