Obed-edom might have been a Philistine from Gath who returned with David (1 Samuel 27:1–12; 1 Samuel 29:1–11; 2 Samuel 15:18) to serve him. Alternatively, he might have been an Israelite who was born in Gath (1 Samuel 5:8 may suggest that a contingent of Israelites lived there). A third option is that he was an Israelite from a city that incorporated the word Gath
(which means winepress
), such as Gath Hepher or Gath Rimmon (Joshua 21:24).1 In this case he might also have been a Levite with his house being the closest Levitical residence.2
10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.