The Book Of Obadiah Trivia Quiz

Answer: Servant of Jehovah

Many of the Biblical prophets had names that reflected their relationship with Jehovah, the Hebrew God. Other examples include Isaiah (Jehovah is salvation), Jeremiah (Jehovah will exalt) and Zechariah (Jehovah remembers).

Answer: Shortest book in the Old Testament

The Book of Obadiah consists of a single chapter, with a mere 21 verses. By contrast, the longest book of the Bible, Psalms, has 150 chapters comprising a total of 2,526 verses.

Answer: Minor Prophet

The Christian Bible includes books credited to twelve so-called "minor prophets": Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Their books tend to be shorter than those of the four "major prophets", who are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

Answer: Just south of the Dead Sea

Obadiah Verse 1 (King James Version) includes the words "Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom."

Historically, Edom was a kingdom located just south of the Dead Sea, in what is now parts of Israel and Jordan. It did not reach as far as the eastern Mediterranean coast, which was inhabited by the Philistines and Israelis. In historical terms, it is believed to have existed between around 13BC and 6BC, when it was destroyed by the Babylonians.

Answer: Esau

The Book of Genesis explains that Jacob and Esau were the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca, although Esau was the elder of the two by a matter of seconds and thus should have been his father's heir. However, Esau famously gave away his "birthright" (i.e. the right to be recognised as Isaac's heir) to his younger brother in exchange for a bowl of soup when he was hungry. Jacob then cheated Isaac into giving him his blessing.

The Biblical take on this story (perhaps surprisingly) makes Jacob the hero, Esau being seen as feckless for giving away his birthright so readily. The descendants of Esau eventually settled in the land known as Edom, and became the enemies of the Israelites, who were descended from Jacob.

Answer: Pride

Verse 3 of Obadiah (King James Version) begins with the words "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee". Other Biblical references to the Edomites suggest that they had quite a high opinion of themselves.

Answer: Eagle

In the words of the King James Version, verse 4 of Obadiah states "Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord". This can be compared to another Biblical verse, Proverbs 16:18, which declares: "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall".

Answer: Not coming to the aid of Israel and its people

The specific accusation which Obadiah directs at the Edomites is that they failed to come to the aid of Israel when it was being attacked by its enemies. This is believed to refer to the sacking of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC, as described elsewhere in the Second Book of Kings, although other similar attacks are also possible. What is not in doubt is the fact that God intends to punish the Edomites for not helping out the Israelites - especially since they both trace their ancestry back to Isaac.

Answer: Stubble

The metaphor seems to imply that the Lord will ensure that the flames of the house of Jacob and Joseph will burn that of Esau to the ground, leaving nothing but bare stubble behind. The House of Jacob (and those of his 12 sons, including Joseph) were blessed by God, and formed the basis of the historic Kingdom of Israel.

Answer: zion

The final words of Obadiah in the King James Version are "And the kingdom shall be the Lord's", making clear Obadiah's prophecy that lesser kingdoms like that of the Edomites will all be vanquished in the end. While the Book of Obadiah is mostly directed at the fate of Edom, for failing to come to the aid of God's chosen people of Israel, commentators usually interpret the concluding verses as referring to the other non-Israeli nations as well.