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Biography
About: This article is about the prophet attributed to being the author of the Book of Obadiah . Infobox saint|name= Obadiah |death_date= |feast_day=November 19 (Orthodox) |venerated_in= Judaism Christianity |image=Abdias.jpg |alt=French manuscript illumination of the prophet Obadiah |caption=God appearing to Obadiah in his dream (France, 13th century). |birth_place= |death_place= |titles= Prophet |attributes= Prophet |patronage= |major_shrine= |major_works= Book of Obadiah
Obadiah (pronounced IPAc-en|?|o?|b|?|'|d|a?|.|?|, lang-he|????? ?Obhadyah or in Modern Hebrew Ovadyah ) is a Bible|Biblical Theophory in the Bible|theophorical name, meaning "servant of Yahweh " or "worshipper of Yahweh." New Bible Dictionary, second edition. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL, USA. It is related to " Abdeel ", "servant of God", which is also cognate to the Arabic language|Arabic name " Abdullah (name)|Abdullah ". Turkish name Abdil or Abdi . The form of Obadiah's name used in the Septuagint is Obdios ; in Latin it is Abdias . The Bishops' Bible has it as Abdi .
Prophet Obadiah
Rabbinic tradition
According to the Talmud , Obadiah is said to have been a convert to Judaism from Edom ,Citation | last = | first = | author-link = | last2= | first2= | author2-link= | contribution =Tract Sanhedrin, Volume VIII, XVI, Part II (Haggada), Chapter XI | year = | publication-date= | title =The Babylonian Talmud | editor-last = | editor-first = | editor-link= | edition= | volume = | series = | page =376 | place =Boston | publisher =The Talmud Society | id = | isbn = | url = http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/t08/t0814.htm | accessdate = Translated by Michael L. Rodkinson a descendant of Eliphaz , the friend of Job (Bible)|Job . He is identified with the Obadiah who was the servant of Ahab, and it is said that he was chosen to prophesy against Edom because he was himself an Edomite. Moreover, having lived with two such godless persons as Ahab and Jezebel without learning to act as they did, he seemed the most suitable person to prophesy against Esau (Edom), who, having been brought up by two pious persons, Isaac and Rebekah , had not learned to imitate their good deeds.
Obadiah is supposed to have received the gift of prophecy for having hidden the hundred () prophets from the persecution of Jezebel. He hid the prophets in two caves, so that if those in one cave should be discovered those in the other might yet escape ( 1 Kings Bibleverse-nb|1|Kings|18:3-4|HE).
Talmud Sanhedrin 39b
R. Isaac said: Why did Obadiah attain29 the gift of prophecy? — Because he hid a hundred prophets in caves, as it is written, For it was so when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord that Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty in a cave.30 Why just fifty? — R. Eleazar said: He learnt this lesson from Jacob,31 as it is written, 'Then the camp which is left shall escape.32 R. Abbahu said: It was because the one cave could not hold more than fifty.
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 of Israel|Jehoram . Midrash Exodus Rabbah xxxi. 3 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. Sanh. loc. cit.
Christian Tradition
In some Christian traditions he is said to have been born in "Sychem" ( Shechem ), and to have been the third centurion sent out by Ahaziah of Israel|Ahaziah against Elijah .2 Kings 1 The Book of Obadiah#Scholarly Issues|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.
Catholicism
He is regarded as a saint by several Catholic churches. His feast day is celebrated on the 14th day of the Coptic Month Tobi, (around January 24) in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Church . The Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite celebrate his memory on November 19 (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar , November 19 currently falls on December 2 of the modern Gregorian Calendar ). He is celebrated on February 28 in the Syriac and Malankara Church es, and with the other Minor prophet s in the Calendar of Saints (Armenian Apostolic Church)|Calendar of saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 31.
According to an old tradition, Obadiah is buried in Samaria .
Other individuals named Obadiah in the Old Testament are listed as:
the servant of king Ahab of Israel (Bibleverse|1|Kings|18:3|HE). According to both rabbinic tradition and the Sacred Tradition|tradition of the Orthodox Church, this is the same individual as the prophet.Citation
| last = | first = | author-link = | last2= | first2= | author2-link= | contribution = | year =1998 | publication-date= | title =The Lives of the Holy Prophets | editor-last = | editor-first = | editor-link= | edition= | volume = | series = | page =4 | place =Buena Vista CO | publisher =Holy Apostles Convent | id = | isbn =0-944359-12-4 | url = | accessdate = | author =compilation and translation by Holy Apostles Convent.
the son of Hananiah, a descendant of king David of Israel through Solomon ( 1 Chronicles Bibleverse-nb|1|Chronicles|3:21|HE)
the son of Uzzi, a descendant of the Hebrews|Hebrew patriarch Issachar (Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|7:3|HE)
the son of Azel, a descendant of king Saul the King|Saul of Israel through David and Jonathan|Jonathan (Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|8:38|HE)
the son of Shemaiah, a descendant of the Hebrew patriarch Levi (Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|9:16|HE)
a warrior of the Tribe of Gad who served King David (Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|12:9|HE)
the father of Ishmaiah, governor of the tribe of Zebulun during the reign of king David (Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|27:19|HE)
a prince of the southern kingdom of Kingdom of Judah|Judah during the reign of king Jehoshaphat ( 2 Chronicles Bibleverse-nb|2|Chronicles|17:7|HE)
a Levite , overseer of the reconstruction efforts during the reforms of king Josiah of Judah (Bibleverse|2|Chronicles|34:12|HE)
the son of Joab, one of the individuals who returned from the Babylonian captivity with the priestly scribe Ezra , and possibly the Levite mentioned in ( Book of Nehemiah|Nehemiah Bibleverse-nb||Nehemiah|8:9|HE) as a porter of Jerusalem's gates after the city's reconstruction under Nehemiah ( Book of Ezra|Ezra Bibleverse-nb||Ezra|8:9|HE)
References
Footnotes
Notations
Frederick George Holweck|Holweck, F. G. , A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints . St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1924.
Prophets of the Tanakh Persondata| NAME = Obadiah | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = Category:9th-century BC people Category:6th-century BC people Category:Converts to Judaism Category:Old Testament saints
