ō´bed - ē´dom ( עבד־אדום ( 2 Chronicles 25:24 ), עבד־אדם ( 2 Samuel 6:10; 1 Chronicles 13:13 , 1 Chronicles 13:14; 1 Chronicles 15:25 ), but elsewhere without hyphen, ‛ōbhēdh -'ĕdhōm ,"servant of (god) Edom"; so W. R. Smith, Religion of Semites2 , 42, and H. P. Smith, Samuel , 294 f, though others explain it as = "servant of man"): In 2 Samuel 6:10 , 2 Samuel 6:11 , 2 Samuel 6:12; 1 Chronicles 13:13 , 1 Chronicles 13:14 a Philistine of Gath and servant of David, who received the Ark of Yahweh into his house when David brought it into Jerusalem from Kiriath-jearim. Because of the sudden death of Uzzah, David was unwilling to proceed with the Ark to his citadel, and it remained three months in the house of Obed-edom, "and Yahweh blessed Obed-edom, and all his house" ( 2 Samuel 6:11 ). According to 1 Chronicles 13:14 the Ark had a special "house" of its own while there. He is probably the same as the Levite of 1 Chronicles 15:25 . In 1 Chronicles 15:16-21 Obed-edom is a "singer," and in 1 Chronicles 15:24 a "doorkeeper," while according to 1 Chronicles 26:4-8 , 1 Chronicles 26:15 he is a Korahite doorkeeper, to whose house fell the overseership of the storehouse ( 1 Chronicles 26:15 ), while 1 Chronicles 16:5 , 1 Chronicles 16:38 names him as a "minister before the ark," a member of the house or perhaps guild of Jeduthun (see 2 Chronicles 25:24 ).
Obed-edom is an illustration of the service rendered to Hebrew religion by foreigners, reminding one of the Simon of Cyrene who bore the cross of Jesus (Matthew 27:32 , etc.). The Chronicler naturally desired to think that only Levites could discharge such duties as Obed-edom performed, and hence, the references to him as a Levite.
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