Sositiveness. It has been held, for instance (see ohn Li"htfoot, HorcB Hebr. ad Mc. I.e.), that when spelt with the double 6 and final a, the word refers to physical fatherhood ; accordin<;ly, our Lord's choice of that form is thought to indicate special closeness of relationship. But the frequent use of Abba simply as a title of honour in the Mishna and Tosefta seems to disprove this opinion (Schiirer, HJF § 25, n. 30 ; cf. Jg IV, 2 K 2\ Alt 23°). On the other hand, it has been asserted that in Syr. the word with the double b denotes a spiritual father, with a single b the natural. But this dis- tinction also seems not to be sustained by usage (see Payne Smith's Lcj-iCOH, s.v.). Again, it is noteworthy that the Gr. equivalent, i waTrjp, is appended to the term in all three instances of its occurrence. The second f^vangelist, indeed, in other cases sometimes introduces the Aram, terms used by our Lord (see 541 711. 34) . ijut in those cases the added Gr. trans- lation is preceded by an explanatory phrase dis- tinctly marking it as such. Moreover, the Apostle Paul makes the same addition of 6 Trarrip in both instances. Had the term ' Abba,' then, become a quasi proper name? Indications are not wanting that it had already taken on a degree of con- ventional sacredness ; servants were forbidden to use it in addressing the head of the house (Beraclioth 166, cited by Delitzsch on Rom. I.e.). It seems to have been the favourite appellation of God employed by Jesus in prayer (cf. Mt 11^-* 2G'»-", Lk 10-' 22^5 2:5", Jn 11" 12"-2« 17'- "•■■"■*>). This would greatly promote its use in Christian circles ; and though the second word was probably added primarily by Gr.-speaking Jews in exidana- tion of the first, usage doubtless soon gave the phrase the force of an intensilied repetition and the currency of a devotional formula. Merely impassioned repetition, indeed, ordinarily adheres to the same term (as Kvpie, /ti pic, Mt 7" ; vXl, ri\l, 27''°) ; such expressions, therefore, as val, ifi-fiv. Rev 1' (cf. 2 Co P"); 'Amen, So be it'; ' Hallelujah, Praise the Lord,' are closer ana- logues. Rabbinical examjiles are not wanting of similar combinations; see Schoett^en, Hoioe Uebr. on Mark, I.e. J. H. Thaver.
ABDA (N^3y), 'servant, K. of the Lord'; cf. names Obadiah, Abdeel, Ebed.— 1. 'E0pi B, 'A^oii A, "E5pa.li Luc Father of Adoniram, master of Solomon's forced levy (1 K 4"). 2. 'A^5ds K, 'ABSiis Luc. A Levite descended from JeduthuD (Neh 11"). Called Obadiah (1 Ch 9").
C F. BURNEY.
ABDEEL
ABIASAPH
ABDEEL C'K^?!'), father of Shelemiah (Jer 36«), one of those ori(ered by King Jelioiakim to arrest Jeremiah auU Uaruch. ^ept. omits.
ABDI (i:y, perhaps for nnny ' servant of Yah,' cf. Palmj-r. •1211). — 1. Grandfather of the musician Ethan, 1 Ch 6". 2. Fatlier of Kish, 2 Ch 2!)'^. 8. A Jew who had married a forei;,'n wife, Ezr 10" =Aedias, 1 Es 9-''. H. A- White.
ABDIAS (2 Es 1»).— Obadiah the prophet.
ABDIEL (Wva ' servant of God ').— Son of Guni (1 Ch 5"). See GENEALOGY.
ABDON (iNnnff 'servile'). — !. Son of Hillel, of Pirathon in Ephraim, the last of the minor judfies, Jg 12'5-'». 2. A family of the tribe of Benjamin dwelling in Jerus., 1 Ch 8'^. 3. A Gibeonite family dwelling in Jerus., 1 Ch S** 9**. 4. A courtier of Josiah, 2 Ch 34*; in 2 K 22" his name is Achbor. G. A. CoOKE.
ABDON (;v-i:y).— A Levitical city of Asher (Jos 21"", 1 Ch ti"'), now (V. d. Vehle)' Abfleh E. of Achzib on the lulls (.SU'/", vol. i. sheet iii.).
C. U. CONDER.
ABEDNEGO {^« ijJi, ; ^« = perh. 'tzi 'servant of Nebo'; so Hitzig.Gratz, Sehrader).— See Shadrach.
ABEL (S;.7, 'A;3«\).— The second son (twin ?) of Adam and Eve, by occupation a herdsman (Gn 4"), offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain (He U'), and out of jealousy was slain by his elder brother (Gn 4'. See Cain). The current etymolo'iy (Sjn breath, vanity) has been disputed by tVie Assyriologists, who connect the name with ablu, abal, 'son' (cf. Asurbanipal) ; but while this may well be the root, it does not follow that it gives the etymology in the mind of the writer. There would have been no jjoint in naming the younger brother 'son' (Kranz Delitzsch), and it is better to suppose that the proper name was here designed to suggest the idea of tlie short-lived or possibly the shepherd (cf. Sj;). The representation of A. as a slieplierd coincides with the OT tradition of the superiority of the pastoral life. The ground of the aeceptiince of A. 's offering (Gn 4*) is not its conformity to a revealed command, nor its character of blood, but the spirit of true piety which was expressed in his iving to God his beat, viz. the tirsll ngs of the ock, and of these the fattest portions. Cain's knowledge of God's acceptance of A.'s oU'ering implies a visible sign, probably the kindling of the sat-rilice by fire from heaven (cf. 1 K 18^*). In NT Abel a|)pear8 as the first martyr (Mt 23"), and as a hero of faith (He II'*), while his death is contrasted with that of Christ as calling, not for forgiveness, but for vengeance (cf. Westcott on He 12*'). The character and the fate of A. rellect the Jewish consciousness of the enduring division of mankind into the two cla.s.ses of the )ieo|<le and the enemies of God, and of the persecutions endured by His chosen people at the hands of their enemies (cf. 1 Jn 3'^).