There is no word of restoration. Moab and Ammon and Elam might revive and flourish again, but for Esau, as of old, there should be no place of repentance. For Edom, in the days of the Captivity, trespassed upon the inheritance of Israel more grievously than Ammon and Moab upon Reuben and Gad. The Edomites possessed themselves of the rich pastures of the south of Judah, and the land was thenceforth called Idumea. Thus they earned the undying hatred of the Jews, in whose mouths Edom became a curse and a reproach, a term of opprobrium. Like Babylon, Edom was used as a secret name for Rome, and later on for the Christian Church. Nevertheless, even in this prophecy, there is a hint that these predictions of utter ruin must not be taken too literally:-- "For, behold, I will make thee small among the nations, Despised among men" (15). These words are scarcely consistent with the other verses, which imply that, as a people, Edom would utterly perish from off the face of the earth. As a matter of fact, Edom flourished in her new territory till the time of the Maccabees, and when the Messiah came to establish the Kingdom of God, instead of "saviours standing on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau,"[235] an Edomite dynasty was reigning in Jerusalem. FOOTNOTES: [227] Cf. the designation of Caleb "ben Jephunneh the Kenizzite," Num. xxxii. 12, etc., with the genealogies which trace the descent of Kenaz to Esau, Gen. xxxvi. 11, etc. Cf. also _Expositor's Bible, Chronicles_. [228] Cf. 1 Kings xxii. 47 with 2 Kings viii. 20. [229] Obadiah 11-15. The difference between A.V. and R.V. is more apparent than real. The prohibition which R.V. gives must have been based on experience. The short prophecy of Obadiah has very much in common with this section of Jeremiah: Obad. 1-6, 8, are almost identical with Jer. xlix. 14-16, 9, 10_a_, 7. The relation of the two passages is a matter of controversy, but probably both use a common original. Cf. Driver's _Introduction_ on Obadiah. [230] Lit. "thy terror," _i.e._ the terror inspired by thy fate. A.V., R.V., "thy terribleness," suggests that Edom trusted in the terror felt for him by his enemies, but we can scarcely suppose that even the fiercest highlanders expected Nebuchadnezzar to be terrified at them. [231] Obad. 4: "Though thou set thy nest among the stars." [232] _Hist. Nat._, vi. 28. Orelli. [233] xxxiv. 1. [234] Verse 20. [235] Obadiah 21. CHAPTER XXII _DAMASCUS_ xlix. 23-27. "I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Benhadad."--JER. xlix. 27.