Obadiah 1:9
in Obadiah 1Then your mighty men, O Teman, will be terrified, so that everyone in the mountains of Esau will be cut down in the slaughter.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one may be cut off from the mount of Esau by slaughter.
KJV
And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
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This verse in Obadiah 1
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed,.... Teman was one part of the country of Edom, so called from Teman, a son of Eliphaz, and grandson of Esau, Gen 36:11; and which it seems had been famous for men of might and courage: it abounded with brave officers, and courageous soldiers, who should now be quite dispirited, and have no heart to go out against the enemy; and, instead of defending their country, should throw away their arms, and run away in a fright.
This site's exposition
destroy the wise men of Edom
on Obadiah 1:8-9
Edom was known for wisdom: Jeremiah 49:7 asks whether wisdom is gone from Teman. The threat to "destroy the wise men of Edom and the men of understanding in the mountains of Esau" strikes the nation's proudest claim. Teman stands for the whole in verse 9, its "mighty men" terrified.
This site's exposition
your mighty men, O Teman
Teman was a district of Edom named for a grandson of Esau at Genesis 36:11, and here it stands for the whole country. John Gill notes that it was known for brave soldiers. The terror falls on the men Edom counted on.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 8, 9.) Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, destroy the wise out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? And thy mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. Septuagint: In that day, saith the Lord, I will destroy the wise out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau. And thy mighty men, O Theman, shall be afraid, that every one from the mount of Esau may be cut off by destruction.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Many things, no doubt, were amiss in Edom; they were a sinful people, and a people laden with iniquity. But that one single crime which is laid to their charge, as filling their measure and bringing this ruin upon them, that for which they here stand indicted, of which they are convicted, and for which they are condemned, is the injury they had done to the people of God (
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The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And thy mighty, O Teman, shall be dismayed - The pagan, more religiously than we, ascribed panic to the immediate action of one of their gods, or to Nature deified, Pan, i. e., the Universe: wrong as to the being whom they “ignorantly worshiped;” right, in ascribing it to what they thought a divine agency. Holy Scripture at times discovers the hidden agency, that we may acknowledge God’s Hand in those terrors which we cannot account for.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate connect these words with Ob 10, "for the slaughter, for the violence (of which thou art guilty) against thy brother Jacob." English Version, "cut off by slaughter" (that is, an utter cutting off), answers well to "cut off for ever" (Ob 10). However, the arrangement of the Septuagint gives a better parallelism in Ob 10.
Thy mighty men, O Teman - This was one of the strongest places in Idumea; and is put here, as in Amo 1:2, and elsewhere, for Idumea itself. Mount of Esau - Mount Seir.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Because of the violence of your brother Jacob —Because of the violence you inflicted upon Jacob.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְחַתּ֥וּ | vechatu | and they will be dismayed | H2865 → | |
| גִבּוֹרֶ֖יךָ | giboreikha | warriors your | H1368 → | |
| תֵּימָ֑ן | teiman | O Teman | H8487 → | |
| לְמַ֧עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | |
| יִכָּֽרֶת־ | yikaret- | he may be cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| אִ֛ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | |
| מֵהַ֥ר | mehar | from [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| עֵשָׂ֖ו | ʾesav | Esau | H6215 → | 97 times |
| מִקָּֽטֶל׃ | mikatel | from slaughter | H6993 → |
וְחַתּ֥וּand they will be dismayed
vechatuH2865 →
גִבּוֹרֶ֖יךָwarriors your
giboreikhaH1368 →
תֵּימָ֑ןO Teman
teimanH8487 →
לְמַ֧עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →
יִכָּֽרֶת־he may be cut off
yikaret-H3772 →288 times
אִ֛ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →
מֵהַ֥רfrom [the] mountain of
meharH2022 →546 times
עֵשָׂ֖וEsau
ʾesavH6215 →97 times
מִקָּֽטֶל׃from slaughter
mikatelH6993 →
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
Jeremiah 49:22Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 48:40–41
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
- Hosea 8:1
Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
- Isaiah 13:8
Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.
- Jeremiah 48:40–41
Through
Amos 1:12So I will send fire upon Teman to consume the citadels of Bozrah.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 49:7
Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?
- Obadiah 1:9–10
Then your mighty men, O Teman, will be terrified, so that everyone in the mountains of Esau will be cut down in the slaughter.
- Jeremiah 49:7
Through
Ezekiel 25:13therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast. I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman…
it leads to
- Malachi 1:3–4
but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
- Ezekiel 29:8
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast.
- Jeremiah 25:23
Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair;
- Malachi 1:3–4
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Obadiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.