Reference: Abel
American
1. The second son of Adam and Eve. He became a shepherd, and offered to God a sacrifice from his flocks, at the same time that Cain his brother offered the fruits of the earth. God had respect to Abel's sacrifice, and not to Cain's; hence Cain in anger killed Abel, Ge 4. It was "by faith" that Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain; that is, his heart was right towards God, and he worshipped Him in trustful obedience to the divine directions. His offering, made by the shedding of blood, was that of a penitent sinner confiding in the atonement ordained of God; and it was accepted, "God testifying of his gifts," probably by fire from heaven; "by which he obtained witness that he was righteous," that is, justified, Heb 11:4. "The blood of Abel" called from the ground for vengeance, Ge 4:10; but the blood of Christ claims forgiveness and salvation for his people, Heb 12:24; 1Jo 1:7.
2. Abel is also a prefix in the names of several towns. In such cases it signifies a grassy place or meadow.
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And he will say, What didst thou? the voice of thy brother's bloods, crying out to me from the earth.
Only be strong and be greatly active, to watch to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee: thou shalt not turn aside from it to the right and to the left, so that thou shalt be wise in all things where thou shalt go.
By faith Abel brought near a greater sacrifice to God than Cain, by which he was testified of to be just, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaks.
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, speaking better things than Abel.
Easton
(Heb. Hebhel), a breath, or vanity, the second son of Adam and Eve. He was put to death by his brother Cain (Ge 4:1-16). Guided by the instruction of their father, the two brothers were trained in the duty of worshipping God. "And in process of time" (marg. "at the end of days", i.e., on the Sabbath) each of them offered up to God of the first-fruits of his labours. Cain, as a husbandman, offered the fruits of the field; Abel, as a shepherd, of the firstlings of his flock. "The Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering; but unto Cain and his offering he had not respect" (Ge 4:3-5). On this account Cain was angry with his brother, and formed the design of putting him to death; a design which he at length found an opportunity of carrying into effect (Ge 4:8-9. Comp. 1Jo 3:12). There are several references to Abel in the New Testament. Our Saviour speaks of him as "righteous" (Mt 23:35). "The blood of sprinkling" is said to speak "better things than that of Abel" (Heb 12:24); i.e., the blood of Jesus is the reality of which the blood of the offering made by Abel was only the type. The comparison here is between the sacrifice offered by Christ and that offered by Abel, and not between the blood of Christ calling for mercy and the blood of the murdered Abel calling for vengeance, as has sometimes been supposed. It is also said (Heb 11:4) that "Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." This sacrifice was made "by faith;" this faith rested in God, not only as the Creator and the God of providence, but especially in God as the great Redeemer, whose sacrifice was typified by the sacrifices which, no doubt by the divine institution, were offered from the days of Adam downward. On account of that "faith" which looked forward to the great atoning sacrifice, Abel's offering was accepted of God. Cain's offering had no such reference, and therefore was rejected. Abel was the first martyr, as he was the first of our race to die.
Abel (Heb. 'abhel), lamentation (1Sa 6:18), the name given to the great stone in Joshua's field whereon the ark was "set down." The Revised Version, however, following the Targum and the LXX., reads in the Hebrew text 'ebhen (= a stone), and accordingly translates "unto the great stone, whereon they set down the ark." This reading is to be preferred.
Abel (Heb. 'abhel), a grassy place, a meadow. This word enters into the composition of the following words: Abel-beth-maachah, Abel-cheramim, Abel-meholah, Abel-mizraim, Abel-shittim
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AND Adam knew Life, his wife, and she will conceive and bear Cain, and said, I obtained a man of Jehovah. And she will add to bear his brother Abel; and Abel shall be a feeder of sheep, and Cain was a laborer of the earth. read more. And it shall be at the end of days, and Cain shall bring in from the fruit of the earth an offering to Jehovah.
And it shall be at the end of days, and Cain shall bring in from the fruit of the earth an offering to Jehovah. And Abel, he also brought in the first-born of his sheep, and their fat. And Jehovah will look to Abel and to his gift
And Abel, he also brought in the first-born of his sheep, and their fat. And Jehovah will look to Abel and to his gift And to Cain and to his offering he looked not: and Cain will be very angry, and his countenance will fall.
And to Cain and to his offering he looked not: and Cain will be very angry, and his countenance will fall. And Jehovah will say to Cain, Why art thou angry, and why does thy countenance fall? read more. If thou shalt do well thou shalt be lifted up; and if thou shalt not do well, sin lies at the entrance; and to thee his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain will speak to Abel his brother; and it shall be in their being in the field, Cain will rise up against Abel his brother, and will kill him.
And Cain will speak to Abel his brother; and it shall be in their being in the field, Cain will rise up against Abel his brother, and will kill him. And Jehovah will say to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? and he will say, I know not: am I my brother's watcher?
And Jehovah will say to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? and he will say, I know not: am I my brother's watcher? And he will say, What didst thou? the voice of thy brother's bloods, crying out to me from the earth. read more. And now cursed art thou, from the earth, which opened her mouth to take thy brother's bloods from thy hand. When thou shalt work the earth she shall not add to give her strength to thee. Wandering and fleeing shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain will say to Jehovah, My sin is great, above bearing. Lo, thou didst drive me out this day from above the face of the earth, and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be wandering and fleeing in the earth; and it shall be, every one finding me will kill me. And Jehovah will say to him, Therefore, every one killing Cain, he shall be avenged seven fold. And Jehovah will put a sign upon Cain, lest any finding him, smite him. And Cain went out from the face of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, eastward of Eden.
And the mice of gold, the number of all the cities of Philisteim, to the five princes from the fortified city, even to the village of the countryman, and even to the great meadow which they put upon it the ark of Jehovah, even to this day in the field of Joshua of the House of the Sun.
So that all the just blood shed upon the earth might come upon you, from the blood of just Abel to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye killed between the temple and altar.
By faith Abel brought near a greater sacrifice to God than Cain, by which he was testified of to be just, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaks.
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, speaking better things than Abel.
Not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And for what slew he him? Because his works were evil, and those of his brother just.
Fausets
Hebrew Hebel. Second of Adam and Eve's sons, Genesis 4: Abel means "vanity" or "weakness", "vapor" or "transitoriness". Cain means "possession"; for Eve said at his birth, "I have gotten as a possession a man from Jehovah," or as the Hebrew (eth) may mean, "with the help of Jehovah"; she inferring the commencement of the fulfillment of the promise of the Redeemer (Ge 3:15) herein. On the contrary, Abel's weakness of body suggested his name: moreover prophetic inspiration guided her to choose one indicative of his untimely death. But God's way is here from the first shown, "My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2Co 12:9; Heb 11:34. The cause of Cain's hatred was "because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous" (1Jo 3:12). Envy of the godly was "the way of Cain" (Jg 1:11). "Faith" was present in Abel, absent from Cain (Heb 11:4); consequently the kind of sacrifice (the mode of showing faith) Abel offered was "much more a sacrifice" (Wycliffe; so the Greek) than Cain's. "By faith Abel offered unto God a much more sacrifice than Cain," i.e. one which had more of the true virtue of sacrifice; for it was an animal sacrifice of the firstlings of the flock, a token of the forfeiture of man's life by sin, and a type of the Redeemer to be bruised in heel that He might bruise the serpent's head.
God's having made for man coats of skin presupposes the slaying of animals; and doubtless implies that Abel's sacrifice of an animal life was an act of faith which rested on God's command (though not expressly recorded) that such were the sacrifices He required. If it had not been God's command, it would have been presumptuous will worship (Col 2:23), and taking of a life which man had no right over before the flood (Ge 9:2-4). Cain in self-righteous unbelief, refusing to confess his guilt and need of atonement (typified by sacrifice), presented a mere thank offering of the first fruits; not, like Abel, feeling his need of the propitiatory offering for sin. So "God had respect unto Abel (first) and (then) to his offering." "God testified of his gifts" by consuming them with fire from the shekinah or cherubic symbol E. of Eden ("the presence of the Lord": Ge 4:16; 3:24), where the first sacrifices were offered. Thus" he obtained witness that he was righteous," namely, with the righteousness which is by faith to the sincere penitent.
Christ calls him "righteous": Mt 23:35. Abel represents the regenerate, Cain the unregenerate natural man. Abel offered the best, Cain that most readily procured. The words "in process of time" (Ge 4:3 margin), "at the end of days," probably mark the definite time appointed for public worship already in paradise, the seventh day sabbath. The firstling and the fat point to the divine dignity and infinite fullness of the Spirit in the coming Messiah. "By faith he being dead yet speaketh" to us; his "blood crying from the ground to God" (Ge 4:10) shows how precious in God's sight is the death of His saints (Ps 116:15; Re 6:10). The shedding of Abel's blood is the first, as that of Jesus is the last and crowning guilt which brought the accumulated vengeance on the Jews (Lu 11:51; Mt 23:34-38). There is a further avenging of still more accentuated guilt, of innocent blood yet coming on "them that dwell on the earth". (Revelation 11). In Heb 12:24, it is written "Christ's blood of sprinkling speaketh better things than that of Abel," namely, than the blood of Abel's animal sacrifice. For Abel's is but the type, Christ's the antitype and one only true propitiatory sacrifice. To deny the propitiation would make Cain's offering to be as much a sacrifice as Abel's. Tradition makes the place of his murder and grave to be near Damascus. (See ABILA.)
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And I will put enmity between thee and between the woman, and between thy seed and between her seed; it shall lie in wait for thee as to the head, and thou shalt lie in wait for him as to the heel.
And I will put enmity between thee and between the woman, and between thy seed and between her seed; it shall lie in wait for thee as to the head, and thou shalt lie in wait for him as to the heel.
And he will drive out Adam; and he will set up from the east of the garden of Eden, cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning itself about to keep the way of the tree of lives.
And he will drive out Adam; and he will set up from the east of the garden of Eden, cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning itself about to keep the way of the tree of lives.
And it shall be at the end of days, and Cain shall bring in from the fruit of the earth an offering to Jehovah.
And it shall be at the end of days, and Cain shall bring in from the fruit of the earth an offering to Jehovah.
And he will say, What didst thou? the voice of thy brother's bloods, crying out to me from the earth.
And he will say, What didst thou? the voice of thy brother's bloods, crying out to me from the earth.
And Cain went out from the face of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, eastward of Eden.
And Cain went out from the face of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, eastward of Eden.
And the fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every living thing of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens, upon every thing which shall creep along the earth and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand they were given.
And the fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every living thing of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens, upon every thing which shall creep along the earth and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand they were given. Every creeping thing which it lives shall be food to you as the green herb. I gave you all things.
Every creeping thing which it lives shall be food to you as the green herb. I gave you all things. But the flesh with its breath, its blood ye shall not eat
But the flesh with its breath, its blood ye shall not eat
And he will go from thence to the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before, the city of the Book.
And he will go from thence to the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before, the city of the Book.
Precious in the eyes of Jehovah the death to his godly ones.
Precious in the eyes of Jehovah the death to his godly ones.
Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, and the wise, and scribes: and of them shall ye kill and crucify; and of them shall ye chastise in your assemblies, and drive out from city to city,
Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, and the wise, and scribes: and of them shall ye kill and crucify; and of them shall ye chastise in your assemblies, and drive out from city to city, So that all the just blood shed upon the earth might come upon you, from the blood of just Abel to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye killed between the temple and altar.
So that all the just blood shed upon the earth might come upon you, from the blood of just Abel to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye killed between the temple and altar.
So that all the just blood shed upon the earth might come upon you, from the blood of just Abel to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye killed between the temple and altar.
So that all the just blood shed upon the earth might come upon you, from the blood of just Abel to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye killed between the temple and altar. Truly I say to you, All these shall come upon this generation.
Truly I say to you, All these shall come upon this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets, and stoning those sent to her; how often did I wish to gather thy children together, which manner a bird gathers together her young broods under the wings, and ye would not!
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets, and stoning those sent to her; how often did I wish to gather thy children together, which manner a bird gathers together her young broods under the wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left to you desolate.
From the blood of Abel even to the blood of Zacharias perishing between the altar and house: yea, I say to you, It shall be required of this generation.
From the blood of Abel even to the blood of Zacharias perishing between the altar and house: yea, I say to you, It shall be required of this generation.
And he said to me, My grace suffices thee: for my power is perfected in weakness. Therefore very willingly will I boast rather in my weaknesses, that Christ's power may lodge upon me.
And he said to me, My grace suffices thee: for my power is perfected in weakness. Therefore very willingly will I boast rather in my weaknesses, that Christ's power may lodge upon me.
Which things truly are having the word of wisdom in worship according to one's will, and humility, and prodigality of the body; not in any honour to satisfying the flesh.
Which things truly are having the word of wisdom in worship according to one's will, and humility, and prodigality of the body; not in any honour to satisfying the flesh.
By faith Abel brought near a greater sacrifice to God than Cain, by which he was testified of to be just, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaks.
By faith Abel brought near a greater sacrifice to God than Cain, by which he was testified of to be just, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaks.
Quenched the power of fire, escaped the mouth of the sword, were strengthened from weakness, were strong in war, turned away the armies of strangers.
Quenched the power of fire, escaped the mouth of the sword, were strengthened from weakness, were strong in war, turned away the armies of strangers.
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, speaking better things than Abel.
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, speaking better things than Abel.
Not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And for what slew he him? Because his works were evil, and those of his brother just.
Not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And for what slew he him? Because his works were evil, and those of his brother just.
And they cried with a great voice, saying, Till when, Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood of them dwelling upon earth
And they cried with a great voice, saying, Till when, Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood of them dwelling upon earth
Hastings
Ge 4:2-10. The Heb. form Hebhel denotes 'vapour' or 'breath' (cf. Ec 1:1, English Version 'vanity'), which is suggestive as the name of a son of Adam ('man'). But it is perhaps to be connected with the Assyrian aplu, 'son.' Abel was a son of Adam and Eve, and brother of Cain. But the narrative presupposes a long period to have elapsed in human history since the primitive condition of the first pair. The difference between pastoral and agricultural life has come to be recognized for Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground (see Cain). The account, as we have it, is mutilated: in Ge 4:8 Heb. has 'and Cain said unto Abel his brother' (not as AV and RV). Septuagint supplies the words 'Let us pass through into the plain,' but this may be a mere gloss, and it cannot be known how much of the story is lost.
Nothing is said in Gn. of Abel's moral character, or of the reason why his offering excelled Cain's in the eyes of Jahweh; cereal offerings were as fully in accord with Hebrew law and custom as animal offerings. Heb 11:4 gives 'faith' as the reason. In Heb 12:24 the 'blood of sprinkling' 'speaketh something better than the blood of Abel,' in that the latter cried for vengeance (Ge 4:10).
In Mt 23:35; Lu 11:51 Abel is named as the first of the true martyrs whose blood had been shed during the period covered by the OT, the last being Zachariah (wh. see). In Joh 8:44 it is possible that Jesus was thinking of the story of Abel when He spoke of the devil as 'a murderer from the beginning,' i.e. the instigator of murder as he is of lies.
A. H. M'Neile.
ABEL.
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And she will add to bear his brother Abel; and Abel shall be a feeder of sheep, and Cain was a laborer of the earth. And it shall be at the end of days, and Cain shall bring in from the fruit of the earth an offering to Jehovah. read more. And Abel, he also brought in the first-born of his sheep, and their fat. And Jehovah will look to Abel and to his gift And to Cain and to his offering he looked not: and Cain will be very angry, and his countenance will fall. And Jehovah will say to Cain, Why art thou angry, and why does thy countenance fall? If thou shalt do well thou shalt be lifted up; and if thou shalt not do well, sin lies at the entrance; and to thee his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain will speak to Abel his brother; and it shall be in their being in the field, Cain will rise up against Abel his brother, and will kill him.
And Cain will speak to Abel his brother; and it shall be in their being in the field, Cain will rise up against Abel his brother, and will kill him. And Jehovah will say to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? and he will say, I know not: am I my brother's watcher? read more. And he will say, What didst thou? the voice of thy brother's bloods, crying out to me from the earth.
And he will say, What didst thou? the voice of thy brother's bloods, crying out to me from the earth.
And the mice of gold, the number of all the cities of Philisteim, to the five princes from the fortified city, even to the village of the countryman, and even to the great meadow which they put upon it the ark of Jehovah, even to this day in the field of Joshua of the House of the Sun.
So that all the just blood shed upon the earth might come upon you, from the blood of just Abel to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye killed between the temple and altar.
From the blood of Abel even to the blood of Zacharias perishing between the altar and house: yea, I say to you, It shall be required of this generation.
Ye are of your father the devil, and the eager desires of your father will ye do. He was slaying men from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he would speak a lie, he speaks of his own things; for he is a liar, and the father of him.
By faith Abel brought near a greater sacrifice to God than Cain, by which he was testified of to be just, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaks.
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, speaking better things than Abel.
Morish
Abel A'bel
The name signifying 'meadow,' given to several places, which are distinguished by the other names appended. The name 'Abel' stands alone in 1Sa 6:18; for which see 'ABEL, THE GREAT;' and in 2Sa 20:14,2Sa 20:18, for which see 'ABEL-BETH-MAACHAH.'
Abel A'bel
The second Son of Adam. The name, Hebel given him by his mother, signifying 'breath' or 'vanity,' possibly originated in her disappointment at Cain not proving to be the promised Redeemer. In process of time the great difference in the two brothers was manifested by Abel offering to God a slain animal, whilst Cain brought the fruit of own labour from the cursed ground, ignoring the facts that in the fall of Adam life had been forfeited and the ground cursed. Abel presented a sacrifice in the way of faith through a slain firstling of the flock. Heb 11:4. He thus obtained a witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: cf. Mt 23:35. Thus early were brought out in clear lines the two seeds: one born of God, and the other 'of that wicked one' 1Jo 3:12. Abel is a type of Christ, as Cain is that of the Jew. As the Jews broke the law against both God and their neighbour, so Cain disregarded God's judgement on man, and slew his brother. In Cain is also exemplified the religion of the natural man, who, disregarding his distance from God, thinks he can approach at any time and with any form of worship.
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And the mice of gold, the number of all the cities of Philisteim, to the five princes from the fortified city, even to the village of the countryman, and even to the great meadow which they put upon it the ark of Jehovah, even to this day in the field of Joshua of the House of the Sun.
And every man of Israel will go up from after David, after Sheba, son of Bichri: and the men of Judah were joined to the king, from Jordan and even to Jerusalem.
And he will pass through in all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to the house of oppression, and all the Berites: and they will be called together, and they will go also after him.
So that all the just blood shed upon the earth might come upon you, from the blood of just Abel to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye killed between the temple and altar.
By faith Abel brought near a greater sacrifice to God than Cain, by which he was testified of to be just, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaks.
Not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And for what slew he him? Because his works were evil, and those of his brother just.
Smith
A'bel
(i.e., breath, vapor, transitoriness, probably so called from the shortness of his life), the second son of Adam, murdered by his brother Cain,
he was a keeper or feeder of sheep. Our Lord spoke of Abel as the first martyr,
so did the early Church subsequently. The traditional site of his murder and his grave are pointed out near Damascus.
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AND Adam knew Life, his wife, and she will conceive and bear Cain, and said, I obtained a man of Jehovah. And she will add to bear his brother Abel; and Abel shall be a feeder of sheep, and Cain was a laborer of the earth. read more. And it shall be at the end of days, and Cain shall bring in from the fruit of the earth an offering to Jehovah. And Abel, he also brought in the first-born of his sheep, and their fat. And Jehovah will look to Abel and to his gift And to Cain and to his offering he looked not: and Cain will be very angry, and his countenance will fall. And Jehovah will say to Cain, Why art thou angry, and why does thy countenance fall? If thou shalt do well thou shalt be lifted up; and if thou shalt not do well, sin lies at the entrance; and to thee his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain will speak to Abel his brother; and it shall be in their being in the field, Cain will rise up against Abel his brother, and will kill him. And Jehovah will say to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? and he will say, I know not: am I my brother's watcher? And he will say, What didst thou? the voice of thy brother's bloods, crying out to me from the earth. And now cursed art thou, from the earth, which opened her mouth to take thy brother's bloods from thy hand. When thou shalt work the earth she shall not add to give her strength to thee. Wandering and fleeing shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain will say to Jehovah, My sin is great, above bearing. Lo, thou didst drive me out this day from above the face of the earth, and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be wandering and fleeing in the earth; and it shall be, every one finding me will kill me. And Jehovah will say to him, Therefore, every one killing Cain, he shall be avenged seven fold. And Jehovah will put a sign upon Cain, lest any finding him, smite him. And Cain went out from the face of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, eastward of Eden.
So that all the just blood shed upon the earth might come upon you, from the blood of just Abel to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye killed between the temple and altar.
Watsons
ABEL. He was the second son of Adam and Eve, and born probably in the second or third year of the world; though some will have it that he and Cain were twins. His name signifies vapour, vanity, and might be given either because our first parents now began so to feel the emptiness and vanity of all earthly things, that the birth of another son reminded them painfully of it, although in itself a matter of joy; or it was imposed under prophetic impulse, and obscurely referred to his premature death. His employment was that of a shepherd; Cain followed the occupation of his father, and was a tiller of the ground. Whether they remained in their father's family at the time when they brought their offerings to the Lord, or had establishments separate from that of Adam, does not clearly appear. Abel was probably unmarried, or had no children; but Cain's wife is mentioned. "At the end of the days,"