Espionage in the House of Ahab

Beginning with the “oil miracle” for the wife of one of the “Bnei ha-Neviim” in the stories of Elisha the prophet, we ask a number of questions that lead us to the individual Ovadya mentioned in the stories of Eliyahu. Who is Ovadya? Ovadya is a senior official of Ahab, but he also secretly hides and sustains hundreds of prophets-in-training. How did he come to be so trusted by King Ahab, whose fault it was that the prophets feared for their lives? Classic commentators assist us in painting a portrait of Ovadya, who becomes the insider agent who connects the dots between seemingly unrelated stories, personalities and events.