- In 1 Kings chapter 18 the prophet Elijah, King Ahab, and his administrator the prophet Obadiah all meet up to sort out a famine in Samaria.
- Obadiah was an Edomite who converted to Judaism. He was a descendant of Eliphaz who appears in the book of Job. Obadiah became a servant to King Ahab and his wife Queen Jezebel from Sidon who reigned in 869-850 BC. Obadiah hid a hundred prophets from Jezebel so that they would not be killed. He was wealthy and used his money to fund poor prophets. He himself was also given a prophecy against Edom.
- The Philistines and Arabs invaded Jerusalem in 853-841 BC. The prophecy may have arisen from this invasion coming from Edom.
- The Edomites are descended from Esau. He was Jacob’s twin brother. They were the sons of Isaac and Rebecca. Genesis 25:26 recounts how Esau was born before Jacob although Jacob was grasping Esau’s heel. Jacob later takes Esau’s birthright by trickery.
- Edom later became known as Idumea, and today is part of Jordan.
- Genre: Minor prophet
#6 Obadiah the Prophet from Edom
Merry and True 