Bible study course
An advanced, collegiate, two-lesson academic study of the Book of Obadiah, examining the shortest book of the Hebrew Bible, the geographic invulnerability of Mount Seir and Sela (Petra), the anatomy of spiritual pride dwelling in the clefts of the rock, the total plundering of Esau hidden treasures, the betrayal of covenant allies, the fraternal treachery of Edom during the fall of Jerusalem, the eightfold prohibition against gloating and looting, the talionic justice of the Day of the Lord upon all nations, the holy mountain of Zion as a sanctuary of deliverance, and the climactic eschatological promise that the kingdom shall be Yahweh.
An academic exegesis of Obadiah 1:1 to 9, analyzing the shortest book in the Hebrew canon, the identity and sixth-century BC exilic horizon of Obadiah, the historic rivalry between Jacob and Esau, the geographic fortresses of Mount Seir and the rock-cut city of Sela (Petra), the psychological dissection of human pride dwelling in the clefts of the rock (be-chagve sela), and Yahweh sovereign decree to bring down the soaring eagle.
An advanced collegiate capstone exegesis of Obadiah 1:10 to 21, deconstructing the moral betrayal of Edom during the fall of Jerusalem, the eightfold prohibition ("Do not gloat, do not rejoice, do not boast, do not loot"), the talionic law of the Day of the Lord upon all nations ("As you have done, it shall be done to you"), the holy mountain of Zion as a place of deliverance, the fire of the house of Jacob consuming the stubble of Esau, and the climactic canonical doxology: "And the kingdom shall be Yahweh."