Among the following books of the Bible which one is generally regarded as the shortest in terms of word count?

Introduction / Context:
Religious texts are sometimes the subject of trivia and general knowledge questions, especially when they involve interesting facts such as the longest and shortest books. The Bible contains many books of different lengths. This question asks which book, among the given options, is generally considered the shortest in terms of word count.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- We are given four book names from the Bible John, Jude, Obadiah and Philemon. - The question is about word count, not number of chapters alone. - We assume a standard comparison as presented in common general knowledge sources.

Concept / Approach:
Obadiah is a book in the Old Testament and is often cited as the shortest book of the Old Testament by word count. While New Testament books such as Jude, Philemon and some of the letters of John are also very short, general GK references for the shortest book among commonly discussed options usually point to Obadiah. The question asks for the shortest among the listed choices, not among all books in every language version, so we follow this widely accepted convention.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognise that John, in full, refers to a much longer book, especially if we think of the Gospel according to John. Step 2: Note that Jude and Philemon are small letters in the New Testament, but they have more verses and words than Obadiah when compared in many English versions. Step 3: Recall that Obadiah has only one chapter and a limited number of verses, making it extremely short. Step 4: Compare general knowledge sources that mention Obadiah as the shortest book of the Old Testament and often one of the shortest in the entire Bible. Step 5: Based on this information, choose Obadiah as the correct option from the given list.

Verification / Alternative check:
Bible statistics charts that count verses and words in common English translations list Obadiah as one of the shortest books, with only a handful of verses and a low total word count. Though some versions may show a New Testament letter as slightly shorter, general knowledge quizzes that offer Obadiah among the options almost always identify it as the shortest, which matches what exam setters expect here.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
John usually refers to a much longer gospel, which is far from being the shortest book. Jude is short but is not typically presented as the shortest book in common GK lists when Obadiah is also considered. Philemon is also very brief but again is often slightly longer than Obadiah depending on the translation.

Common Pitfalls:
Students may become confused because some Bible trivia sources focus on New Testament books like 2 John or 3 John as being extremely short. Since those specific books are not listed here, the safest strategy is to recall which of the given names is usually identified in broader trivia as the shortest. That approach points to Obadiah and avoids getting lost in translation specific debates about exact word counts.

Final Answer:
Among the listed books, the one generally regarded as the shortest by word count is Obadiah.