And the captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
All Commentaries on Obadiah 1:20 Go To Obadiah 1
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
Obadiah, so far as his writings are concerned the briefest of all the prophets, speaks against Edom, that is, the nation of Esau, that reprobate elder of the twin sons of Isaac and of the grandsons of Abraham. Now by that form of speech in which a part is understood for the whole, we understand Edom as referring to the nations. We may understand what Christ says in the same way: “But upon Mount Zion shall be safety, and there shall be a holy one.” And a little further, at the end of the same prophecy, he says concerning Paul, “And the redeemed shall come up out of Mount Zion, that they may defend Mount Esau, and it shall be a kingdom to the Lord.” It is quite evident that this was fulfilled when the redeemed out of Mount Zion (that is, the believers in Christ from Judea, of whom the apostles are chiefly to be acknowledged) went up to defend Mount Esau. How could they defend it except by making safe through the preaching of the gospel those who believed that they might be “delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God.” Consequently he expressed this by adding, “And it shall be to the Lord a kingdom.” For Mount Zion signifies Judea, where it is predicted there shall be safety and a holy one, that is, Jesus Christ. But Mount Esau is Edom. It signifies the church of the Gentiles, which is defended by the redeemed from Mount Zion, so that it should become a kingdom to the Lord. This was obscure before it took place, but what believer does not understand it now that it has happened? City of God
