Obadiah
Obadiah (/ˌoʊbəˈdaɪ.ə/; Hebrew: עֹבַדְיָה – ʿŌḇaḏyā or עֹבַדְיָהוּ – ʿŌḇaḏyāhū; "servant of Yah", or "Slave of Yah [YHWH]"), also known as Abdias,[2] is a biblical prophet. The authorship of the Book of Obadiah is traditionally attributed to the prophet Obadiah.
The political situation implied in the prophecy points to a time after the Exile, probably in the mid-fifth century B.C. No value can be attributed to traditions identifying this prophet with King Ahab's steward (... so Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 39b) or with King Ahaziah's captain (... so Pseudo-Epiphanius...).
According to the Talmud, Obadiah is said to have been a convert to Judaism from Edom,[4] a descendant of Eliphaz, the friend of Job. He is identified with the Obadiah who was the servant of Ahab, and was chosen to prophesy against Edom because he was himself an Edomite.
Obadiah is supposed to have received the gift of prophecy for having hidden the "hundred prophets" [5] from the persecution of Jezebel.[4] He hid the prophets in two caves, so that if those in one cave should be discovered those in the other might yet escape.[6]
Obadiah was very rich, but all his wealth was expended in feeding the poor prophets, until, in order to be able to continue to support them, finally he had to borrow money at interest from Ahab's son Jehoram.[7] Obadiah's fear of God was one degree higher than that of Abraham; and if the house of Ahab had been capable of being blessed, it would have been blessed for Obadiah's sake.[4]
In some Christian traditions he is said to have been born in "Sychem" (Shechem), and to have been the third captain sent out by Ahaziah against Elijah.[8][9] The date of his ministry is unclear due to certain historical ambiguities in the book bearing his name, but is believed to be around 586 B.C.
