Servant.

Obed is short for Obadiah which means servant of God or Jehovah. According to simple traditional Christianity as obtained from the Jewish perspective of the Bible of the Jews, Obed is treated and viewed merely as the Son of Boaz and Ruth, and father of Jesse (Ruth 4: 17, 21-22; 1 Chr. 2: 12; Matt. 1: 5; Luke 3: 32). Further and deeper study reveals that Obed was by the Law of God, the Law of Moses, legally and rightfully the son of Mahlon, the son of Elimelech and Naomi (Deut. 25: 5-10; Ruth 4: 5; Ruth 4: 10; Ruth 4: 17). Thus according to the Law, Obed was an Ephrathite (Ephrathite), meaning of the tribe of Ephraim, a descendant of Joseph, and he was not legally and rightfully of the tribe of Judah though that would be his 'blood line', which blood he shed in Gethsemane and on the cross.