Editing Book of Obadiah (section)

===Dating Obadiah===
The date of composition is disputed and is difficult to determine due to the lack of personal information about Obadiah, his family, and his historical milieu: the date must therefore be determined based on the prophecy itself. Edom is to be destroyed due to its lack of defense for its brother nation, Israel, when it was under attack. There are two major historical contexts within which the Edomites could have committed such an act. These are during 853–841 BCE when [[Jerusalem]] was invaded by Philistines and Arabs during the reign of [[Jehoram of Judah]] (recorded in [[Books of Kings|2 Kings]] {{bibleverse-nb|2 Kings|8:20–22|KJV}} and [[Books of Chronicles|2 Chronicles]] {{bibleverse-nb|2 Chronicles|21:8–20|KJV}} in the Christian [[Old Testament]]) and 607–586 BCE when [[Jerusalem]] was attacked by [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] of [[Babylon]], which led to the Babylonian exile of [[Israel]] (recorded in [[Psalm 137]]). The earlier period would place Obadiah as a contemporary of the prophet [[Elijah]].

The later date would place Obadiah as a contemporary of the prophet [[Jeremiah]]. A sixth-century date for Obadiah is a "near consensus" position among scholars.<ref name="Dykehouse2008">{{cite book|author=Jason C. Dykehouse|title=An Historical Reconstruction of Edomite Treaty Betrayal in the Sixth Century B.C.E. Based on Biblical, Epigraphic, and Archaeological Data|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YBOXDwRPK7sC&pg=PA11|year=2008|isbn=978-0-549-59500-7|page=11}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> {{bibleverse|Obadiah|1-9|KJV}} contains parallels to the [[Book of Jeremiah]] {{bibleverse-nb|Jeremiah|49:7-22|KJV}}. The passage in the Book of Jeremiah dates from the fourth year of the reign of [[Jehoiakim]] (604 BCE), and therefore {{bibleverse|Obadiah|11-14|KJV}} seems to refer to the destruction of [[Jerusalem]] by [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] (586 BCE). It is more likely that Obadiah and the Book of Jeremiah together were drawing on a common source presently unknown to us rather than Jeremiah drawing on previous writings of Obadiah as his source.<ref name="Zvi1996">{{cite book|author=[[Ehud Ben Zvi]]|title=A Historical-Critical Study of the Book of Obadiah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-VIjAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104|date=1 January 1996|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-080963-3|pages=104–106}}</ref> There is also much material found in {{bibleverse|Obadiah|10-21|KJV}} which Jeremiah does not quote, and which, had he had it laid out before him, would have suited his purpose admirably.