The best Obadiah commentaries are listed below. There are exegetical commentaries, scholarly and technical commentaries, as well as commentaries that are easy to understand. The “Top 10” list is based on aggregate reviews.
This list of commentaries is intended to help the reader understand and apply the author’s message in the book of Obadiah. They are not suggested as a replacement for prayer, the Holy Spirit, and the reader’s own diligent study of Scripture.
It is hoped that these books will aid the Christian pastor, preacher, teacher, student, as well as any Bible reader that wants to understand more about Obadiah.
May each reader’s aim be to glorify God in Jesus Christ; to strengthen Christ’s bride, the Church; and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost.
After browsing the commentaries below, please see Best Bible Commentaries: Top 50. Based on aggregate reviews.
10 Best Obadiah Commentaries
Please read: The “Top 10” list below is a starting point for learning about Obadiah commentaries. It is not intended to be the “final word” because of its limitations.
Nevertheless, a list based on aggregate reviews is likely to point many people in the right direction to find the right resource for their purposes.
#1
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah
Word Biblical Commentary
by Douglas Stuart
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Reviews and Accolades:
• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, “one of the best recent commentaries on the Minor Prophets… a must-buy for everyone preaching on these books”
• Keith Mathison: #1 ranked commentary on Obadiah, “It is a must-read. Very highly recommended.”
Approach to Scripture: Evangelical
Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the publisher: “WBC series delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation.
It emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence.
The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology.”
See more about the Word Biblical Commentary series.
Also see the best one-volume bible commentaries, based on aggregate reviews.
#2
Obadiah
The Minor Prophets:
An Exegetical and Expositional Commentary
by Jeff Niehaus
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Reviews and Accolades:
• Desiring God: #1 recommended commentary on The Minor Prophets
• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, “one the most extensive treatments of this short book”
• John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill: “Helpful combination of literary, historical, and theological analysis.”
• Keith Mathison: #2 ranked commentary on Obadiah, “technical but helpful study”
Approach to Scripture: Evangelical
Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the publisher: “With their messages of doom and judgment, the Minor Prophets have not been popular subjects in the history of biblical interpretation.
Here noted evangelical scholars — such as Bruce Waltke, Tremper Longman III, F. F. Bruce, and J. Alec Motyer — remedy this neglect by offering an authoritative, evangelical treatment of the prophets.
In this edition, which now combines three volumes into one, the authors not only provide meticulous exegesis of the Hebrew text but also relate the message of the ancient prophets to contemporary life in practical and meaningful ways.”
#3
Joel, Obadiah, Malachi
NIV Application Commentary
by David W. Baker
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Reviews and Accolades:
• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, “[Baker] writes clearly as he skillfully exposits the meaning and application of these three Minor Prophets”
• Keith Mathison: #3 ranked commentary on Obadiah, “specially for preachers and teachers who find it difficult to apply the prophetic books to our own present-day context”
Approach to Scripture: Evangelical
Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the General Editor: The primary goal of the NIV Application Commentary Series is to help you with the difficult but vital task of bringing an ancient message into a modern context.
The series not only focuses on application as a finished product but also helps you think through the process of moving from the original meaning of a passage to its contemporary significance.”
See more about the NIV Application Commentary series.
#4
Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah
New International Commentary on the Old Testament
by Leslie C. Allen
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Reviews and Accolades:
• Tremper Longman: “up-to-date, insightful, and careful”
• Keith Mathison: #5 ranked commentary on Obadiah, “a slightly technical work, but it should be accessible to most pastors and laymen”
Approach to Scripture: Evangelical
Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the publisher: “All of the NICOT volumes combine superior scholarship, an evangelical view of Scripture as the Word of God, and concern for the life of faith today.
Each volume features an extensive introduction treating the biblical book’s authorship, date, purpose, structure, and theology.
The author’s own translation of the original Hebrew and verse-by-verse commentary follow.
The commentary itself carefully balances coverage of technical matters with exposition of the biblical text’s theology and implications.”
See more about the New International Commentary on the Old Testament series.
#5
Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah
Tyndale Old Testament Commentary
by David W. Baker
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Reviews and Accolades:
• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, “highly competent, evangelical approach”
Approach to Scripture: Evangelical
Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the publisher: This series is “designed to help readers understand what the Bible actually says and what it means… [each commentary] examines the text section by section, drawing out its main themes.
It also comments on individual verses and deals with problems of interpretation.
The aim throughout is to get at the true meaning of the Bible and to make its message plain to readers today.”
See more about the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series.
#6
Joel and Obadiah
A Mentor Commentary
by Irvin A. Busenitz
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Reviews and Accolades:
• Keith Mathison: #4 ranked commentary on Obadiah, “Busenitz’s commentary on Obadiah in the Mentor series is a very clear and helpful contribution to the field. It is thorough yet accessible.”
Approach to Scripture: Evangelical
Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the publisher: “Mentor books are written at a level suitable for Bible College and seminary students, pastors, and other serious readers.” See more about the Mentor Bible Commentary series.
#7
Obadiah
Expositor’s Bible Commentary Revised
by C. E. Armerding
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Reviews and Accolades:
• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, “clear and helpful”
Approach to Scripture: Evangelical
Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the publisher: “Written primarily by expositors for expositors… its stance is that of a scholarly evangelicalism committed to the divine inspiration, complete trustworthiness, and full authority of the Bible… the chief principle followed in this commentary is the grammatico-historical.”
See more about the Expositor’s Bible Commentary series.
#8
Obadiah
The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries
by Paul R. Raabe
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Reviews and Accolades:
• Tremper Longman: 5 out of 5 stars, “an excellent commentary… very thorough”
Approach to Scripture: Evangelical
Best for: students, pastors, teachers, professors, and scholars with training in Hebrew who can follow a technical commentary
Purpose: From the publisher: “The Anchor Yale Bible Series, previously the Anchor Bible Series, is a renowned publishing program that for more than 50 years has produced books devoted to the latest scholarship on the Bible and biblical topics.”
The series “vigorously pursues the goal of bringing to a wide audience the most important new ideas, the latest research findings, and the clearest possible analysis of the Bible.” See more about the Anchor Bible Commentary series.
#9
Obadiah
The Cambridge Bible Commentary
by John Watts
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Reviews and Accolades:
• John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill: “A thorough, scholarly, and readable analysis of Obadiah’s times and message; the standard commentary on the book”
Best for: students, pastors, teachers, professors, and scholars with training in Hebrew who can follow a technical commentary
Purpose: The six Old Testament books dealt with in this volume of the Commentary are part of a larger unit originally copied on one scroll and called, for the sake of simplicity, the books of the twelve or minor prophets.
The prophetic visions, liturgies and oracles contained in the twelve books were collected over a period of more than 300 years and given their final shape not earlier than the middle of the fifth century BC.
In his opening chapter Dr Watts provides the historical and liturgical background to the books and discusses the nature and role of prophecy in worship.”
See more about the Cambridge Bible Commentary series.
#10
Obadiah and Jonah
A Continental Commentary
by Hans Walter Wolff
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Reviews and Accolades:
• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, “a very helpful commentary”
Best for: students, pastors, teachers, professors, and scholars with training in Hebrew who can follow a technical commentary
Purpose: From the publisher: This series “makes leading critical biblical scholarship from German and French scholars available to the English-speaking world.
This series combines scholarly excellence with academic rigor to benefit pastors, students, and scholars of both the Old and New Testament…
Each book in the Continental Commentary Series includes comprehensive introductory material, including an explanation of narrative themes, an overview of the historical and cultural context, an analysis of textual traditions, and an evaluation of recent literature.”
See more about the Continental Commentary series.
More Book of Obadiah Commentaries for Christian Ministry
Please read: Why are the Obadiah commentaries below not in the “Top 10”? It’s not because they have received poor reviews or because people haven’t found them helpful. The reasons vary:
- Some are relatively new and haven’t been widely reviewed, read, or used yet.
- Others haven’t been widely distributed, so it is difficult to get enough information to aggregate.
- Still others may be outdated in relation to biblical scholarship or out of print and difficult to acquire.
The “Top 10” list is reviewed annually. Readers are encouraged to consider the volumes in this section before making a purchase. These 10 are not in any particular order.
Joel and Obadiah
The Old Testament Library
by John Barton
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Reviews and Accolades:
• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, Barton is “an engaging writer”
Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the publisher: “The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.”
See more about the Old Testament Library commentary series.
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah
Interpretation
by James Limburg
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Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the publisher: “This series of commentaries offers an interpretation of the books of the Bible.
It is designed to meet the need of students, teachers, ministers, and priests for a contemporary expository commentary.
These volumes will not replace the historical critical commentary or homiletical aids to preaching.
The purpose of this series is rather to provide a third kind of resource, a commentary which presents the integrated result of historical and theological work with the biblical text.”
See more about the Interpretation Bible commentary series.
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah
New American Commentary
by Billy K. Smith and Frank S. Page
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Approach to Scripture: Evangelical
Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the publisher: “The New American Commentary is introduced to bridge the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.”
This “series has been designed primarily to enable pastors, teachers, and students to read the Bible with clarity and proclaim it with power.”
See more about the New American Commentary series.
The Minor Prophets
by Charles L. Feinberg
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Approach to Scripture: Evangelical
Best for: individual study, devotional reading, Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes
Purpose: From the publisher: “A comprehensive commentary on all twelve of the minor prophets Free of footnotes and devotional in style.”
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah
Abingdon Old Testament Commentary
by Daniel J. Simundson
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Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the publisher: “The Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries series offers compact, critical commentaries on all the books of the Old Testament.
In addition to providing fundamental information on and insights into Old Testament writings, these commentaries exemplify the tasks and procedures of careful, critical exegesis so as to assist students of the Old Testament in coming to an informed engagement of the biblical texts themselves.
These commentaries are written with special attention to the needs and interests of theology students, but they will also be useful for students in upper-level college or university settings, as well as for pastors and other church leaders.”
See more about the Abingdon commentaries.
Obadiah
Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament
by Daniel I. Block
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Approach to Scripture: Evangelical
Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers
Purpose: From the publisher: “The idea for this series was refined over time by an editorial board who listened to pastors and teachers express what they wanted to see in a commentary series based on the [original] text…
We arrived at a design that includes seven components for the treatment of each biblical passage: Literary Context, Main Idea, Translation and Graphical Layout, Structure, Exegetical Outline, Explanation of the Text, and Theology in Application.”
See more about the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament series.
The Book of the Twelve
by George Adam Smith
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Reviews and Accolades:
John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill: “Classic Old Testament commentary, with the exposition of Hosea and Amos deserving of special attention.”
Best for: students, pastors, teachers, professors, and scholars with training in Hebrew who can follow a technical commentary
Purpose: This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work.
Classic Obadiah Commentaries
Minor Prophets
Ironside Expository Commentaries
by H.A. Ironside
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Best for: individual study, devotional reading, Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes
Purpose: H.A. Ironside (1876-1951) was an internationally acclaimed Bible teacher and preacher, as well as the author of more than sixty books.
His writings include addresses or commentaries on the entire New Testament, all of the Old Testament prophetic books, and a great many volumes on other biblical topics.
For eighteen of his fifty years of ministry, Dr. Ironside was pastor of the historic Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, Ill.
Obadiah
Geneva Series of Commentaries
by John Calvin
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Best for: individual study, devotional reading, Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes
Purpose: From the publisher: “In this book, John Calvin provides an engaging commentary on three Minor Prophets in the Old Testament: Joel, Amos, and Obadiah. Calvin begins his commentary on each book with a short introduction.
When commenting on a book, he frequently offers his own translations of a passage, explaining the subtleties and nuances of his translation.
His treatment of the text reveals his keen pastoral insights. And as always, he interacts with other theologians, commentators, and portions of the Bible when interpreting a particular passage.
After several hundred years, Calvin’s Commentary on Joel, Amos, and Obadiah remains an instructive and interesting commentary to several Old Testament books.”
The Minor Prophets
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
edited by Alberto Ferreiro
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Best for: individual study, devotional reading, Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes
Purpose: See more about the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series.
Also see:
Compare 75 different commentary series on the Bible Commentary Series Comparison Chart