How many times is Obed mentioned in the Bible?
The word Obed appears 13 times in the King James Version, in 11 verses. It is found in 5 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Obed 13 times.
Most readers mean Obed, the son of Boaz and Ruth and the grandfather of David (Ruth 4:17). Four other men share the name (1 Chronicles 2:37, 11:47 and 26:7, and 2 Chronicles 23:1), and every use is counted. Obed-edom is a different man and is not counted here.
Not counted: Obed inside the hyphenated name of a different person or place, 20 times in the KJV: Obed-edom (20). The World English Bible has 20 such uses.
Obed in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Obed counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Obed | 13 | 13 |
| Total | 13 | 13 |
What the name Obed means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Obed as "a servant; workman".
This is the 1869 traditional meaning; modern scholars often read names differently.
See every name and place with its meaning and count on Bible names and their meanings.
Source: Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869), checked 2026-10-24.
Which books mention Obed most
Obed appears in 5 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Chronicles has the most (6), then Ruth (3) and Matthew (2).
First and last mention of Obed
And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,
The verse that uses it most is 1 Chronicles 2:12, 2 times (tied with Matthew 1:5):
And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse,
Common questions
How many times is Obed in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 10 of the 13 uses are in the Old Testament and 3 in the New Testament. Obed appears in 5 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Chronicles has the most (6), then Ruth (3) and Matthew (2).
Where is Obed first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Ruth 4:17: "And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David." The last is Luke 3:32.
What does the name Obed mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Obed as "a servant; workman".
More word counts: Ekron, Manoah, Paran, Achaia, Adullam, flesh, knowledge, tears, or all 635 words.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-24.