In 1 Kings chapter 18 the prophet Elijah, King Ahab, and his administrator the prophet Obadiah all meet up to sort out a famine in Samaria.
Obadiah was an Edomite who converted to Judaism. He was a descendant of Eliphaz who appears in the book of Job. Obadiah became a servant to King Ahab and his wife Queen Jezebel from Sidon who reigned in 869-850 BC. Obadiah hid a hundred prophets from Jezebel so that they would not be killed. He was wealthy and used his money to fund poor prophets. He himself was also given a prophecy against Edom.
The Philistines and Arabs invaded Jerusalem in 853-841 BC. The prophecy may have arisen from this invasion coming from Edom.
The Edomites are descended from Esau. He was Jacob’s twin brother. They were the sons of Isaac and Rebecca. Genesis 25:26 recounts how Esau was born before Jacob although Jacob was grasping Esau’s heel. Jacob later takes Esau’s birthright by trickery.
Edom later became known as Idumea, and today is part of Jordan.
Christian - Bible - Catholic belief reassessment website. How does Catholic belief relate to the Bible? An even-handed approach by the author who has been a Catholic as long as she has been an Evangelical.
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