The Meaning of Obadiah 1:17 Explained

Obadiah 1:17

KJV: But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

YLT: And in mount Zion there is an escape, And it hath been holy, And the house of Jacob have possessed their possessions.

Darby: But upon mount Zion shall there be deliverance, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

ASV: But in mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But upon mount  Zion  shall be deliverance,  and there shall be holiness;  and the house  of Jacob  shall possess  their possessions. 

What does Obadiah 1:17 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The future of Israel (restoration) contrasts with the future of Edom (judgment). In that future time of judgment (the Tribulation), there would be those who escaped from Jerusalem, namely, many Jews (cf. Zechariah 13:8; Revelation 12:13-17). Some writers viewed this as taking place during the fall of Jerusalem in A.D70. [1] But Jerusalem did not become holy and the house of Jacob did not possess their possessions after that event, as this verse predicts. The city would eventually become holy (at the Second Coming), and the house of Jacob, in contrast to the house of Esau, would then possess what God intended for them to have (in the Millennium).

Chapter Summary: Obadiah 1

1  The destruction of Edom,
3  for their pride,
10  and for their wrong unto Jacob
17  The salvation and victory of Jacob

What do the individual words in Obadiah 1:17 mean?

But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance and there shall be holiness and shall possess the house of Jacob - their possessions
וּבְהַ֥ר צִיּ֛וֹן תִּהְיֶ֥ה פְלֵיטָ֖ה וְהָ֣יָה קֹ֑דֶשׁ וְיָֽרְשׁוּ֙ בֵּ֣ית יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב אֵ֖ת מוֹרָֽשֵׁיהֶם‪‬

וּבְהַ֥ר  But  on  Mount 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
צִיּ֛וֹן  Zion 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִיּׄון  
Sense: another name for Jerusalem especially in the prophetic books.
תִּהְיֶ֥ה  there  shall  be 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
פְלֵיטָ֖ה  deliverance 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: פְּלֵיטָה  
Sense: escape, deliverance.
וְהָ֣יָה  and  there  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
קֹ֑דֶשׁ  holiness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.
וְיָֽרְשׁוּ֙  and  shall  possess 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָרַשׁ  
Sense: to seize, dispossess, take possession off, inherit, disinherit, occupy, impoverish, be an heir.
בֵּ֣ית  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב  of  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
אֵ֖ת  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
מוֹרָֽשֵׁיהֶם‪‬  their  possessions 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מֹורָשׁ 
Sense: possession.