On November 19, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Prophet Obadiah, who belongs to the so-called “Minor Prophets” of the Old Testament. The designation “Minor” does not refer to the significance of their prophetic message but to the brevity of the books that bear their names, in contrast to the “Major Prophets,” whose writings are considerably longer.
The distinction between “Major” and “Minor” Prophets is not found in the Old Testament itself but was gradually established through the study and organization of the sacred books in the Greek translation of the Septuagint, and later within the Patristic and ecclesiastical tradition. The “Major Prophets” are four: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. They are called “major” because their books are more extensive and theologically rich, covering broader historical periods and developing theological reflection that links the history of the people of Israel with the expectation of the Messiah.
In contrast, the “Minor Prophets” number twelve: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Their books are shorter, often consisting of only a few chapters, yet they contain powerful prophetic messages with social, moral, and theological significance. Their collective designation as the “Twelve Prophets” (Dodekapropheton) derives from their being compiled into a single book in the Septuagint translation, probably as early as the 2nd century BC, to preserve and study them together.
The distinction between “Major” and “Minor” Prophets does not seem to have existed in the Hebrew canon of Scripture but was introduced later, mainly by Greek-speaking Jews and the Christian tradition. The translators of the Septuagint, who rendered the Old Testament into Greek during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, appear to have been the first to indicate this differentiation based on the length of the prophetic texts. Later, Church Fathers such as Origen and, subsequently, Jerome, also adopted this classification—the former using Greek terminology, while the latter, in his Latin translation (the Vulgate), established the terms Prophetae maiores and Prophetae minores, which became standard in Western theological language.
In the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament, known as the Tanakh, the prophetic books form the second main division of the Scriptures and are called Nevi’im (“Prophets”). The Nevi’im are divided into two categories: the “Former Prophets” (which include the historical books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) and the “Latter Prophets,” which comprise Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets. Daniel, although regarded as a prophet in the Greek and Christian traditions, is found in the third division of the Tanakh, the Ketuvim (“Writings”), since ancient times.
This arrangement in the Tanakh reflects the theological significance of prophecy for the people of Israel: the prophet functions as the bearer of the divine message, interpreting historical events in the light of divine justice and calling the people to repentance and renewal. Within this same framework, the Prophet Obadiah—whose book is the shortest in the Old Testament—delivers a powerful message condemning pride and injustice, proclaiming the sovereignty of God over all nations.
