Those of the South will possess the mountain of Esau, and those of the lowland, the Philistines. They will possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria. Benjamin will possess Gilead.
Parallel Translations
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Those of the South will possess the mountain of Esau, and those of the lowland, the Philistines. They will possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria. Benjamin will possess Gilead.
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And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
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And they of the South shall possess the mount of Esau, and they of the Lowland the Philistines; and they shall possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria; and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
Cross-references (32)
Passages linked to Obadiah 1:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 32:44 Men will buy fields for money, sign the deeds, seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South; for I will cause their captivity to be reversed,” says Yahweh.
- Amos 9:12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations who are called by my name,” says Yahweh who does this.
- Zephaniah 2:4-7 For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation. They will drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron will be rooted up. Woe to the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! Yahweh’s word is against you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines. I will destroy you, that there will be no inhabitant. The sea coast will be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks. The coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah. They will find pasture. In the houses of Ashkelon, they will lie down in the evening, for Yahweh, their God, will visit them, and restore them.
- Jeremiah 31:4-6 I will build you again, and you will be built, O virgin of Israel. You will again be adorned with your tambourines, and will go out in the dances of those who make merry. Again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters will plant, and will enjoy its fruit. For there will be a day that the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim cry, ‘Arise! Let’s go up to Zion to Yahweh our God.’ ”
- Ezekiel 36:28 You will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. You will be my people, and I will be your God.
- Ezekiel 37:21-25 Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations. They won’t be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. They won’t defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. So they will be my people, and I will be their God. “ ‘ “My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them. They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived. They will dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, forever. David my servant will be their prince forever.
- Malachi 1:4-5 Whereas Edom says, “We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places;” Yahweh of Armies says, “They shall build, but I will throw down; and men will call them ‘The Wicked Land,’ even the people against whom Yahweh shows wrath forever.” Your eyes will see, and you will say, “Yahweh is great—even beyond the border of Israel!”
- Numbers 24:18-19 Edom shall be a possession. Seir, his enemies, also shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city.”
- Joshua 13:2-3 “This is the land that still remains: all the regions of the Philistines, and all the Geshurites; from the Shihor, which is before Egypt, even to the border of Ekron northward, which is counted as Canaanite; the five lords of the Philistines; the Gazites, and the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avvim,
- Joshua 13:25 Their border was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, to Aroer that is near Rabbah;
- Joshua 13:31 Half Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even for the half of the children of Machir according to their families.
- Joshua 15:21 The farthest cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the South were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,
- Joshua 15:33 In the lowland, Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,
- Joshua 15:45-46 Ekron, with its towns and its villages; from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages.
- Joshua 18:21-28 Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, Chephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages. Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, Zelah, Eleph, the Jebusite (also called Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.
- Judges 1:18-19 Also Judah took Gaza with its border, and Ashkelon with its border, and Ekron with its border. Yahweh was with Judah, and drove out the inhabitants of the hill country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
- 2 Kings 17:24 The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, from Cuthah, from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and lived in its cities.
- 1 Chronicles 5:26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the river of Gozan, to this day.
- Ezra 4:2 they came near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you; for we seek your God, as you do; and we have been sacrificing to him since the days of Esar Haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.”
- Ezra 4:7-10 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in Syrian, and delivered in the Syrian language. Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows, then Rehum the chancellor, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites, and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River, and so forth, wrote.
- Ezra 4:17 Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who live in Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace.
- Psalms 69:35 For God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah. They shall settle there, and own it.
- Isaiah 11:13-14 The envy also of Ephraim will depart, and those who persecute Judah will be cut off. Ephraim won’t envy Judah, and Judah won’t persecute Ephraim. They will fly down on the shoulders of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the children of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon will obey them.
- Jeremiah 49:1 Of the children of Ammon. Yahweh says: “Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Malcam possess Gad, and his people dwell in its cities?
- Ezekiel 25:16 therefore the Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will stretch out my hand on the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.
- Ezekiel 36:6-12 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and tell the mountains, the hills, the watercourses and the valleys, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my wrath, because you have borne the shame of the nations.” Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “I have sworn, ‘Surely the nations that are around you will bear their shame.’ “ ‘ “But you, mountains of Israel, you shall shoot out your branches, and yield your fruit to my people Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will come to you, and you will be tilled and sown. I will multiply men on you, all the house of Israel, even all of it. The cities will be inhabited, and the waste places will be built. I will multiply man and animal on you. They will increase and be fruitful. I will cause you to be inhabited as you were before, and you will do better than at your beginnings. Then you will know that I am Yahweh. Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, even my people Israel. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance, and you will never again bereave them of their children.”
- Ezekiel 47:13-21 The Lord Yahweh says: “This shall be the border, by which you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. You shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I swore to give it to your fathers. This land will fall to you for inheritance. “This shall be the border of the land: “On the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad; Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer Hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. The border from the sea, shall be Hazar Enon at the border of Damascus; and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. “The east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the east sea you shall measure. This is the east side. “The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth Kadesh, to the brook, to the great sea. This is the south side southward. “The west side shall be the great sea, from the south border as far as opposite the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side. “So you shall divide this land to yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.
- Ezekiel 48:1-9 “Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, Hazar Enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath (and they shall have their sides east and west), Dan, one portion. “By the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion. “By the border of Asher, from the east side even to the west side, Naphtali, one portion. “By the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion. “By the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion. “By the border of Ephraim, from the east side even to the west side, Reuben, one portion. “By the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion. “By the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the offering which you shall offer, twenty-five thousand reeds in width, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side to the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the middle of it. “The offering that you shall offer to Yahweh shall be twenty-five thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in width.
- Amos 1:8 I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; and I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- Amos 1:13 Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border.
- Micah 7:14 Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your heritage, who dwell by themselves in a forest, in the middle of fertile pasture land, let them feed; in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
- Zechariah 9:5-7 Ashkelon will see it, and fear; Gaza also, and will writhe in agony; as will Ekron, for her expectation will be disappointed; and the king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited. Foreigners will dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth; and he also will be a remnant for our God; and he will be as a chieftain in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain The Prophet proceeds with the same subject, — that…
The Prophet proceeds with the same subject, — that God would not only gather the remnants of his people from the Babylonian exile, but would restore the exiles, that they might rule far and wide, and that their condition might be better than it was before: for the Prophet, as I think, directs the attention to the first blessing of God, which had been deposited in the hand of Abraham. God had promised to the posterity of Abraham the whole land from Euphrates to the sea. Now this land had never been possessed by the children of Abraham. This happened, as it is well known, through their sloth and ingratitude. David in his time enlarged the borders; but yet he only made those tributaries whom God had commanded to be destroyed. So this blessing had never been fulfilled, because the people put a hindrance in the way. The Prophet now, speaking of the restoration of the Church, tells the people, who would return from exile, that they were to occupy the country which had been promised to their fathers as though he said, “There will come to you a full and complete inheritance.”
Now it is certain that this prophecy has never been completed: we know that but a small portion of the land was possessed by the Jews. What then are we to understand by this prophecy? It does unquestionably appear that the Prophet speaks here of the kingdom of Christ; and we know that the Church was then really restored, and that the Jews not only recovered their former state from which they had fallen, but that their kingdom was increased: for how great became the splendor of the kingdom and of the temple under Christ? This then is what the Prophet now means, when he promises to the Jews the heritage which they had lost; yea, God then enlarged the borders of Judea. Hence he shows that they should not only be restored to their former condition, but that the kingdom would be increased in splendor and wealth, when Christ should come. Let us now run over the words.
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Possess then shall they the south of the mount of Esau. The space was no doubt great: even when David reigned, the Jews did not possess that part or south portion of mount Seir. Then the Prophet, as I have said, shows that the borders of the kingdom would be more extensive than they had been. And the plain, he says, of the Philistines On that side also the Lord would cause that the Jews would extend farther than their kingdom. And possess they shall the fields of Ephraim Here I will not spend much labor in describing the land: but it is enough for us to understand that the design of the Prophet was to show, that the state of the people after their exile would be far more splendid than it had been before, even under the reign of David. What he means by Gilead is not very clear: but it is not probable that mount Gilead is referred to here, which was not far distant from the tribe of Benjamin, but rather that a town or some place distant from that part, and not included in their portion, is pointed out.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He describeth how the Church shall be enlarged and…
He describeth how the Church shall be enlarged and have great possessions: but this chiefly is accomplished under Christ, when as the faithful are made heirs and lords of all things by him which is their head.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Oba 1:19 And [they of] the south shall possess…
Oba 1:19 And [they of] the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and [they of] the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin [shall possess] Gilead.
Ver. 19. And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau] Those of the south, that is, the tribe of Judah. For Judaea was divided into five parts, Jos 15:1-63, whereof one was southward, toward the coast of Edom, Jos 15:21. Another was in the vale or plain, near unto the Philistines, Jos 15:33. Here, then, Obadiah showeth that the Jews shall not only recover their ancient inheritances, but also much enlarge the same; whereby he signifieth that the Church of Christ shall grow so very great, that Jewry shall be too narrow for them, see Zec 10:10; the ancient bounders shall not receive them, see Num 24:17 Isa 40:14. The gospel was soon spread, not only to the neighbouring nations, but to all the ends of the earth: the Edomites, Philistines, &c., are only mentioned, as being better known and more adverse to the Jews than other nations were.
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And they of the plain the Philistines] i.e. Those five lordships, Gath, Gaza, Ascalon, Ekron, and Azotus, all which country (called Saron, Act 9:35) Augustus gave to Herod the Ascalonite; and, after his death, to his sons; dividing it into tetrarchies, Luk 3:1.
And they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria] All which Hircanus subdued, and destroyed their temple built in mount Gerizim.
And Benjamin shall possess Gilead] That is shall propagate and extend his habitation beyond Jordan; and in respect of his exceeding great multitude, shall be compelled to hold and possess Gilead, all the country between Jordan and mount Libanus. Thus Jerome with the Hebrew scholiasts and many others; who do also note, that under these earthly felicities heavenly are described; and that all this is chiefly accomplished under Christ, when as the faithful are made heirs and lords of all things by him, who is their head. See Eze 37:16-23.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain They of the south; the Jews who lived in…
They of the south; the Jews who lived in the south parts of Canaan, which was next to Idumea, shall, after their return and victories over Edom, possess his country, called here
the Mount of Esau. They of the plain the Philistines; the Jews who dwelt in the plain country, which was next to Palestina, Jos 15:33, shall enlarge their borders, and possess the Philistines’ country, together with their ancient inheritance. Now of the possession of Mount Esau by the Jews, saith Grotius, it was most fully accomplished by Hyrcanus. Josephus, lib. 13. chap; 17, reports the matter thus, that the Idumeans were commanded either to depart their country, or be circumcised. If this were the time of fulfilling the one, it was also the time of fulfilling the other also.
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And they shall possess the fields of Ephraim; and all the land which the ten tribes once did possess shall again be possessed by the Jews.
And the fields of Samaria; the fields also about Samaria, how greatly soever wasted, shall be replanted, and that by the Jews too.
Benjamin, either apart, or jointly with Judah, shall possess Gilead; a country beyond Jordan, assigned to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh, wasted by Hazael and Tiglathpileser some time before Samaria was taken, but should be inhabited by the Benjamites; and probably Gad, Manasseh, and Reuben did enlarge upon the Moabites and Ammonites. Here is promised a larger possession than ever they had before the captivity, and it doth no doubt point out the enlargement of the church of Christ in the times of the gospel, and particularly when antichrist, typified in this prophecy by Edom, shall be destroyed: but we are to give the literal meaning, and think we do not miss of it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And they of the south shall possess the land…
And they of the south shall possess the land of Esau,.... That is, those Jews that shall dwell in the southern part of the land of Judea shall seize upon the country of Idumea, lying contiguous to them; they shall enlarge their border, and take that into their possession:
and they of the plain the Philistines; or of Sephela, they that shall inhabit the plain, or champaign country of Judea, as the parts of Lydda, Emmaus, and Sharon, were; these shall possess the country of the Philistines, lying near unto them, as Azotus, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron:
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and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria; all the countries that the ten tribes inhabited, in the times of their idolatry, before their captivity, which the Jews shall now be restored unto:
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead; that tribe shall be so enlarged as to take in the country of Gilead, which lay beyond Jordan, formerly possessed by the, half tribe of Manasseh. Some think this was fulfilled in the times of the Maccabees, when several of these places were taken by Judas, in the Apocrypha:
"17. Then said Judas unto Simon his brother, Choose thee out men, and go and deliver thy brethren that are in Galilee, for I and Jonathan my brother will go into the country of Galaad. 36. From thence went he, and took Casphon, Maged, Bosor, and the other cities of the country of Galaad. 38. So Judas sent men to espy the host, who brought him word, saying, All the heathen that be round about us are assembled unto them, even a very great host.'' (1 Maccabees 5)
but since the land of Judea, and the countries adjacent to it, were never as yet inhabited by the Jews in the form and manner here mentioned, it rather respects their settlement in their own land, in the latter day, when their borders will be greatly enlarged; see Eze 48:1; or it may regard the enlargement of the church of Christ, either in the first times of the Gospel, when that was spread in those parts, and met with success; see Act 8:6; or rather in the latter day, when Christ's kingdom will be from sea to sea, and his dominion from the river to the ends of the earth, Psa 72:8; and to which also the following words belong.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain They - The Jews who live in the south…
They - The Jews who live in the south parts of Canaan, next Idumea, shall after their return and victories over Edom, possess his country. Of the plain - The Jews who dwell in the plain country, shall enlarge their borders, possess the Philistines country, together with their ancient inheritance. The former was fully accomplished by Hyrcanus. And if this were the time of fulfilling the one, doubtless it was the time of fulfilling the other also. And all the land which the ten tribes possessed, shall again be possessed by the Jews. Gilead - Here is promised a larger possession than ever they had before the captivity; and it does, no doubt, point out the enlargement of the church of Christ in the times of the gospel.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. They of the south] The Jews who…
Verse 19. They of the south] The Jews who possessed the southern part of Palestine, should render themselves masters of the mountains of Idumea which were contiguous to them.
They of the plain] From Eleutheropolis to the Mediterranean Sea. In this and the following verse the prophet shows the different districts which should be occupied by the Israelites after their return from Babylon.
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The fields of Samaria] Alexander the Great gave Samaria to the Jews; and John Hyrcanus subdued the same country after his wars with the Syrians. See Josephus, contra. App. lib, ii., and Antiq. lib. xiii., c. 18.
Benjamin shall possess Gilead.] Edom lay to the south; the Philistines to the west; Ephraim to the north; and Gilead to the east. Those who returned from Babylon were to extend themselves everywhere. See Newcome; and see, for the fulfilment, 1Macc 5:9, 35, 45; 9:35, 36.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Oba 1:19. And they of the south shall possess…
Oba 1:19. And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau — The Jews that dwell in the southern parts of Judea, next Idumea, shall, after their return and victories over the Edomites, possess the mountainous part of their country, elsewhere called mount Seir: see Mal 1:3. And they of the plain — The Jews who dwell in the plain country, lying toward that of the Philistines, shall possess their territories together with their own ancient inheritance. The Philistines were likewise ill neighbours to the Jews, who, it is here foretold, should at last conquer them and possess their land. The former part of this prediction was fully accomplished by Hyrcanus. And if this were the time of fulfilling the one, doubtless it was the time of fulfilling the other also. And they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, &c. — All the land which belonged to the ten tribes shall be possessed by the Jews after their restoration to their own country. And Benjamin shall possess Gilead — Benjamin, although one of the smallest tribes, shall enlarge his borders as far as the land of Gilead beyond Jordan. Here a larger possession is promised than ever they had before the captivity. But if Judah be considered as united with Benjamin, which perhaps it is, as those two tribes made but one people, all this was completely fulfilled in the time of Hyrcanus, as appears from Josephus, lib. 12.; 22. But no doubt the great enlargement of the church of Christ, in the times of the gospel, is mystically pointed out in this passage.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And they of the South shall possess the mount…
And they of the South shall possess the mount of Esau - The Church was now hemmed in within Judah and Benjamin. They too were to go into captivity. The prophet looks beyond the captivity and the return, and tells how that original promise to Jacob Gen 28:14 should be fulfilled; “Thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt break North to the West, and to the East, and to the North, and to the South; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Hosea and Amos had, at this time, prophesied the final destruction of the kingdom of Israel. Obadiah describes Judah, as expanded to its former bounds including Edom and Philistia, and occupying the territory of the ten tribes. “The South” , i. e., they of the “hot” and “dry” country to the South of Judah bordering on Edom, “shall possess the mountains of Esau,” i. e., his mountain country, on which they bordered. And “the plain,” they on the West, in the great maritime plain, the “shephelah,” should spread over the country of the Philistines, so that the sea should be their boundary; and on the North, over the country of the ten tribes, “the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria.” The territory of “Benjamin” being thus included in Judah, to it is assigned the country on the other side Jordan; “and Benjamin, Gilead.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Plains. Sephala, Josue x. 40. --- Samaria, which the…
Plains. Sephala, Josue x. 40. --- Samaria, which the Cutheans had occupied, till Alexander subjected them to the Jews, and Hircan asserted his authority. (Josephus, Antiquities xiii. 18.) --- Galaad, east of the Jordan. Benjamin alone did not occupy this country.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain they of the south--The Jews who in the coming…
they of the south--The Jews who in the coming time are to occupy the south of Judea shall possess, in addition to their own territory, the adjoining mountainous region of Edom.
they of the plain--The Jews who shall occupy the low country along the Mediterranean, south and southwest of Palestine, shall possess, in addition to their own territory, the land of "the Philistines," which runs as a long strip between the hills and the sea.
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and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim--that is, the rightful owners shall be restored, the Ephraimites to the fields of Ephraim.
Benjamin shall possess Gilead--that is, the region east of Jordan, occupied formerly by Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh. Benjamin shall possess besides its own territory the adjoining territory eastward, while the two and a half tribes shall in the redistribution occupy the adjoining territory of Moab and Ammon.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. they of the south] lit. the south. This…
19. they of the south] lit. the south. This is the first of the three divisions of the tribe of Judah, in the original apportionment of the land by Joshua: “the tribe of the children of Judah, toward the coast of Edom southward” (i.e. in the direction of the “Negeb,” or hot, dry country, which formed the southern frontier. Sinai and Palestine, pp. 159, 160). Jos_15:21. The restored exiles of Judah shall not only possess again this their ancient domain; but whereas it was before “too much for them,” so that “the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them” (Jos_19:9), now they shall not only occupy it, but spreading still further southward shall “possess the mount of Esau.”
they of the plain] Shepçlah: the low-land, R.V. This is the second of the original divisions of Judah. (Jos_15:33, where the same Hebrew word is translated “valley.”) It is the great maritime plain along the western coast of Palestine. See Sinai and Palestine, chap. VI. pp. 255, seq. This again was not only to be repossessed, but its ancient boundaries were to be overpassed, and the entire country of the Philistines, to the shores of the Mediterranean, was to be won for Judah.
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and they shall possess] The subject of this clause may of course be the two divisions of Judah, “they of the south,” and “they of the plain,” already mentioned. But it is much better to suppose that the prophet here refers to the remainder of the tribe, who are spoken of as “in the mountains” (Jos_15:48). “And they (the tribe of Judah, i. e. the remaining portion of them) shall possess” the remaining portion of Palestine proper, the country of the ten tribes, “the field of Ephraim and the field of Samaria.”
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead] Judah having thus acquired the whole country on that side Jordan, Benjamin, the only other tribe now under consideration, takes possession of the territory which once belonged to the two tribes and a half on the other side.
19, 20. Restored to their own land, the Jews shall extend their territory in all directions, and shall realise the promise made to their father Jacob, “Thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south.” Gen_28:14. The two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, as the sole remaining representatives of the people of God in the prophet’s time, are alone directly mentioned by him in the distribution of the land. But the ten tribes are not thereby excluded from a share in the returning prosperity of the nation. See note on Oba_1:18. In Oba_1:19 the exiles who returned from Babylon are provided for. The whole country on the west of the Jordan is assigned to Judah, and Benjamin takes possession of Gilead on the east side. In Oba_1:20, other Jewish exiles in Phœnicia and elsewhere are remembered, and a place found for them in the conquered territory of Esau.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Judah and Benjamin between them shall possess the whole…
Judah and Benjamin between them shall possess the whole territory that once belonged to the children of Israel. In Jos_15:21, Jos_15:33, Jos_15:48, the inheritance of Judah is distributed into three portions the south, the plain, and the mountains; the same divisions are noticeable here. (see note on Zec_7:7) They of the south. The inhabitants of the Negeb, "the dry country" the southern part of Judah, shall take possession of Idumea. (Amo_9:12) They of the plain. Of the Shephelah, or "low land the maritime plain and the country held by the Philistines. (2Ch_28:18 Zep_2:7) And they shall possess. The Judaeans not already mentioned, i.e. those of the mountains, shall take the territory of the ten tribes. The fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria. The country, and the capital. Septuagint, to orov Efrai to pedion Samareiav , "the Mount of Ephraim and the Plain of Samaria.
Others translate, "Ephraim shall possess the field of Samaria," considering that otherwise Ephraim would be excluded from the restored kingdom, and Judah would inherit the territory of Ephraim, in violation of the covenant (Briggs, "Messianic" Prophecy," p. 317). But the Israelites proper were merged in the Judaeans at the return; and if Benjamin possesses Gilead, it is not unnatural that Judah should extend northward to Samaria. And Benjamin shall possess Gilead. Benjamin, the other portion of the house of Jacob, whose territory originally reached to the river, shall possess all the territory on the other side of Jordan. Thus the restored people shall, in accordance with the promise in Gen_28:14, "spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south". (comp. Isa_54:1-3) Obadiah sees the twelve tribes, once more united, extending their territory on every side; and, to make this evident, he gives certain examples, using Judah and Benjamin as equivalent to "the people of God," and their enlargement as denoting the majestic progress of the kingdom of God.
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Vers. 19, 20. "Rehoboth.
"And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites or rather, "the captivity," etc., "which are among the Canaanites" (Pusey, following the Chaldee, etc.), even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south." Here we have wideness at last; Rehoboth after narrowness, strife, contention, and hatred (Genesis 26). The house of Jacob is shown us stretching forth in all directions north, south, east, and west; the promises long looked for fulfilled; Jacob, long pent in, now enjoying a large room. The cries in narrowness have been answered in wideness. Rehoboth is inscribed on Judah"s banner, and little Benjamin shares the plenteousness. They of the south have no Edomite enemy; nay, the mount of Esau is their possession. They of the plain have no Philistine foe; their own borders reach to the coast. Over Philistia they triumph. The giants of Gath lie in the dust. The men of Ashdod and Ekron, who sang the praise of Dagon, are no more. Ashkelon and Gaza are silent in death. They of the plain possess the whole territory of the Philistines, with the sea for their only border. But much more than this. They extend northward. They take in Ephraim. No more shall Ephraim vex Judah. They also take in Samaria. No more shall it be heard that the Samaritans have no part with the Jews. And more still Benjamin shall possess Gilead, thus stretching to the east. It shall have a portion on both sides of Jordan. And, further, Judah shall receive into fellowship those who were carried away captive from them. Some in Zarephath in Zidon, labouring as slaves in the smelting house, and the captivity of Jerusalem shall possess the cities of the south.
Thus the inspired prophet, from the sacred mount of vision, amongst other blessings, notices these five:
(1) liberty after captivity;
(2) peace after war;
(3) wideness after straits;
(4) a portion on both sides of Jordan;
(5) unity after divisions and discord.
With what joy must Obadiah have seen all these rich blessings unfolded before him! Liberty! Oh what a history of captivity and bondage was that of the Jews! Peace! Their national life hitherto had been one of war. Wideness! Up to this they had been sorely straitened and hemmed in varies narrowness. A portion on both sides of Jordan! Hitherto they had had their lot on the western side only. Unity! They had been torn by divisions. They had been weakened, impoverished, and desolated by divisions. How pleasant, therefore, the prospect of Judah receiving into its bosom multitudes of the captivity of Israeli All one at last. One fold under one Shepherd. A delightful prospect. Obadiah, like another Moses, must have viewed the scene with patriotic joy and hallowed fervour and gratitude. And now for the spiritual application of the passage to ourselves.
I GLORIOUS LIBERTY IS PROCLAIMED TO US. Christ sets his people free. He came to lead captivity captive. He opens the prison to those who were bound. His Word is the perfect law of liberty. The Apostle Peter"s deliverance from prison is like a picture of the deliverance wrought for the soul of man. We were in the dark dungeon, fast bound in misery and iron. Light shone in the prison. A friendly hand smote us. A voice bade us arise. The fetters fell off. We were led forth from the darkness of death into the light and liberty of the children of God. Or we may say, in the language of David, (Psa_124:7) "Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped;" Joyous liberty, blessed liberty, glorious liberty of the children of God.
II PEACE IS OURS. The peace of the very God of peace. Secure tranquillity through the blood of the everlasting covenant. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned;" "Peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near." Peace always and by all means.
III WIDENESS IS OURS. "Thou hast known my soul in adversities; ... thou hast set me in a large room." The Lord brings his people into a wealthy place. "Rehoboth" is written on the gospel "Rehoboth" is written on the work of Christ. "Rehoboth" is written on the wells of salvation. On the joys, the glories, the promises of covenant grace, the letters are written as with Calvary"s blood Room enough and to spare. (Job_36:16)
IV A PORTION ON BOTH SIDES OF JORDAN IS OURS. The Christian has the promise of the life that now is as well as that which is to come. All things are ours. The world, life, death, things present, things to come, the blessings of the throne and the blessings of the footstool, the upper springs and the nether springs, all are ours. Oh, let us pity the men who have their portion only in this life! Let us pray for those whose hearts and treasures are where the rust and moth are. Let us seek to influence for good all those who have no portion on both sides of Jordan.
V Finally, THE CHURCH IS CALLED TO UNITY. We are to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit. There are many stones, but one temple. There are many children, but one household one family. There are many branches, but one Vine. There are many members, but one body. The Communion feast teaches this oneness. Our Lord"s great intercessorial prayer was that his people all might be one. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love and concord, calls us to oneness. The divisions of Christians must grieve the Spirit. "Our little systems have their day; They have their day, and cease to be, They are but broken lights of thee, And thou, O Lord, art more than they. Oh for another Pentecost, that the Church of today might be as the Church of the fruit days; and the Redeemer"s words be exemplified "That they all might be one, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me! A.C.T.
Vers. 19, 20. The true Church; or, the community of the good: 3. An aggressive power.
"And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead," etc. By the "south" or southern part of Palestine is here meant those who should occupy it; and by the "plain," those who should occupy the low country along the shore of the Mediterranean. "According to the relative positions of those who should take possession of the different parts of the Holy Land was to be the enlargement of their territory by the annexation of the adjoining regions which had formerly been occupied by allies or hostile powers. As there is no subject specified before the country of Edom and the country of Samaria, it seems to be intimated that the regions of Ephraim and Samaria were to be occupied by the Jews and the Israelites jointly, without any regard to tribal distinctions; and the reason why the tribe of Benjamin is mentioned is merely on account of the proximity of Gilead to the territory which it originally possessed" (Elzas). "The promise here," says an old expositor, "no doubt has a spiritual signification, and had its accomplishment in the setting up of the Christian Church, the gospel Israel, in the world; and shall have its accomplishment more and more in the enlargement of it, and the additions made to it, till the mystical body is completed. When ministers and Christians prevail with their neighbours to come to Christ, to yield themselves to the Lord, they possess them. The converts that Abraham had made are said to be the souls that he had gotten. (Gen_12:5) The possession is gained, not vi et armis by force and arms; for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual; it is by the preaching of the gospel, and the power of Divine grace going along with it, that this possession is got and kept." That the true Church is an aggressive power will appear from considering the gospel, which is at once its inspiration, its life, and its instrument. Consider, therefore
I THE ELEMENTS OF WHICH THE GOSPEL IS COMPOSED. It is made up of two great elements, "grace and truth," that is, eternal reality and Divine benevolence. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." To show the aggressiveness of these two principles, two facts may be stated.
1. That the human soul is made to feel their imperial force. It is true that the soul in its unregenerate state is ruled by directly opposite elements error and selfishness. But even error has power over it only so long as it regards it as reality, and selfishness influences it under the guise of love. It is the truth when made clear to it that comes with a conquering power; it is love or grace that transports its heart. The human soul is made for these two elements.
2. That the human soul is bound to yearn after these elements as its highest good. Its deep hunger is for truth and for reality, for benevolence, or love. It has no natural hunger for error, no natural hunger for selfishness.
3. That the human soul is everywhere restless without these elements. It is only as the soul gets truth and grace into it that it becomes settled, calm; self-united. These are facts connected with the human soul, and these facts show the aggressiveness of the gospel.
II THE PROSELYTIZING SPIRIT WHICH THE GOSPEL ENGENDERS. As soon as ever the gospel takes real possession of a soul, that soul becomes intensely solicitous to spread it abroad. It becomes what Jeremiah describes as a "fire in the bones." Peter said, "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard," Paul said, "The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge," etc. "Necessity is laid upon us" Every genuine recipient, then, of the gospel becomes a missionary, a propagandist, a moral knight, to battle against the mighty hosts of error and selfishness. Each member of the true Church, or godly community, becomes, by a moral necessity, a soldier of the cross.
III THE TRIUMPHS WHICH THE GOSPEL HAS ALREADY ACHIEVED. Compare the influence of the gospel in the world now to what it was when Christ was on earth. It was then confined to one lonely soul, the soul of Jesus of Nazareth; it is now in the possession of millions. The springlet has become an Amazon; the grain has covered islands and continents; the little stone has grown into a mountain that bids fair to fill the earth.
CONCLUSION. Such thoughts as these tend, we think, to demonstrate the essential aggressiveness of the true Church. It will one day take possession of all heathendom, with its "mount of Esau," the "plains of the Philistines," the "fields of Ephraim," and the "fields of Samaria," and what Canaanites there are as far as Zarephath. D.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
In verses 16-21, Yahweh speaks through Obadiah to tell the people of Judah that they will possess the land of Edom.
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Those from the Negev will possess the mount of Esau
"The Israelites in the Negev will take the land of the Edomites"
those of the Shepelah
This refers to Israelites in the western foothills of Israel who will capture the land of the Philistines in battle.
They will possess
Here "They" appears to refer to the people of Israel in general.
Benjamin will possess
"the tribe of Benjamin will possess" or "the descendants of Benjamin will possess"
translationWords
Negev
possess
Esau
Philistines
Ephraim
Samaria
Benjamin
Gilead
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:19-21 History yields to the day when the entire…
1:19-21 History yields to the day when the entire world will belong to the Lord as his kingdom. This message encourages God’s people and warns the nations that forget God.
1:19-20 God’s people living in the Negev, the foothills of Judah, and Benjamin (three regions of Judah) would possess territories of their neighbors (Edom, the Philistine plains, Gilead). Restored Israel would recover Ephraim and Samaria (territory lost in 722–721 BC to Assyria) and expand its borders to those lands promised in the conquest (the Philistine plains, the land of Gilead, the Phoenician coast). See also Ezek 47:13-23.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.