Obadiah 1:7

“All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee [even] to the border, etc.] Or of “thy covenant” f17; 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…”

“Men of thy confederacy--that is, thy confederates. brought thee . . . to the border--that is, when Idumean ambassadors shall go to confederate states seeking aid, these latter shall conduct them with due ceremony to their border, giving them empty compliments, but not the aid required [DRUSIUS]. This view agrees with the context, which speaks of false friends deceiving Edom: that is, failing to give help in need (compare ). CALVIN translates, "have driven," that is, shall drive thee; shall help to drive thee to thy border on thy way into captivity in foreign lands. the men that were at peace with thee--literally, "the men of thy peace." Compare ; , Margin, where also the same formula occurs,…”

“All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border - Destruction is more bitter, when friends aid in it. Edom had all along with unnatural hatred persecuted his brother, Jacob. So, in God’s just judgment, its friends should be among its destroyers. Those confederates were probably Moab and Ammon, Tyre and Zidon, with whom they united to resist Nebuchadnezzar Jeremiah 27:3, and seduced Zedekiah to rebel, although Moab, Ammon, and Edom turned against him Zephaniah 2:8; Ezekiel 25:0. These then, he says, sent them “to the border.” “So will they take the adversary’s part, that, with him, they will drive thee forth from the borders, thrusting thee into captivity, to gain favor…”

“Thy confederacy - Thy confederates have marched with thee until thou wert come to the borders of thy country. Deceived thee - Proved treacherous. Prevailed - Treacherously. A wound - A snare armed with sharp points. No understanding - Thou wast not aware of it. Obadiah 1:9”

“1:7 allies (literally men of the covenant): Edom should have been the ally of its brother Israel, but instead, Edom had made a covenant with Babylon. • promise you peace (literally men of peace, paralleling men of the covenant): It was poetic justice that Edom’s treachery with Israel was rewarded by Babylon’s treachery against Edom.”

“the men of: The Chaldeans, whose agents they became in persecuting the Jews. Psa 55:12, Psa 55:13; Jer 4:30, Jer 30:14; Lam 1:19; Eze 23:22-25; Rev 17:12-17 men that were at peace with thee: Heb. men of thy peace, Jer 20:10, Jer 38:22 \*marg. they that eat thy bread: Heb. the men of thy bread, Psa 41:9; Joh 13:18 there is: Isa 19:11-14, Isa 27:11; Jer 49:7; Hos 13:13 in him: or, of it Obadiah 1:8”

“In the midst of this calamity Edom will be forsaken and betrayed by its allies, and will also be unable to procure any deliverance for itself by its own understanding. The allies send Edom even to the border. The meaning of this is not that they will not receive the Edomitish fugitives, but drive them back to the frontier, so that they fall into the hands of the enemy (Hitzig and others); for the suffix ך cannot refer to the small number of fugitives from Edom who have escaped the massacre, but applies to Edom as a nation. The latter seeks for help and support from their allies, - namely, through the medium of ambassadors whom it sends to them. But the ambassadors, and in their persons the…”