Obadiah 1:19 (DBY)

Passage

And [they of] the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the lowland the Philistines; yea, they shall possess the field of Ephraim and the field of Samaria; and Benjamin [shall possess] Gilead;

Nearby Context

Obadiah 1:17 But upon mount Zion shall there be deliverance, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

Obadiah 1:18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble; and they shall kindle in them and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau: for Jehovah hath spoken [it].

Obadiah 1:19 And [they of] the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the lowland the Philistines; yea, they shall possess the field of Ephraim and the field of Samaria; and Benjamin [shall possess] Gilead;

Obadiah 1:20 and the captives of this host of the children of Israel [shall possess] what belonged to the Canaanites, unto Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who [were] in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.

Obadiah 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion, to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be Jehovah's.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "south", "shall", "possess", "mount", "esau", "lowland", and "philistines". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "south" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "And the house of Jacob shall be..." into verse 20's "and the captives of this host of...", so "south" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In Obadiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "south" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.