Servant of the Lord.

(1) The steward of Ahab who protected the prophets of God from Jezebel (1 Kgs. 18).

(2) A prophet who foretold the doom of Edom. Nothing is known of his personal history. The prophecy was spoken directly after some capture of Jerusalem (possibly by the Philistines and Arabians during the reign of Jehoram, 848-844 B.C., or more probably by the Chaldeans, 586 B.C.) during which the Edomites had displayed hostility to Judah. (See Edom.) Obadiah foretells their punishment. For the fulfillment of his prophecy see 2 Kgs. 14: 7; 2 Chr. 25: 11-12. One of the better known passages of Obadiah is Obad. 1: 21, speaking of “saviours . . . on mount Zion,” which refers to the doctrine of salvation for the dead.