LmRATl'ttB.— Schrndcr, COT; Dillnunn, (7«n<nf ; Delitacb, 0*ne*it ; and Lit«rature of Sacrifice.
W. P. Patkiwon. ABEL (Sjk), 'meadow.' — The name of various
f)Iace8 in Pal. and Syria, situated by cultivalile ands. In cmo passage (1 S 0'") Abel slaiuls ap^Mircnfly for Eben (ItX), 'stone' (.see liV, AVm, La.X, and Tar.), applying to a 'great stone' at Bethsheiiiesh of Juilah.
1. Abcl-beth-maacah (AV maachah) (ii'S S:!< n^yC), 'Abel of the House of Maachah' in Upjicr Galilee (2 S 2il'*- '»• '»), now 'Abil lyaiih, 'Abel of wheat.' on the plateau of the mountains a little \V.
I
of Tell el-Kai.li (Dan). It was taken by the Syrians in the 10th cent. n.c. (I K 15-^, 2 Ch 10'), and by the Assyrians about B.C. 732 (2 K 15-») {SIVI', vol. J. sheet ii.).
2. Abel-cheramim (ov7-ij Sjn), 'meadow of vine- yards' (Jg 11'°), on the Moab plateau near Minnith.
3. Abel-maim (ovp '7;x), ' meadow of waters ' (2 Ch 16*), the same as No. 1. The mountains in this region are well watered, and the site noted for corn, as its modern name shows.
4. Abel-raeholah (nSino isn), 'meadow of the dance,' or of the ' circle ' (Jg 1^, 1 K 4" 19"), in the Jordan Valley near Bethshean. In the Uno-innsticon (s.v. Abel Maula) it is placed 10 Horn, miles from Scythopolis (Bethshean), which poiuls to the present 'Ain Helweh, or 'sweet spring,' near which is a ruined liioimd. See SWP, vol. ii. sh. ix.
5. Abel-mizraim (onsP ''3k), ' meadow of Egyptians' (Gn 50"), or (with different points hzn for Sjn) ' moumin" of Egyptians.' There is a play on the word in this passage. It was between Egypt and Hebron, yet is described as ' beyond Jordan. It is difficult to suppose that such a route would be taken to Hebron, nor was the region bej'ond .lordan in Canaan. The site is unknown (see Atau). [See Delitzsch and Dillm. in loc; Driver, Deut. p. xliif., and Taylor in Expos. Times (1896), vii. 407.]
6. Abel-shittim (D'wn S3K), 'meadow of acacias' (Nu 33*^), in other passages Shittim only (which see). The place is described as in the plains of Moab. The Jordan plain E. of the river, opposite Jericho, is the site now called GMr el SeisebAn, or ' valley of acacias.' The plain is well watered, and still dotted with acacias. (See SEP, vol. i. )
C. K. CONDER.
ABHORRING In Is 66" ' abhorring ' means a
thing that is abhorred, an abhorrence : ' They shall be an a. unto all tlesh.' The same Heb word (\is-n) is tr. ' contempt ' in Dn 12^ ' Some to shame and everlasting contempt' (KVm ' abboi rence'). J. HASTINGS.
ABI (•;«, probably = '(my) father' • ; LX.X 'A(9oi;) is the name of a queen-mollier of the 8th cent. (2 K 18') who is called Abijah in the parallel pa.s8age 2 Ch 29'. The reading in Kings is the most probable. Abi was daughter of Zecha'-ixh (? cf. Is 8'^), wife of Aliaz, and mother of Hezekiah.
G. B. Gray.
ABIA, ABIAH.— See Abijah.
ABI-ALBON (lb^l-3{;, A 'keu\pap).—A. member of ' the Thirty,' or third division of David s heroes (2 S 23^')- In the parallel passage (1 Ch 11^-) we find 'Abiel' (Sx'it;) ; this is undoubtedly ri'dit, and is supported by B ([rao]o;ii>;/\) and Luc. ([raXcr]o(3i7jt). Klostermann has further conjectured that the final sj liable ' bon' ([13) of Abi-allion is a corrujilion of ' Beth ' (n'3), ar.d belongs to the following word ("naiiTi). Wellliausen and Budde restore Abi-baal (Sv3-'3li). See ARBATiiirE.
J. V. Stknxino.
ABIASAPH (icx>3(< 'Ahhi'nsnph = 'hxxU'.'r has gatliered'), Kx 0-' = EBlASAPH C-iV.'^x 'Ehli-i/iin<ii,h = 'fallier hius increa.sed'), 1 Ch O'^-*' 9'''; cf. fiirlher 1 Ch 26', where Asaph occurs by error for one of the two preceding forms ; see Bertheau, »./.
The evidence for the alternative fonns luny be thus sum* niftriscd : — Kor Al)iQaaph— Heb. text and Targ. at Ex (V-i ; and potwibly
Vulif. {Abuuaph) in all placott, oiid I..\.\ ("Ariatra,- or
'AJi<Kff«p) In all pliw-f8 excejit cod. B in \ Ch U'-" ; but
Vulj;. and I..\.\ are rt-ally ainbi>:uou8. For Kbyoiaph — Sam. at Kx tV^t ; IlL'b. text In all passapcs In
Chroiiick>9. At^oinst the middle n of AbiaN:i))h, and Ihurtt-
tore 111 favour of Ebyaaaph, are the Syr. >- <?* m 1 '•^] Ei
* On the meanlngB of this name and the following nainca \-^ (rInniiiL: with Abi. see furtlit'r art. Namks, I'iiopkb
ABIATHAK
ABIATHAR
e", 1 Ch ffO; - 0\ . mnj. 1 Ob 8>7 »U) »nd LXX, B ('A^w««/--U1-3k) in 1 Cb 6^.
The evidence thna preponderates in favour of Ebiasaph.
Ebiasaph is the name of a division of the Korahite Levites, and is mentioned only in the genealogies of P and the Chronicler. According to 1 Ch 9" 26' (in the latter passage read Ebiasaph for Asaph ; see above), a section of the division acted as doorkeepers. On the difficulties which arise when Ebiasaph in the genealogies is (eironeously) regarded as an individual, see the article in Smith's DB. G. B. Gray.
ABIATHAR (ir;?)! 'father of plenty,' for loi^f!, or 'The Great one is father' [Biihr]). — A land- holder (1 K 2'*) of Anathoth in Benjamin, a priestly city (Jos 21"), whence also sprung the priest-prophet Jeremiah. He was son of the high priest Ahijah or Ahiraelech, and is first mentioned in 1 S 22*, where it is implied that he alone escaped from the massacre of the priests at Nob. According to the Heb. text of 1 S 23', he joined David at Keilah, in which case 22*" would be pro- leptic, and 23'- * might be explained by supposing that David could inquire of the Lord by a prophet (1 S 28«), e.g. Gad (22'); but according to the LXX 'he went down with David into Keilah,' apparently from the forest of Hareth ; and this seems to harmonise better with the story. David felt a special appeal to his affections in the young priest's position : ' I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house. Abide thou with me, fear not ; for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life.' The friendship thus cemented by a common danger was remembered long after- wards by Solomon when commuting A.'s death sentence into degradation : ' thou hast oeen afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.'