Obadiah 1:17
in Obadiah 1But on Mount Zion there will be deliverance, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will reclaim their possession.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But in mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
KJV
But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
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This verse in Obadiah 1
Commentary
10 notes on this verseIn mount Zion, there will be salvation, and it will be holy and possess the house of Jacob, those who possess it. And the house of Jacob will be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau straw. They will set them on fire and consume them, and there will be no survivors in the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken. The Septuagint version: In mount Zion there will be salvation, and it will be holy, and possess the house of Jacob, those who possess it.
This site's exposition
Mount Zion there will be deliverance
on Obadiah 1:17-18
Against Edom's ruin the oracle sets Zion's deliverance and holiness, while "the house of Jacob will reclaim their possession". Verse 18 names Judah and the Joseph tribes "a blazing fire" against Esau as "stubble". The end is stated without remainder, "no survivor will remain from the house of Esau".
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
for the prophet shortly afterwards says: But on Mount Zion there shall be salvation.
"On Mount Zion there will be salvation, and there will be holiness." For God is saying through the prophet, "I will bring them back from their captivity, and I will rebuild the sacred temple." And there is Obadiah, who prophesies the cause of salvation to …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Zion - Literally this refers to the Jews: typically to the gospel- church. Deliverance - A remnant that shall be delivered by Cyrus, a type of Israel's redemption by Christ.
But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
But (And) upon (in) Mount Zion, shall be deliverance, or, an escaped remnant, and there (and it) shall be holiness - The sifting times of the Church are the triumph of the world; the judgment of the world is the restoration of the Church. In the triumph of the world, the lot was cast on Jerusalem, her sons were carried captive and slain, her holy places were desecrated.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
THIS is a remarkable passage. Its wording is singular. It begins with a, "but," because the previous verses have been denouncing judgments upon Edom. When God comes forth to punish His enemies He also comes forth to bless His friends. When Pharaoh is overthrown in the Red Sea, it is that Israel may pass onward to Canaan. When Amalek is overcome, it is that Israel may be at peace. There is a black cloud as well as the silvery rain. The acceptable year of the Lord is the day of vengeance of our God.
THIS is a remarkable passage. Its wording is singular. It begins with a, "but," because the previous verses have been denouncing judgments upon Edom. When God comes forth to punish His enemies He also comes forth to bless His friends. When Pharaoh is overthrown in the Red Sea, it is that Israel may pass onward to Canaan. When Amalek is overcome, it is that Israel may be at peace. There is a black cloud as well as the silvery rain. The acceptable year of the Lord is the day of vengeance of our God. This combination so constantly occurs that the Psalmist said, "I will sing of mercy and judgment." The sword of vengeance is displayed at the same time as the scepter of Divine Grace. In that Last Great Day—that coming of the Lord which is the joy and expectation of His people—there will be confusion to His adversaries. To the ungodly, "the day of the Lord will be darkness and not light." When He comes forth there will as surely be a curse to the left hand as a blessing to the right—and both will be everlasting. Hell is as deep as Heaven is high, for God, who delights in mercy, also hates iniquity and will put away the wicked of the earth like dross. God grant to you and to me that we may know on which side we stand and may be found in Christ, wearing His righteousness and accepted in the Beloved so that whenever the Lord comes forth with plagues for His adversaries, He may have favor towards us. When, in the words of verse 16, His foes, "shall be as though they had not been," may the full force of the present text be revealed in our case—"But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions." I have no doubt that this promise has been fulfilled already and that there was a time when the house of Israel, restored from captivity, came back to Zion and Edom was utterly consumed.
But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance - Here is a promise of the return from the Babylonish captivity. They shall come to Zion, and there they shall find safety; and it is remarkable that after their return they were greatly befriended by the Persian kings, and by Alexander the Great and his successors; so that, whilst they ravaged the neighboring nations, the Jews were unmolested. See Calmet. And there shall be holiness - They shall return to God, separate themselves from their idols, and become a better people than they were when God permitted them to be carried into captivity. The house of Jacob shall possess - They were restored to their former possessions. But this may refer also to their future restoration under the Gospel, when they shall be truly converted, and become holiness to the Lord; for salvation and holiness shall be the characteristics of Zion - the Christian Church, for ever.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְהַ֥ר | uvehar | and on [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| צִיּ֛וֹן | tziyon | Zion | H6726 → | |
| תִּהְיֶ֥ה | tihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| פְלֵיטָ֖ה | feleitah | deliverance | H6413 → | |
| וְהָ֣יָה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| קֹ֑דֶשׁ | kodesh | a holy place | H6944 → | |
| וְיָֽרְשׁוּ֙ | veyareshu | and they will take possession of | H3423 → | 231 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מוֹרָֽשֵׁיהֶם׃ | morasheihem | possessions their | H4180 → |
וּבְהַ֥רand on [the] mountain of
uveharH2022 →546 times
צִיּ֛וֹןZion
tziyonH6726 →
תִּהְיֶ֥הit will be
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
פְלֵיטָ֖הdeliverance
feleitahH6413 →
וְהָ֣יָהand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
קֹ֑דֶשׁa holy place
kodeshH6944 →
וְיָֽרְשׁוּ֙and they will take possession of
veyareshuH3423 →231 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house
beitH1004 →2046 times
יַֽעֲקֹ֔בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
מוֹרָֽשֵׁיהֶם׃possessions their
morasheihemH4180 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 21:27But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:14–15
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.
- Isaiah 52:1
Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.
- Revelation 20:15
And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Revelation 3:5
Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His…
- Isaiah 35:8
And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
- Revelation 22:14–15
Through
Amos 9:8Surely the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” declares…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 30:11
For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will…
- Amos 9:4
Though they are driven by their enemies into captivity, there I will command the sword to slay them. I will fix My eyes upon them for harm and not for good.”
- Jeremiah 44:27
I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are…
- Jeremiah 30:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Obadiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2136: “Possessing Possessions” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 5; Jerome, Commentary on Obadiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON OBADIAH.