Chapter 1
This book is inserted after 2Chron23, which is after a quick succession of Kings (and a Queen) in Judah. Jehoshaphat, a very good King dies, and his son Jehoram goes far the other way, and is followed by Ahaziah who is at least as bad, and then Ahaziah's Mother takes over when Ahaziah dies. Jehoiada the priest steps up and declares Joash King in Chapter 23. Joash, with Jehoiada, returns the people to God and destroys Baal worship in Jerusalem. Ahab has just died in Israel, and his son Ahaziah becomes King, but only for two years. This is in the last chapter of 1Kings(22). So both Israel and Judah had Kings named Ahaziah, and at about the same time. In my chronological reading, Obadiah comes right in here. My guess is that it is right about in here that one of the Kings of Judah or Israel is going to wipe out Edom.
(10/6/23 - I am reading in Psalms and got to 82. The Chronological Bible puts 82,83 right after Obadiah. I found some information online that says Obadiah could have been writing about 900 BC - which is where the Chronological Bible places it - or nearer 586 BC. The thing is, I have all these Psalms of Asaph written about a horrible time in the history of Israel...but they don't ALL fit into 586 BC...in my opinion. I had not considered this time in about 900 BC though, and the little one paragraph summary above, as a candidate time for the Psalms of Asaph. Perhaps it works much better than anything else I've found, and I need to do some review with that in mind. Copying both of these paragraphs to the beginning of Book 3, and the Psalms of Asaph.)
MSB book notes say Obadiah was likely concurrent with Elijah and Elisha - but we really are not certain. The book is about Edom's attack on Jerusalem in vvs 10-14. There were four significant invasions of Jerusalem in OT history.
1) by Shishak, king of Egypt, ca 925 BC during the reign of Rehoboam.
2) by the Philistines and Arabians between 848-841 BC during the reign of Jehoram of Judah
3) by Jehoash, king of Israel, ca 790 BC
4) by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
MSB says only 2 or 4 fit with the historical data. Several reasons are given in the MSB notes to favor 2 as the one Obadiah is writing about. Of particular note is that Obadiah does not mention Babylon by name, as other prophets did, does not mention destruction of the Temple, and does not mention that the people were carried away as slaves. So this more or less explains why it appears here in the chronological Bible. The story of the invasion by the Arabians was in a recent chapter, already covered.
2023 - A number of Bible books are dated by what they DO NOT say, rather than what they do say. In the NT, if 70 AD is not mentioned, it must have been written before that...except that Revelation does not mention 70 AD either. Here, Obadiah must not be talking about Babylon because he doesn't mention them. I would say this is a low confidence method. I think it is used only when there is nothing else, and we ought to keep a very open mind about this kind of dating being wrong.
2021- Perhaps this is the list to look at when determining what fall of Jerusalem Asaph is talking about in earlier Psalms tagged Jerusalem Falls!
The book opens with "The vision of Obadiah." The title says it is about Edom being humbled. First place that is apparent is vs 3, where it says it is to those who live in the cleft of the rocks, are very proud, and who think they cannot be brought down from their lofty places. Cleft of the Rocks can also be translated Sela. (((Found this on the "Bible Study Tools" site. )))
Sela[N] [H]
=Se'lah, rock, the capital of Edom, situated in the great valley extending from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea ( 2 Kings 14:7 ). It was near Mount Hor, close by the desert of Zin. It is called "the rock" ( Judges 1:36 ). When Amaziah took it he called it Joktheel (q.v.) It is mentioned by the prophets ( Isaiah 16:1 ; Obadiah 1:3 ) as doomed to destruction.
It appears in later history and in the Vulgate Version under the name of Petra. "The caravans from all ages, from the interior of Arabia and from the Gulf of Persia, from Hadramaut on the ocean, and even from Sabea or Yemen, appear to have pointed to Petra as a common centre; and from Petra the tide seems again to have branched out in every direction, to Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, through Arsinoe, Gaza, Tyre, Jerusalem, and Damascus, and by other routes, terminating at the Mediterranean." (See EDOM [2].) Not really any doubt that this is about Edom. This is Petra, so when it talks about them thinking they are unassailable, think Petra.)))
Second stanza seems to imply that Edom has been undermined by those who behave as if they are friends, and Edom is just too proud, too blind to see what is coming.
The next is a two verse stanza where God is speaking and He says he will cut off by slaughter every man from Mt. Esau. Every man. This implies that it will cease to exist as a nation. In vs 9, Edom is also referred to as Teman. I wonder if this is the same as "...from Teman and Paran"? Edom is Esau, who scorned his birthright. The Bible said some really nasty things about him back in Genesis I believe it was. After x hundreds of years, Esau's end is finally coming to pass. It is interesting that Esau started all this, but the text makes it clear that the current inhabitants of Edom are deserving also of what is to come. I also believe that Edom will come back at the end, it will be inhabited in the Millennial. I believe there are prophecies to this effect, but I also remember that Isaac blessed both Jacob, and then Esau as best he could. I believe God will ultimately honor that blessing.
The next stanza is titled "Edom's Violence against Jacob". This recounts all the times through history that Esau himself, and then his descendants, failed to support his brother Jacob, or by reference Jerusalem. Edom has stood by when Jerusalem was attacked and looted, and when the people of Jerusalem fled, Edom stopped them on the road so that their enemies could enslave them. Edom kept them from escaping. Though Edom did not participate directly, they played the part of an enemy. MSB goes still further. Says Edom later was called Idumea, and King Herod, who judged Jesus, was an Idumean. It was when Jerusalem fell in 586 BC that Edom rejoiced in her downfall, and turned back those fleeing from her. Again per MSB, the Idumeans fought with the Jews in Jerusalem in 70 AD against Titus.
2022 - This verse:
"On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them." [Oba 1:11 ESV]
This is a pretty specific description. It must be this verse that generated the list of 4 invasions above, the only four where foreign conquerors actually entered the city of Jerusalem. Casting lots would seem to indicate that an alliance did this, rather than one nation. It is a puzzle...but this is the clue.
The next stanza talks about the day of the Lord coming. All nations will be judged. Justice will be done at last. In this day, Mt. Zion shall stand be a fire and a flame. But in vs 18, "...there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau...".
Last stanza: Prophesies of things to come. About who will be where. Could probably spend another hour on these 3 long verses.