From the Hebrew words עבד (ʿeved) meaning "servant, slave," and יה (Yah), the short form of the name of the Hebrew God, Yahweh, the name Obadiah (עבדיה) is a shortened form of ʿObadyahu (עבדיהו), meaning "Servant of Yah(weh)." Perhaps the most famous Obadiah was a Hebrew prophet whose prophecy is preserved in the biblical book of Obadiah.