As is true of all the other prophetical books in the Old Testament, the title of this one evidently comes from the name of its writer. "Obadiah"means "servant of Yahweh"or "worshipper of Yahweh"depending on the form (vocalization) of his name in Hebrew, which is debated. There are 13 men who bear this name in the Old Testament, from Davidic to postexilic times, assuming the writer was not one of the other 12. It appears that he was not since attempts to identify him with one of the others have proved unsatisfying. A few scholars have favored the view that this "Obadiah"was not the name of an individual but a symbolic title of the writer who was an unidentified servant or worshipper of the Lord. This seems unlikely since all the other prophetical books bear the proper names of their writers.
Exactly who Obadiah was remains a mystery. Usually something about the writer accompanies his name at the beginning of each prophetical books, generally his father's name, some of his ancestors, and or his hometown. This descriptive information is absent in only two of the prophetical books: Obadiah and Malachi.
