Obed (Hastings' Dictionary)

1. The son of Boaz and Ruth (Ru 417 0875) of whom the women said to Naomi at his birth: ‘He shall be unto thee a restorer of life and a nourisher of thine old age’ (Ru 4"). He was nursed in his infancy by Naomi, and grew up to become the father of Jesse the father of David, and an ancestor of our Lord (cf. Mt 15, Lk 333, There seems no reason to doubt that David was really the grandson of Obed. 2. A descendant of a daughter of Sheshan who was married to an Egyptian servant (1 Ch 2%, B ’Q875, A ᾿Ιωβήδ). Obed’s father’s name was Ephlal. His son’s name was Jehu. 3, One of ‘the mighty men of the armies’ of David (1 Ch 1157, Β & ᾿Ιωβήθ, A ᾿Ιωβήδ). 4. A son of Shemaiah and grandson of Obed- edom, who belonged apparently to ‘the courses of the doorkeepers’ (1 Ch 2617, B Ὠβήδ, A "Iw875). 5. The father of Azariah, who was one of ‘the captains of hundreds’ who combined with Jehoiada for the deposition of Athaliah and the setting up of Joash as king (2 Ch 231, B ᾿Ὠβήδ, A ἸΙωβήδ). H. A. REDPATH. OBED-EDOM (ΟἿ 733. The second part of the OBEDIENCE, OBEY 581 OBEDIENCE, OBEY name is probably but not certainly that of a god. Cf. the similar names ‘Abd-Ashtart, ‘Abd-Mel- kart, etc., and see Driver, Heb. Text of Sam. p. 206f.; LXX B ᾿Αβεδδαρά, ᾿Αβεδδαράμ, ᾿Αβαεδόμ, ᾿Αβδεδόμ,᾿Αβδοδόμ,᾽ Ἰαβδεδόμ ; A shows the additional forms ᾿Αβεδδαδόμ, ᾿Αβεδδαράν, "Ia8dod6u).—1. A Philistine, a native of Gath, who lived in or near Jerusalem. It was in his house that David de- posited the ark after the death of Uzzah, and here it remained three months, bringing a blessing by its press (2S 6%). In the parallel narrative, 1 Ch 13%, the Chronicler characteristically writes, ‘the ark of God remained with the family of Obed- edom in his house.’ The last three words here refer not to O. but to the ark. This would have been rendered evident if RV had changed ‘his’ into ‘its.’ The Chronicler was unable to conceive of the ark remaining in the house of an uncireum- cised Philistine, so he constructs a house for it within the house, or on the property, of Obed- edom. (See Kittel’s note, ad loc., in Tan t’s OT, and Bertholet, Stellung d. Isr. z. d. Fremden, p. 182f.). It is in all probability the same O. that appears as 2. The eponym of a family of door- keepers in the temple, 1 Ch 15'- 16% 26% 8: 15, 2 Ch 25%. It is easy to understand how the story of O.’s connexion with the ark might transform a Gittite into a Levite (cf. the analogous cases of Samuel, who in 1S 11 isan Ephraimite, but in 1 Ch 6 a Levite ; and the temple-guard, which in 2 Καὶ 11 consists of the king’s foreign mercenaries, but is converted in 2 Ch 23 into Levitical watchmen). 3. The eponym of a post-exilic family of singers, 1 Ch 157" 16°, J. A. SECBIE,