Obadiah 20-21

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Obadiah 1:20 tn Or “army” (TEV); cf. KJV, NAB, NASB “host,” NIV “company.” Some text critics suggest revocalizing MT הַחֵל (hakhel, “the fortress”) to the place- name הָלָה (halah, “Halah”; so NRSV), the location to which many of the Israelite exiles were sent in the 8th century (2 Kgs 7:6; 18:11; 1 Chr 5:26). The MT form is from הַיִל (hayil, “strength”), which is used elsewhere to refer to an army (Exod 14:17; 1 Sam 17:20; 2 Sam 8:9), a military fortress (2 Sam 20:15; 22:33), leaders (Exod 18:21) and even wealth or possessions (Obad 1:11, 13).
2. Obadiah 1:20 tn The Hebrew text has no verb here. The words “will possess” have been supplied from the context.
3. Obadiah 1:20 sn Zarephath was a Phoenician coastal city located some ten miles south of Sidon.
4. Obadiah 1:20 sn The exact location of Sepharad is uncertain. Suggestions include a location in Spain, or perhaps Sparta in Greece, or perhaps Sardis in Asia Minor. For inscriptional evidence that bears on this question see E. LipinÃski, “Obadiah 20, ” VT 23 (1973): 368-70. The reason for mentioning this location in v. 20 seems to be that even though it was far removed from Jerusalem, the Lord will nonetheless enable the Jewish exiles there to return and participate in the restoration of Israel that Obadiah describes.
5. Obadiah 1:21 tc The present translation follows the reading מוּשָׁעִים (mushaʿim, “those who have been delivered”; cf. NRSV, CEV) rather than מוֹשִׁעִים (moshiʿim, “deliverers”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) of the MT (cf. LXX, Aquila, Theodotion, and Syriac).
6. Obadiah 1:21 tn Heb “to judge.” In this context the term does not mean “to render judgment on,” but “to rule over” (cf. NAB “to rule,” NIV “to govern”).
7. Obadiah 1:21 tn Heb “then the kingdom will belong to the Lord.”