Oded

Biblical Account

Oded is a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel who appears only in 2 Chronicles 28. During the reign of King Ahaz of Judah, King Pekah of Israel attacked Judah. According to 2 Chronicles 28:6-8, many people of Judah were killed in this war, and two hundred thousand women and children were carried captive to Samaria. 2 Kings 16 also covers the wars of this period, but the episode of the captives and the figure of Oded appear only in 2 Chronicles.

Oded went out to meet the returning army and addressed it (2 Chronicles 28:9-11). God, he said, had been wroth with Judah and had delivered them into Israel's hand, yet the soldiers had "slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven." Now they intended to make their brethren of Judah their slaves, and in this they too were guilty. They must therefore send the captives back. Four leaders of Ephraim, among them Azariah the son of Johanan, then supported his words and stood against the soldiers. The soldiers left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation. The leaders clothed the captives and gave them shoes, fed them and gave them drink, and anointed them. They carried the feeble on donkeys and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees (2 Chronicles 28:12-15).

Others of the Same Name

In 2 Chronicles 15:1, Azariah, the prophet who prophesied to King Asa of Judah, is called "the son of Oded." In the Hebrew text, 15:8 refers to the same message as "the prophecy of Oded the prophet." For this reason some translations supply words to render the verse "the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded." Because the reigns of Asa and Ahaz are separated by more than a century, Oded the father of Azariah is generally regarded as a different person from the Oded of chapter 28.

Significance Within Scripture

This account in 2 Chronicles shows that even at a time when the southern and northern kingdoms were hostile to each other, a prophet's word could still be heeded within the northern kingdom. Oded's words reflect the idea that even those whom God uses as instruments of judgment remain accountable for excessive violence, as well as an awareness that the peoples of the north and the south were "brethren." The New Testament does not mention Oded directly.

Interpretation and Issues

A number of commentators have noted the resemblance between this scene and the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). The points of overlap they cite are that Samaritans clothe and anoint people regarded as enemies, set them on donkeys, and bring them to Jericho. Whether Jesus had this passage in mind is not stated in Scripture and remains a matter of interpretation.

A careful reading should note the distinctions the text draws: it was the leaders of Ephraim, not Oded himself, who stood against the army, and it was also these leaders who cared for the captives. Scripture records nothing about Oded's origins or his later activities.

In the Korean Church

Oded is not a widely known figure. He is sometimes discussed in expository sermons on 2 Chronicles, or introduced alongside the Parable of the Good Samaritan in sermons on love for one's enemies and on mercy.