Obadiah 1:7

7 Till to the terms they sent out thee; and all men of thy covenant of peace scorned, either deceived, thee, men of thy peace waxed strong against thee; they that shall eat with thee, shall set ambush, either treasons, under thee; (and they shall say,) there is no prudence (left) in him. (And they sent thee out unto thy borders; and all thy allies mocked, or deceived, thee, yea, men at peace with thee grew strong against thee; those who ate with thee, set ambush for thee; and they said, There is no wisdom left in him.)

Obadiah 1:7 Meaning and Commentary

Obadiah 1:7

All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee [even] to the
border
Or of "thy covenant" F18; that are in league with thee; thine allies, even all of them, prove treacherous to thee, in whom thou trustedst; when they sent their ambassadors to them, they received them kindly, promised great things to them, dismissed them honourably, accompanied them to the borders of their country, but never stood to their engagements: or those allies came and joined their forces with the Edomites, and went out with them to meet the enemy, as if they would fight with them, and them; but when they came to the border of the land they left them, and departed into their own country; or went over to the enemy; or these confederates were the instruments of expelling them out of their own land, and sending them to the border of it, and carrying them captive; or they followed them to the border of the land, when they were carried captive, as if they lamented their case, when they were assisting to the enemy, as Kimchi; so deceitful were they. The Targum is to the same purpose,

``from the border all thy confederates carried thee captive F19:''
the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, [and]
prevailed against thee;
outwitted them in their treaties of peace, and got the advantage of them; or they proved treacherous to them, and joined the enemy against them; or they persuaded them to declare themselves enemies to the Chaldeans, which proved their ruin; and so they prevailed against them: [they that eat] thy bread:
so the Targum and Kimchi supply it; or it may be supplied from the preceding clause, "the men of thy bread"; who received subsidies from them, were maintained by them, and quartered among them: have laid a wound under thee;
instead of supporting them, secretly did that which was wounding to them. The word signifies both a wound and a plaster; they pretended to lay a plaster to heal, but made a wound; or made the wound worse. The Targum is,
``they laid a stumbling block under thee;''
at which they stumbled and fell: or snares, as the Vulgate Latin version, whereby they brought them to ruin: [there is] none understanding in him;
in Esau, or the Edomites; they were so stupid, that they could not see into the designs of their pretended friends, and prevent the execution of them, and their ill effects.
FOOTNOTES:

F18 (Ktyrb yvna) "viri foederis tui", V. L. Montanus, Vatablus, Burkius.
F19 So R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 51. 2. and 52. 1.

Obadiah 1:7 In-Context

5 If night thieves had entered to thee, if outlaws by night, how shouldest thou have been still? whether they should not have stolen things enough to them? If gatherers of grapes had entered to thee, whether they should have left namely raisins, or clusters, to thee? (If night thieves come in upon thee, yea, outlaws by night, do they not steal only what they want for themselves? And if gatherers of grapes come in upon thee, do they not at least leave the raisins, or the clusters, for thee? But thy enemies have left thee with nothing!)
6 How sought they Esau, searched the hid things of him? (Yea, how they sought out Esau, and searched for all his hidden treasures, or all his riches!)
7 Till to the terms they sent out thee; and all men of thy covenant of peace scorned, either deceived, thee, men of thy peace waxed strong against thee; they that shall eat with thee, shall set ambush, either treasons, under thee; (and they shall say,) there is no prudence (left) in him. (And they sent thee out unto thy borders; and all thy allies mocked, or deceived, thee, yea, men at peace with thee grew strong against thee; those who ate with thee, set ambush for thee; and they said, There is no wisdom left in him.)
8 Whether not in that day, saith the Lord, I shall lose the wise men of Idumea, and prudence (out) of the mount of Esau? (On that day, saith the Lord, I shall destroy the wise men of Edom, and leave no wisdom on the mount of Esau!)
9 And thy strong men shall dread of midday, either south, that a man of the hill of Esau perish. (And thy strong men, O Teman, shall have fear, and everyone on the mount of Esau shall perish.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.