or the Prophecy of Obadiah, a canonical book of the Old Testament, which is contained in one single chapter; and is partly an invective against the cruelty of the Edomites, who mocked and derided the children of Israel as they passed into captivity; and with other enemies, their confederates, invaded and oppressed those strangers, and divided the spoil amongst themselves; and partly a prediction of the deliverance of Israel, and of the victory and triumph of the whole church over her enemies.

prophet, is believed to have been the same with the governor of Ahab's house, mentioned in the first book of Kings, (xviii. 3, &c.) who hid and fed the hundred prophets whom Jezebel would have destroyed; and some say, that he was that Obadiah whom Josiah made overseer of the works of the temple, (2 Chron. xxxiv. 12.) The truth is, that when he lived or prophesied is wholly uncertain: though most writers make him contemporary with Hosea, Amos, Obadiah and Joel.

valiant man of David's army, who came to join him in the wilderness, with several others of the tribe of Gad, (1 Chron. xii. 9.)

This was also the name of one of those whom king Jehoshaphat sent into the cities of Judah to instruct the people in their religion, (2 Chron. xvii. 7.) It was also the name of one of the principal men of Judah, who signed the covenant that Nehemiah renewed with the Lord, (Nehem. x. 5.)

Obed-Edom, son of Jeduthun, a Levite, (1 Chr. xvi. 38.) and father of Shemaiah, Jehozabad, Joah, Sacar, Nathaneeel, Ammiel, Hizachar, and Peulthai. He had a numerous family, says the scripture, (1 Chr. xxvi. 4,) because the Lord blessed him; and this is the occasion of this blessing. When David transferred the ark of the covenant to the city of Jerusalem, Uzzah having rashly laid hands on the ark, which he thought to be in danger of falling, was smitten of God, and died upon the spot. David, terrified at this accident, durst not remove the ark into the place he had provided for it in his own house, but set it up in the house of Obed-edom, which was near the place where Uzzah had been struck dead. But the presence of the ark not only created no temporal misfortune to the family of this Levite, but on the contrary the Lord heaped upon him all sorts of blessings; which encouraged David some months after to remove it to the place he had appointed for it. Afterwards Obed-edom and his sons were assigned to be keepers of the doors of the temple, (1 Chron. xv. 18, 21.) In the second book of Samuel, (vi. 10.) Obed-edom is called the Gittite, probably because he was of Gathrimmon, a city of the Levites beyond Jordan, (Josh. xxi. 24, 25.)