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In 587 B.C., Judah and the city of Jerusalem fell under the assault of the Chaldeans. Some poor unfortunates lived on amid the ruins. The small neighboring kingdom of Edom took the opportunity to loot what remained and to strengthen its position at the expense of the ruined population. The prophet Obadiah lets us hear an echo of those hopeless times. His message is first and foremost that the Edomites’ nasty blow against a people who were their brothers will unleash the wrath of the Lord and that in the end Israel will have its revenge. In Obadiah’s view, God is not the God of a single people only but judges the human race; there is a justice, a moral standard, that must be observed among groups and people, and he will not allow it to be violated.