Obadiah, book of

The shortest book in the Old Testament. Not much is known about the prophet Obadiah or when the book was written. The twenty-one verses in Obadiah are about the nation of Edom—descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. Their country was south of the Dead Sea. Even though the people of Edom and the people of Israel were distant relatives, they were usually enemies. The Edomites sometimes fought with the Philistines against the Israelites. Obadiah predicted that the people of Edom would be punished by God for being proud and for joining other nations in trying to destroy God’s people.