Old Testament Essays (Jan 2023)
Edom and Babylon: Archetypal Enemies of God and His People.
Abstract
The similarities between Obadiah and Jer 49:7–22 are well-known and discussed thoroughly in scholarly literature. The thematic and linguistic links associating Edom and Babylon are equally well known and treated, particularly in H.G.M Williamson’s The Book Called Isaiah: Deutero-Isaiah’s Role in Composition and Redaction. However, Edom, as depicted in Obadiah, is seldom mentioned or compared with Babylon in Isa 13–14. Through similarities in motif, linguistics and thematic development, Obadiah intentionally differs from Jer 49:7–22 to cast Edom as a type of Babylon as seen in Isa 13:2–14:23. Thus, Obadiah should not be viewed merely as a variation of Jer 49 but rather as an oracle against Edom in Isaianic style. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2022/v35n3a7
