o-ba-di'-a (`obhadhyah, more fully `obhadhyahu, "servant of Yahweh"):
⇒See a list of verses on OBADIAH in the Bible.
(1) The steward or prime minister of Ahab, who did his best to protect the prophets of Yahweh against Jezebel's persecution. He met Elijah on his return from Zarephath, and bore to Ahab the news of Elijah's reappearance (1Ki 18:3-16).
(2) The prophet (Ob 1:1).
⇒See also the McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia.
(3) A descendant of David (1Ch 3:21).
(4) A chief of the tribe of Issachar (1Ch 7:3).
(5) A descendant of Saul (1Ch 8:38; 9:44).
(6) A Levite descended from Jeduthun (1Ch 9:16), identical with Abda (Ne 11:17).
(7) A chief of the Gadites (1Ch 12:9).
(8) A Zebulunite, father of the chief Ishmaiah (1Ch 27:19).
(9) One of the princes sent by Jehoshaphat to teach the law in Judah (2Ch 17:7).
(10) A Merarite employed by Josiah to oversee the workmen in repairing the temple (2Ch 34:12).
(11) The head of a family who went up with Ezra from Babylon (Ezr 8:9).
(12) One of the men who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah (Ne 10:5).
(13) A gate-keeper in the days of Nehemiah (Ne 12:25).
The name "Obadiah" was common in Israel from the days of David to the close of the Old Testament. An ancient Hebrew seal bears the inscription "Obadiah the servant of the King."
John Richard Sampey