The Meaning of Obadiah 1:18 Explained

Obadiah 1:18

KJV: And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.

YLT: And the house of Jacob hath been a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame, And the house of Esau for stubble, And they have burned among them, And they have consumed them, And there is not a remnant to the house of Esau, For Jehovah hath spoken.

Darby: And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble; and they shall kindle in them and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau: for Jehovah hath spoken it.

ASV: And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall burn among them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining to the house of Esau; for Jehovah hath spoken it.

Discover Obadiah 1:18

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Obadiah 1:18?

MEANING: What does Obadiah 1:18 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Obadiah 1:18 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Obadiah 1:18?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the house  of Jacob  shall be a fire,  and the house  of Joseph  a flame,  and the house  of Esau  for stubble,  and they shall kindle  in them, and devour  them; and there shall not be [any] remaining  of the house  of Esau;  for the LORD  hath spoken  [it]. 

What does Obadiah 1:18 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Israelites would then consume the Edomites, as a fire burns up stubble (cf. Exodus 15:7; Isaiah 10:17; Joel 2:5; Zechariah 12:6; Malachi 4:1; Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17). Fire is often a tool of divine judgment in Scripture (cf. Deuteronomy 28:24; Deuteronomy 32:22). There would be no Edomites left (cf. Deuteronomy 32:8-9; Numbers 24:18; Isaiah 11:13-14; Ezekiel 25:13-14; Amos 9:12), though Israelites would escape from Jerusalem ( Obadiah 1:17).
"Obadiah distinctly mentions the house of Joseph, i.e. of the ten tribes, in this passage and in this alone, for the purpose of guarding against the idea that the ten tribes are to be shut out from the future salvation." [1]
The house of Jacob, in contrast, refers to the Southern Kingdom. This prediction will find ultimate fulfillment during the judgment of the nations after the Second Coming and before the messianic rule of Christ in the Millennium begins. Yahweh again guaranteed the accuracy of this prophecy with His own word (cf. Amos 9:4; Amos 9:8).
"Some passages, like Obadiah 1:18, speak of a military participation by Israel in the judgment of the nations just prior to the Millennium ( Zechariah 12:1-9; Malachi 4:3 3:21]), while others depict the Lord carrying out the judgment on behalf of His people ( Joel 3:12 [2]; Zechariah 14:3-5; cf. Matthew 25:31-46). It is difficult to reconstruct the precise order of events. In any case much of the material is evidently not strictly chronological." [3]
The Edomites" fortunes ebbed and flowed for centuries following Obadiah"s prophecy. The Herods, including Herod the Great ( Matthew 2:1-17), Herod Antipas ( Luke 13:31-32; Luke 23:7-12), and Herod Agrippa I ( Acts 12:1-11; Acts 12:23) were all of Edomite descent. But in the second century B.C. the Jews and other enemies virtually consumed the Edomites. It was then that the Edomites lost their national identity and autonomy, which they never regained. So the final destruction of the nation of Edom by Israel took place long before the eschaton.
". . . one could speak of a partial fulfillment of Obadiah"s oracles when the Maccabeans and Hasmoneans reclaimed these areas for Israel." [4]
This took place in the second century B.C. However, Obadiah spoke of the nations as well as Edom. He foresaw the destruction of all Gentile powers that dominated the Israelites. Had the Jews accepted Jesus Christ as their Messiah, He would have begun to rule shortly after His crucifixion and resurrection. Since they rejected Him, the final judgment of the nations that the prophets predicted is still future.

Chapter Summary: Obadiah 1

1  The destruction of Edom,
3  for their pride,
10  and for their wrong unto Jacob
17  The salvation and victory of Jacob

What do the individual words in Obadiah 1:18 mean?

And shall be the house of Jacob a fire and the house of Joseph a flame but the house of Esau [shall be] stubble and they shall kindle them and devour them and no shall [remain] survivor of the house of Esau for Yahweh has spoken
וְהָיָה֩ בֵית־ יַעֲקֹ֨ב אֵ֜שׁ וּבֵ֧ית יוֹסֵ֣ף לֶהָבָ֗ה וּבֵ֤ית עֵשָׂו֙ לְקַ֔שׁ וְדָלְק֥וּ בָהֶ֖ם וַאֲכָל֑וּם וְלֹֽא־ יִֽהְיֶ֤ה שָׂרִיד֙ לְבֵ֣ית עֵשָׂ֔ו כִּ֥י יְהוָ֖ה דִּבֵּֽר

וְהָיָה֩  And  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בֵית־  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יַעֲקֹ֨ב  of  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
אֵ֜שׁ  a  fire 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.
וּבֵ֧ית  and  the  house 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יוֹסֵ֣ף  of  Joseph 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄוסֵף  
Sense: the eldest son of Jacob by Rachel.
לֶהָבָ֗ה  a  flame 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: לֶהָבָה  
Sense: flame.
וּבֵ֤ית  but  the  house 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
עֵשָׂו֙  of  Esau 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵשָׂו  
Sense: eldest son of Isaac and Rebecca and twin brother of Jacob; sold the birthright for food when he was hungry and the divine blessing went to Jacob; progenitor of the Arab peoples.
לְקַ֔שׁ  [shall  be]  stubble 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קַשׁ  
Sense: stubble, chaff.
וְדָלְק֥וּ  and  they  shall  kindle 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: דָּלַק  
Sense: to burn, hotly pursue.
וַאֲכָל֑וּם  and  devour  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural, third person masculine plural
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
וְלֹֽא־  and  no 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יִֽהְיֶ֤ה  shall  [remain] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
שָׂרִיד֙  survivor 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׂרִיד  
Sense: survivor, remnant, that which is left.
לְבֵ֣ית  of  the  house 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
עֵשָׂ֔ו  of  Esau 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵשָׂו  
Sense: eldest son of Isaac and Rebecca and twin brother of Jacob; sold the birthright for food when he was hungry and the divine blessing went to Jacob; progenitor of the Arab peoples.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
דִּבֵּֽר  has  spoken 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.

What are the major concepts related to Obadiah 1:18?

Loading Information...

Similar Scriptures for Obadiah 1:18

Zechariah 12:6 [7]
Isaiah 10:17 [4]
Micah 5:8 [3]
Isaiah 5:24 [3]
Isaiah 31:9 [2]
Nahum 1:10 [2]
Isaiah 47:14 [2]
Ezekiel 37:16 [2]
Psalms 83:6-15 [2]
2 Samuel 19:20 [2]
1 Corinthians 3:12 [2]
read more (6)
Amos 5:15 [2]
Obadiah 1:9-10 [2]
Amos 6:6 [2]
Joel 2:5 [2]
Ezekiel 37:19 [2]
Obadiah 1:16 [2]
read less