 The following sections reflect every mention of the name Obed-Edom in the Hebrew Bible.In 1 Samuel 4, the Philistines, a neighboring people, capture the Ark of the Covenant, also known as the "Ark of God", a sacred object of the Israelites, during the Battle of Aphek.The Philistines then take the Ark into their own territory, leading God to attack the Philistines with illness (1 Samuel 5).