A minor prophet of ancient Israel whose short oracle against Edom became the shortest book of the Old Testament and a lasting witness to divine justice.

Saint Obadiah is the traditional name given to the prophet behind the Book of Obadiah, the shortest book in the Old Testament. Scholars generally place his oracle sometime after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., though the exact date and details of his life are not historically secure. His single surviving message condemns the neighboring nation of Edom for betraying Israel in its hour of need and promises that God’s justice will ultimately be restored.

Quick Facts

• Died: B.C. (date not precisely fixed)
• Venerated as: Prophet, one of the Twelve Minor Prophets
• Feast Day: November 19 (Roman Martyrology)

Who Was Saint Obadiah?

Obadiah is remembered as one of the Twelve Minor Prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the book that bears his name. Almost nothing is known of his personal life; his identity survives only through the single short prophecy attributed to him, directed against the kingdom of Edom for its betrayal of Judah. The controlled historical record places him in an unspecified location and gives no fixed date beyond a general era before Christ, so the Church honors him through the text he left rather than through biographical detail.

Historical Setting

The Book of Obadiah belongs to the turbulent period surrounding the Babylonian conquest of Judah, when Jerusalem’s fall left the kingdom exposed and its neighbors, including Edom, exploited its weakness rather than offering aid. This setting of national catastrophe and betrayal by kin shaped the moral force of the prophet’s message, which the Church later received into the canon of inspired Scripture as a permanent witness against pride and treachery among nations.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Obadiah

The Church remembers Obadiah for the enduring theological message of his prophecy: that arrogance and betrayal will be judged, and that God’s justice extends even to nations outside the covenant. Though brief, his book is read liturgically and studied as part of the prophetic witness to divine sovereignty over history, a witness the Church continues to proclaim through the Twelve Minor Prophets as a group.

Canonization and Feast Day

Obadiah’s place among the saints rests on immemorial inclusion in the biblical canon and the Church’s ancient liturgical commemoration of the Old Testament prophets rather than on any formal process of canonization, since no such process applies to figures who predate the Church itself. His feast is kept by long-standing custom recorded in the Roman Martyrology alongside the other Minor Prophets.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Obadiah’s oracle reminds believers that no act of betrayal or pride escapes divine notice, and that even a single short testimony, faithfully preserved, can carry lasting weight in the life of the Church. His witness invites Catholics to examine their own conduct toward the vulnerable and to trust that justice, though delayed, is not denied.

A Prayer to Saint Obadiah

Saint Obadiah, faithful voice of divine justice, you warned against pride and betrayal in a time of national ruin. Help us to deal honestly with those in need and to trust in God’s justice even when it is slow to appear. Amen.

Sources

• The Roman Martyrology
• New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, entry on Obadiah
• The Book of Obadiah, Old Testament canon