Obadiah 1:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Obadiah 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.
a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
possess
וְיָרְשׁוּ֙ve.ya.re.Shu
H3423
to occupy (by driving out previous tenants · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
fields
שְׂדֵ֣הse.Deh
H7704
a field (as flat) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Ephraim
אֶפְרַ֔יִם'ef.Ra.yim
H669
Ephrajim · proper noun, a man's name
fields
שְׂדֵ֣הse.Deh
H7704
a field (as flat) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Samaria
שֹׁמְר֑וֹןsho.me.Ron
H8111
Shomeron · proper noun, a place name
Benjamin
וּבִנְיָמִ֖ןu.vin.ya.Min
H1144
Binjamin · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Gilead
הַגִּלְעָֽדha.gil.'Ad
H1568
Gilad · definite article + proper noun, a place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jeremiah 32:44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about…
Amos 9:12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.
Zephaniah 2:4-7 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
Jeremiah 31:4-6 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in th…
Ezekiel 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Ezekiel 37:21-25 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and wil…
Malachi 1:4-5 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, b…
Numbers 24:18-19 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Obadiah 1:17–end
After the destruction of the church's enemies is threatened, which will be completely accomplished in the great day of recompence, and that judgment for which Christ came once, and will come again, into this world, here follow precious promises of the salvation of the church, with which this prophecy concludes, and those of Joel and Amos did, which, however they might be in part fulfilled in the return of the Jews out of Babylon notwithstanding the triumphs of Edom in their captivity, as if it were perpetual, are yet, doubtless, to have their full accomplishment in that great salvation wrought out by Jesus Christ, to which all the prophets bore witness. It is promised here,
I. That there sha…
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.
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. B…
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.
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;…
The Church Fathers
"Those in the south" signifies the area where the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem led by Nebuchadnezzar. The entire province of Judea was laid waste, sinking back into misery so that it was reduced to absolute silence and appeared entirely deserted. However, when God will enter into the misery of the captives, he will return them to the land of their ancestors after his wrath has subsided. In their return from Babylon the entire multitude of Israel will possess the region of the nations that is equal to Edom. This is a sign of blessing from God.
(Verse 19) And those who are in the South shall inherit the possessions of Esau, and those in the plains shall inherit the possessions of the Philistines. They shall possess the region of Ephraim and the region of Samaria, and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. LXX: And those in the Negeb shall possess the mountain of Esau, and those in the Shephelah shall possess the foreigners, and they shall possess the mountain of Ephraim and the plain of Samaria, and Benjamin and Gilead. And Judah, who dwelt in the South and possessed the entire region according to the division made by Joshua the son of Nun, which extends toward the Scorpion, that is, toward all the Acrabatene, those who were previously confined to narrow boundaries shall possess the mountain of Esau, that is, the mountains of Seir and the mountains that Edom previously possessed. But those who dwell in Sephela, that is, in the plains, namely Lidda and Emmaus, the city of Diospolis, and Nicopolis, shall possess the Palestinians, five cities of the Palestinians: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath, or all that region which is called Sharon in the Acts of the Apostles. Others, however, think that this Sephela, that is, the region around Eleutheropolis, is promised: that they should extend as far as Rhinocolura and the sea, that is, not only hold Eleutheropolis from the tribe of Judah, but also reach the coast, and subject the Philistines to their rule, whom they had not previously subdued. The border of the sons of Judah will also extend to Ephraim, where Neapolis is now, and to the region of Samaria, where Sebaste is founded. But Benjamin, whose borders immediately extend northward from Jerusalem, will possess all of Arabia, which was formerly called Gilead and is now called Gerasa. According to the Septuagint, those who will be in the south will possess Mount Ephraim, the plains of Samaria, Benjamin, and Gilead. Whether this has been fulfilled, God alone knows; it could have been completed in part up until the coming of Christ over a period of five hundred years. As I am absolutely certain, it is being fulfilled daily and confirmed in the kingdom of the Church. For those who dwell in the south, that is, in Negeb, and live in the light, and those who hold the plains and the lowlands, that is, his disciples, to whom he says: Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart (Matt. X, 24), they shall…
Dictionary and topics
Esau · Mount of Edom, — Mount of Edom,
Zion · Restoration of, promised — Restoration of, promised
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
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:
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…
Obadiah 19-20
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
19..Et possidebunt meridiem montis Esau, et planietiem Philistim, et possidebunt agros Ephraim et agros Samariae; et Benjamin possidebit Gilead.
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.
20. Et migratio exercitus hujus filiorum Israel, quod Chananaeorum fuit usque ad Zerphath (vel, qui sunt in Chananaeis,…
After the destruction of its foes the nation of God will take possession of their land, and extend its territory to every region under heaven. Oba 1:19. "And those towards the south will take possession of the mountains of Esau; and those in the lowland, of the Philistines: and they will take possession of the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria; and Benjamin (will take possession) of Gilead. Oba 1:20. And the captives of this army of the sons of Israel (will take possession) of what Canaanites there are as far as Zarephath; and the prisoners of Jerusalem that are in Sepharad will take possession of the cities of the south." In וירשׁוּ וגו the expression וירשׁוּ בּית י in Oba 1:17 i…
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.
Rashi on Obadiah 1:19
And [the inhabitants of] the southland shall inherit—Israel, who were dwelling in the south of Eretz Israel, shall inherit the mountain of Esau, which is at the southern boundary; and the people of the plain shall inherit the land of the Philistines and Mt. Ephraim and Mt. Shomeron.
and Benjamin with [the inhabitants of] Gilead And the children of Manasseh, whose territory was the land of Gilead, shall spread beyond the borders of Eretz Israel on the east.
