Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Kings 18:3

"And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Jehovah greatly:" — 1 Kings 18:3 (ASV)

Obadiah’s name, meaning “servant of Yahweh,” indicates his religious character. It corresponds to the modern Arabic name Abdallah. Ahab could hardly have been ignorant of Obadiah’s faithfulness to Yahweh, and it speaks to the monarch’s tolerance that he maintained a follower of the old religion in such an important office. There seems to be no doubt that the worst deeds of Ahab’s reign stemmed less from his own free will and natural disposition than from the evil counsel, or perhaps the imperious requirements, of his wife.