1 Kings 18:3
in 1 Kings 18and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Jehovah greatly:
KJV
And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly:
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This verse in 1 Kings 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house,.... Perhaps his steward: the Jews (m) take him to be Obadiah the prophet, who wrote the small prophecy that goes by his name: (now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly:) who, though he did not go up to Jerusalem to worship, which ceremonial service was dispensed with in him, yet he did not worship the calves, nor Baal, but served the Lord in a spiritual manner. (m) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 39. 2.
This site's exposition
Obadiah, which was the governor of his house
on 1 Kings 18:3-6
Inside Ahab's own palace stands a man who fears the LORD greatly and has a hundred prophets hidden in two caves on bread and water, fed under Jezebel's nose. The narrator sets the king's errand beside it without comment: Ahab divides the land with his steward to hunt grass for the horses, a kingdom's ruler searching fountains for fodder and not for the God who shut them. Obadiah's caves answer Elijah's later claim to be alone before Elijah ever makes it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), was not only a good man, but zealously and eminently good; his great place put a lustre upon his goodness, and gave him great opportunities of doing good; and he feared the Lord from his youth (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Obadiah’s name, “servant of Yahweh,” indicates his religious character. It corresponds to the modern Arabic name Abdallah. Ahab could scarcely have been ignorant of Obadiah’s faithfulness to Yahweh; and it tells in favor of the monarch’s tolerance that he should have maintained an adherent of the old religion in so important an office. There seems to be no doubt that the worst deeds of Ahab’s reign sprang less from his own free will and natural disposition than from the evil counsels, or rather perhaps the imperious requirements, of his wife.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Obadiah feared the Lord greatly--Although he did not follow the course taken by the Levites and the majority of pious Israelites at that time of emigration into Judah (2Ch 11:13-16), he was a secret and sincere worshipper.
Obadiah feared the Lord greatly - He was a sincere and zealous worshipper of the true God, and his conduct towards the persecuted prophets was the full proof both of his piety and humanity.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֣א | vaiyikra' | and he summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אַחְאָ֔ב | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | <to> | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֹבַדְיָ֖הוּ | ʾoadyahu | Obadiah | H5662 → | 20 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [was] over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַבָּ֑יִת | habayit | the household | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְעֹבַדְיָ֗הוּ | veoadyahu | and Obadiah | H5662 → | 20 times |
| הָיָ֥ה | hayah | he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| יָרֵ֛א | yare' | fearing | H3373 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
וַיִּקְרָ֣אand he summoned
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
אַחְאָ֔בAhab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
אֶל־<to>
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֹבַדְיָ֖הוּObadiah
ʾoadyahuH5662 →20 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[was] over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַבָּ֑יִתthe household
habayitH1004 →2046 times
וְעֹבַדְיָ֗הוּand Obadiah
veoadyahuH5662 →20 times
הָיָ֥הhe was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
יָרֵ֛אfearing
yare'H3373 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מְאֹֽד׃exceedingly
meodH3966 →300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 10:28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
it leads to
- Luke 12:4–5
I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
- Isaiah 8:12–13
“Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.
- Revelation 2:10
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful…
- James 4:12
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
- Romans 8:35–39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
- Luke 12:4–5
Through
Acts 10:35but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:29
If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.
- Romans 10:12–13
For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,
- Acts 10:2
He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly.
- 1 John 2:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.