John Calvin Commentary Obadiah 1:9

"And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one may be cut off from the mount of Esau by slaughter." — Obadiah 1:9 (ASV)

The Prophet, after having spoken of one kind of God’s vengeance, adds another—that He would break whatever strength there was in Idumea. Thus he shows that the courage and strength of men, no less than their understanding, are in the hand of God. As God dissipates and destroys, whenever it pleases Him, whatever wisdom there may be in men, so also He enervates and breaks down their hearts. In a word, He deprives them of all strength, so that they fail and come to nothing of themselves.

If those who are proud of their strength and counsels were to consider this rightly, they would eventually learn to submit themselves in true humility to God. But this is a truth that the world cannot be made to believe. Yet God shows us here, as in a picture, that however men may flourish for a time, they would immediately vanish if He did not sustain them, support His gifts in them, and keep them entire. And, especially, He shows that what seems to be understanding and strength in men is empty smoke, for the Lord can easily take away both whenever it may please Him.

We should therefore carefully observe what he says here: Broken down shall be thy brave men, O Teman. Some think that a particular country is pointed out here, for Teman is the south, that is, with regard to Judea. But as Teman, we know, was one of the grandsons of Esau (Genesis 36:15), and as a part of Arabia was called by this name, it is more probable that the Prophet here turns his discourse to Idumea. But as for the word Teman, it is a part taken for the whole.

For cut off, he says, shall be man: by saying, cut off shall man, he means that all to a man would be destroyed. How? “by slaughter.” But קתל kothel means a slaughter in which no one remains alive. We therefore see what the Prophet means—that all the Idumeans would be so broken down that all would fall, for there would be no heart nor strength to resist.