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Obadiah

From: Concise Bible Dictionary: O By: George A. Morrish

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1. The governor of Ahab’s house. He feared the Lord greatly, and had the boldness, in spite of Ahab and Jezebel, to hide a hundred of the prophets of Jehovah, and feed them with bread and water, when Jezebel was cutting off the prophets. When Elijah sent Obadiah to tell Ahab that he was there, he feared that the Spirit of the Lord would catch away Elijah, and he would be slain; but he obeyed, and Elijah met the king. Obadiah is a remarkable instance of how a servant who feared the Lord could maintain his integrity amid flagrant wickedness, though otherwise he seems out of his right place, for he was not separate like Elijah. His false position may account for his dwelling upon his own work for the Lord, and his fear for his life before Ahab (1 Kings 18:3-16³And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: ⁴For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. ⁶So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. ⁷And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? ⁸And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. ⁹And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? ¹⁰As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. ¹¹And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. ¹²And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. ¹³Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. ¹⁵And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him to day. ¹⁶So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. (1 Kings 18:3‑16)).

2. Descendant of David (1 Chron. 3:21²¹And the sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah, and Jesaiah: the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah. (1 Chronicles 3:21)).

3. Son of Izrahiah, a descendant of Issachar (1 Chron. 7:3³And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men. (1 Chronicles 7:3)).

4. Son of Azel, a Benjamite (1 Chron. 8:38³⁸And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. (1 Chronicles 8:38); 1 Chron. 9:44⁴⁴And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan: these were the sons of Azel. (1 Chronicles 9:44)).

5. Son of Shemaiah, a Levite (1 Chron. 9:16¹⁶And Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, that dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites. (1 Chronicles 9:16)). Apparently called ABDA in Nehemiah 11:17¹⁷And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. (Nehemiah 11:17).

6. Gadite who resorted to David at Ziklag (1 Chron. 12:9⁹Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, (1 Chronicles 12:9)).

7. A Zebulunite, father of Ishmaiah (1 Chron. 27:19¹⁹Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel: (1 Chronicles 27:19)).

8. Prince sent by Jehoshaphat to teach the people (2 Chron. 17:7⁷Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Ben-hail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. (2 Chronicles 17:7)).

9. Levite who was overseer in the repairs of the temple (2 Chron. 34:12¹²And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of music. (2 Chronicles 34:12)).

10. Son of Jehiel: he returned from exile (Ezra 8:9⁹Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males. (Ezra 8:9)).

11. Priest who sealed the covenant (Neh. 10:5⁵Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, (Nehemiah 10:5)).

12. Levite who acted as doorkeeper (Neh. 12:25²⁵Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the thresholds of the gates. (Nehemiah 12:25)).

13. The prophet, of whom personally nothing is known (Obad. 1:1¹The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumor from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. (Obadiah 1)).

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