to the king’s golden image in response to particular music. (Dan. 3:5, 8, 12) When they were questioned by the enraged king, their firm refusal to violate their conscience and their expression of faith in Jehovah resulted in the king’s having them thrown into a superheated furnace, where they were miraculously protected by God’s angelic representative. Following their release by the shaken king, and after physical examination and observation by the king’s court, they were restored to royal favor.—Dan. 3:15-30; see MESHACH; SHADRACH.

ABEL

(Aʹbel) [a breath; vapor; transitoriness].

1. The second son of Adam and his wife Eve, and the younger brother of their firstborn son Cain. (Gen. 4:2) It is probable that, while yet alive, Abel had sisters, since the record mentions the birth of daughters to his parents, but their names are not recorded. (Gen. 5:1-4) As a man he became a herder of sheep; his brother, a farmer.—Gen. 4:2.

After an indefinite period of time, Abel made an offering to Jehovah God. Cain did likewise. Each brought of what he had: Abel, of the firstlings of his flocks; Cain of his produce. (Gen. 4:3, 4) They both had belief in God. They undoubtedly learned of Him from their parents and must have known why they all were outside the Garden of Eden and denied entry to it. Their offerings indicate a recognition of their alienated state and an expression of desire for God’s favor. God expressed favor toward Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. How the approval and the rejection were manifested the record does not show. But the reason for God’s approval of only Abel’s offering is made clear by later writings. The apostle Paul lists Abel as the first man of faith, at Hebrews 11:4, and shows that this resulted in his sacrifice being of “greater worth” than Cain’s offering. By contrast, 1 John 3:11, 12 shows Cain’s heart attitude to have been bad; and his later rejection of God’s counsel and warning, and his premeditated murder of his brother Abel demonstrated this.

While it cannot be said that Abel had any foreknowledge of the eventual outworking of the divine promise at Genesis 3:15 concerning the promised “seed” yet his offering of the firstlings of his flock certainly was appropriate and undoubtedly was also a factor in God’s expression of approval. To the Giver of life, Abel gave as his gift life, even though it was only from among his flocks.—Compare John 1:36.

Jesus shows Abel to have been the first martyr and object of religious persecution waged by his intolerant brother Cain. In doing so Jesus speaks of Abel as living at the “founding of the world.” (Luke 11:48-51) The word “world” in this text comes from the Greek koʹsmos and in its use here means the ‘world of mankind.’ By the expression “the founding [Greek, ka·ta·bo·lesʹ] of the world,” Jesus manifestly referred to the birth of children by Adam and Eve, thereby producing a world of mankind. Paul includes Abel among the “cloud of witnesses” of pre-Christian times.—Heb. 11:4; 12:1.

Because of his faith and divine approval, the record of which continues to bear witness, it could be said that Abel, “although he died, yet speaks.” (Heb. 11:4) At Hebrews 12:24 the apostle refers to “Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and the blood of sprinkling, which speaks in a better way than Abel’s blood.” Abel’s blood, though shed in martyrdom, did not ransom or redeem anyone, anymore than did the blood of his sacrificed sheep. His blood in effect cried to God for vengeance upon assassin Cain. The blood of Jesus, here presented as validating the new covenant, speaks in a better way than Abel’s in that it calls to God for mercy upon all persons of faith like Abel, and is the means by which their ransoming is possible.

Since Seth was evidently born shortly after Abel’s death and when Adam was 130 years of age, it is possible that Abel may have been as much as 100 years old at the time of his martyrdom.—Gen. 5:3.

2. A town also called Abel-beth-maacah or Abel of Beth-maacah. Elsewhere used as a prefix to the names of various places.—2 Sam. 20:18; see ABEL-BETH-MAACAH.

3. At 1 Samuel 6:18 the Authorized Version refers to “the great stone of Abel,” while the marginal reading says, “Or, great Abel, that is, mourning.” However, modern translations generally read here simply “the great stone.” (Compare AT, JB, NC [Spanish], NW and others.) While the Masoretic Hebrew text uses the word ʼa· velʹ in this verse, the Greek Septuagint and the Aramaic Targum translate it as if it were ʼeʹven, that is, “a stone.” This agrees with verse 14 of the same chapter. It could not refer to Abel of Beth-maacah, since the incident recorded at 1 Samuel 6:18 took place near Beth-shemesh in Judah.

ABEL-BETH-MAACAH

(Aʹbel-beth-maʹa·cah) and Abel of Beth-maacah [meadow of the house of oppression], or simply Abel [meadow].

A fortified city of Naphtali in northern Palestine probably four miles (6.4 kilometers) W of Dan, identified with the modern village of Tell Abil. It was favorably located on the road from Hazor northward at the intersection of the E-W route from Damascus to Tyre. David’s men under Joab besieged the city when the rebel Sheba fled there. Thereupon a wise woman, speaking for the “peaceable and faithful ones of Israel,” pleaded with Joab not to destroy Abel, from of old the place to inquire for wise judgments, hence a “mother in Israel”; meaning also, probably, a metropolis or city having dependent towns. Heeding this woman’s advice, the inhabitants pitched Sheba’s head over the wall and the city was spared.—2 Sam. 20:14-22.

Instigated by Asa of Judah, Syrian Ben-hadad struck down Abel-beth-maacah to divert Baasha of Israel from building Ramah. (1 Ki. 15:20; see RAMAH.) Abel of Beth-maacah was captured by Tiglath-pileser of Assyria during the reign of Pekah, and its inhabitants were sent into exile. (2 Ki. 15:29) While the passage is mutilated, it evidently appears in the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser in the list of cities he conquered. The surrounding fertile, well-watered fields doubtless gave rise to another merited name, Abelmaim [meadow of waters]. Its situation made it a good storage place.—2 Chron. 16:4.

ABEL-KERAMIM

(Aʹbel-kerʹa·mim) [meadow of vineyards].

The most distant point to which Jephthah pursued the Ammonites in their defeat. (Judg. 11:33) It is generally held to be situated between Heshban and Rabbah or Rabbath-ammon (modern Amman). Eusebius (Onomastica 32.15-16) located it as about six miles (9.7 kilometers) from Rabbath-ammon, but the direction is uncertain. It is generally identified today with Khirbet es-Suq, about five miles (8 kilometers) S and a little W of Rabbath-ammon, though some recommend Naʽur, about nine miles (14.5 kilometers) W of Rabbath-ammon as the probable location.

ABEL-MAIM

See ABEL-BETH-MAACAH.

ABEL-MEHOLAH

(Aʹbel-me·hoʹlah) [meadow of dancing or dance place by a perennial stream].

The home of Elisha, where Elijah found him plowing and anointed him prophet successor.—1 Ki. 19:16-19.

At an earlier date Abel-meholah figures in the account of the defeat of the Midianites by Gideon’s small band of warriors. The disorganized flight of the Midianites is reported to have carried them “as far as the outskirts of Abel-meholah by Tabbath.”—Judg. 7:22.

Because Tabbath lies E of the Jordan River, effort has been made since 1951 to identify Abel-meholah with Tell el-Maqlub on the Wadi el-Yabis. Additional argument adduced for this now popular identification has been that Elijah, after leaving Horeb, stopped at Abel-meholah to anoint Elisha and had the further commission to travel to “the wilderness of Damascus” to anoint Hazael as king over Syria. (1 Ki. 19:15) The ancient highways leading from Horeb to Damascus lay E of the Jordan.

However, the account of Gideon’s pursuit of the Midianites in reality indicates that they were W (rather than E) of the Jordan at the point of Judges 7:22, as Gideon thereafter sent word to the men of Ephraim: “Go down to meet Midian and capture ahead of them the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” (Judg. 7:24) And, as regards Elijah’s trip to the wilderness of Damascus, the record shows that this was not effected immediately but, rather, was made sometime after by his successor Elisha. (1 Ki. 19:15-19; 2 Ki. 8:7-13) In view of this, some modern geographical texts (The Geographical and Topographical Texts of the Old Testament by Jans Jozef Simons [1959], The Geography of the Bible by Denis Baly [1957], and the Atlas of the Bible by L. H. Grollenberg [1956]) continue to recommend a site W of the Jordan rather than E of it. Both Jerome and Eusebius of the early centuries of the Common Era identified Abel-meholah with a site ten Roman miles (9.2 English miles [14.8 kilometers]) S of Beth-shean (W of the Jordan). The suggested location is Tell Abu Sifri, located at the junction of the Wadi Malih (which may preserve some trace of the name Abel-meholah) and the Wadi el-Helweh. Its position nearly opposite the proposed site of Tabbath could allow for its being referred to as “by Tabbath.” The nearby plain of Beth-shean is well suited for large-scale farming, such as Elisha was apparently engaged in with the “twelve spans” of bulls.—1 Ki. 19:19.

Further indication in favor of such a site W of the Jordan is the fact that Abel-meholah later formed part of Solomon’s fifth administrative district and is listed with other places W of the Jordan. (1 Ki. 4:12) It was evidently the home of Adriel the Meholathite, a son-in-law of Saul. (1 Sam. 18:19; 2 Sam. 21:8) Festal dancing in harvest celebrations perhaps accounts for this name Abel-meholah.

ABEL-MIZRAIM

See ATAD.

ABEL-SHITTIM

See SHITTIM.

ABHORRENT THING

The Hebrew word nid·dahʹ occurs some twenty-seven times in the Hebrew Scriptures and is derived from the root word na·dhadhʹ, which means, in its causative sense, “to excommunicate, to exclude, to put out of mind (refuse to think of).” Nid·dahʹ, then, indicates impurity, something abhorrent, whether physically, as, for example, from menstruation (Lev. 12:2, 5; 15:20, 24, 25, 33), or morally, as from idolatry. (Ezra 9:11; 2 Chron. 29:5) The same Hebrew word is used with regard to the “water for cleansing” (Num. 19:9-21; 31:23, NW; “water of separation,” AV; “water for impurity [i.e., for removing impurity],” RS, AT; “lustral water,” JB), and this phrase might also be rendered “water used in case of menstruation,” as indicating water used to remove that which is impure or unclean.

Thus, at Lamentations 1:17, Jeremiah says that Jerusalem in her desolation “has become an abhorrent thing [as a menstruous woman, AV; ‘objeto de abominacion,ʼ NC; abhorrent, AT] in among them [that is, among the surrounding nations].”

Prior to Jerusalem’s destruction by Babylon, Jehovah said of the people of Israel through his prophet Ezekiel: “The house of Israel are dwelling upon their soil, and they keep making it unclean with their way and with their dealings. Like the uncleanness of menstruation [nid·dahʹ] their way has become before me.” (Ezek. 36:17) Due to idolatrous practices, Israel was spiritually impure, and would thus be avoided by her husbandly owner, Jehovah God, and would be reunited with him spiritually only after cleansing. Thus, at verse 25, Jehovah says: “And I will sprinkle upon you clean water, and you will become clean; from all your impurities and from all your dungy idols I shall cleanse you.”—Compare Ezekiel 18:6.

At Ezekiel 7:19, 20 God expresses his anger against Israel for having made religious images with their silver and their gold and says that he will, therefore, cause them to throw their silver and their gold into the streets as an “abhorrent thing [nid·dahʹ].”—Compare Isaiah 30:22; see DISGUSTING THING.

ABI

See ABIJAH No. 7.

ABI-ALBON

(Aʹbi-alʹbon) [father of strength, valiant].

A Benjamite and an outstanding warrior listed among thirty-seven of King David’s most valiant fighters. (2 Sam. 23:31) He is evidently the Abiel referred to in a parallel passage at 1 Chronicles 11:32. He is called “the Arbathite,” perhaps because of coming from the city of Beth-arabah, which lay near the frontier between Benjamin and Judah above the northern end of the Dead Sea. (Josh. 15:6; 18:18, 21, 22) His fighting valor was in accord with Jacob’s deathbed prophecy concerning the tribe of Benjamin.—Gen. 49:27.

ABIASAPH

(A·biʹa·saph) [the father has gathered, or added].

One of the three sons of Korah the Levite, and a descendant of Kohath. (Ex. 6:16-24) His brothers were Elkanah and Assir. He is apparently referred to as Ebiasaph at 1 Chronicles 6:37 and perhaps at 1 Chronicles 9:19 and 1 Chronicles 6:23.

It appears that Korah’s sons did not join their father in his rebellion, along with Dathan and Abiram, against Moses and Aaron. Hence, these sons did not die with their father at that time. (Num. 26:9-11) Thus, at a later time, we find reference made to “the sons of Korah” in the superscriptions of many of the Psalms (42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87, 88), although this term has, basically, the meaning of “the descendants of Korah,” or “the house of Korah.”

ABIATHAR

(A·biʹa·thar) [father of excellence or of abundance].

A son of High Priest Ahimelech, of the tribe of Levi and of the line of Eli. (1 Sam. 14:3; 22:11; 23:6) He lived during the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon, and during David’s reign he became high priest. He had two sons, Jonathan and Ahimelech (the same name as Abiathar’s father).—2 Sam. 15:27, 36; 8:17.

Abiathar was living in the priest city of Nob, a short distance from Jerusalem, when King Saul had Doeg the Edomite slaughter Abiathar’s father, the high priest, and other priests (eighty-five in all), as well as the other residents of the city, because of their supposed support of David. Only Abiathar escaped. He fled to David, himself a fugitive, evidently at Keilah several miles to the south. David, feeling a certain personal responsibility for the tragedy, told Abiathar: “I well knew on that day, because Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would without fail tell Saul. I personally have wronged every soul of the house of your father. Just dwell with me. Do not be afraid, for whoever looks for my soul looks for your soul, for you are one needing protection with me.”—1 Sam. 22:12-23; 23:6.

Abiathar now traveled with David during the remainder of his outlawed state and served as priest for David’s forces. First Samuel 23:6 shows that Abiathar had brought with him an ephod, and, while the priests in general wore an ephod of linen (1 Sam. 22:18), verses 9-12 of chapter 23 indicate that this was apparently the ephod of Abiathar’s father, the high priest, containing the Urim and Thummim.

POSITION DURING KINGSHIPS OF DAVID AND SOLOMON

It appears that when David finally gained the throne, Abiathar was made the high priest. Some authorities suggest that, after High Priest Ahimelech’s death, King Saul had Zadok installed as high priest to replace Ahimelech, thereby not recognizing Abiathar,