Obil is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Obil was an Ishmaelite who served in the administration of King David. He is named only once in Scripture, in 1 Chronicles 27:30, where he is listed as the man “over the camels” — that is, the overseer of David’s camels. The same verse notes that “over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite,” showing that Obil’s post was one among many specialized assignments in the king’s service.
The setting of this mention is a roster of David’s royal officials, the men who managed the king’s property and resources. In that list, responsibility was divided carefully: some men oversaw storehouses, some the fields and vineyards, some the herds and flocks, and some, like Obil, the livestock used for transport and travel. Camels were especially valuable in that world — suited to long journeys and to carrying loads across dry country — so entrusting a man with the king’s camels was a substantial responsibility, not a trivial one.
Scripture records nothing else about Obil: no genealogy beyond the label “the Ishmaelite,” no deeds, no words, no later mention. What the text says of him is simply that he held this post faithfully enough to be named in the record. His inclusion in the chronicler’s list is itself the whole of his biblical witness: a man known for the work he was given and the office he filled in David’s kingdom.
The Name
The name Obil (Hebrew *Ovīl*) is not one whose meaning is clearly recoverable, and it is best to say so plainly rather than assign it a meaning the text does not supply. Suggestions have been offered — some connecting it with a root related to mourning or to a camel keeper — but none is well established, and the name appears nowhere else in Scripture to shed light on it. What can be said is that it is a personal name borne by an Ishmaelite, which fits the setting of 1 Chronicles 27:30, where his foreign origin is explicitly noted alongside his service to David.
A Closing Thought
Obil never speaks, never performs a miracle, never appears outside a single line in a long list of names. Yet he was trusted with the king’s camels, and that trust was enough to earn him a place in Scripture. Most of God’s people are like him: unnamed by history, remembered only by the faithfulness of ordinary work done well. There is quiet dignity in that. The kingdom of David ran because men like Obil tended what they were given, and the kingdom of God still advances through unnoticed service offered honestly to the One who sees.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 1 Chronicles 27:30 — Over the camels also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite: