Obadiah

"Servant of God." An Israelite who was chief in the household of King Ahab.1 When Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, Obidiah took one hundred of them and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.2 Ahab seems to have held Obadiah in great honor, although he had no sympathy with his piety.3

The last notice of him is his bringing back tidings to Ahab that Elijah, whom he had so long sought for, was at hand.4

According to the rabbinic tradition he is the same as the prophet Obadiah.

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References

Notes

  1. 1 Kings 18:3.
  2. 18:4, 13.
  3. 18:5, 6, 7.
  4. 18:9-16.

Source

  • Easton, M.G. (1897). Easton's Bible Dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.

This article incorporates text from Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) by M.G. Easton, which is in the public domain.