An Oracle Against Mount Seir – This should be counted as only half a chapter and should be paired with 36:1-15. The hint is that 36:1-15 doesn’t begin with the Oracle Word-Event formula, “The Word of Yahweh came to me.” Note the contrast between 35:3, “I am against you,” and 36:9, “I am for you.” 36:1-15 is the reverse of 35:1-15 with salvation to “the mountains of Israel” in contrast to Mount Seir (Edom). This is the second oracle against Edom, previously 25:12-14. This Gentile oracle seems to interrupt Israel’s restoration of 33-48. But don’t forget that Edom has long been at odds with Israel, even subliminally. The con ict began in Rebekah’s womb (Gen 32:28) between Jacob and Esau (father of Edom). Esau’s rash sale of his birthright to Jacob and Jacob’s deception of his aged father, Isaac, set the stage for the events that continue through Gen 36. Relations don’t improve even to the time of Moses, as Israel is forced to go around the land of Edom (Num 20:14-21). Moses encourages Israel to reconcile with Edom but we don’t have evidence that they listened (Deut 23:8). By the 8th century B.C., “Edom” was the archetype of the pagan kingdoms of the world. It is second only to Babylon as the major example of opposition to the kingdom of God. Amon condemns Edom for the pitiless treatment of a brother (Amos 1:11-12). Obadiah has similar oracles to 35:1-15 and 36:1-15 (Obad 1–14 and 15–21). “Edom” is the antithesis of redeemed Zion. In Isaiah 63:1-6 “Edom” represents the forces that Yahweh alone had to defeat in His salvation of Zion (see TLH 209, “Who Is This That Comes from Edom?”). Malachi uses Jacob and Edom to describe the mystery of divine election (Mal 1:2-5). “Mount Sier” was occupied by Edom throughout the Biblical period. Originally, it was inhabited by the “Horites” (Gen 14:6; Hurrians of northern Mesopotamia). The name “Seir” is well-attested in extra-biblical texts. It refers to the mountains and slopes at the southern end of the Transjordan plateau, from the northern border with Moab at the Zered Canyon and perhaps as far south as the Gulf of Aqaba. It is bordered by desert on both the east and west. 35:2-4 — The initial oracle uses typical Ezekiel doom language. “Desolation” is used twice for Mount Seir, with “utter desolation” recurring in 35:7. This recalls “an utter desolation”…