ABEL (Heb. Abhèl "meadow"; perhaps, however, it is an Aramaization from the Canaanite abil "channel"). - Name of five Palestinian or Transjordanian localities.

1. Abel beth-Maacha "A. of the house of Maacha (v.)", or Abel Majim "A. of the water", or simply A. A fortified city on the northern frontier of Israelite territory in the vicinity of Dan. Sheba took his stand there, pursued by Joab; but the city, "a mother in Israel," proverbially wise and peaceable, threw Sheba's head down from the wall to Joab, who lifted the siege (II Sam. 20:14-19). Benhadad took it from Baasha, king of Israel (I Kings 15:20; II Chron. 16:4). Tiglath-Pileser occupied it along with the other cities of Naphtali and deported its inhabitants to Assyria (II Kings 15:29). Today it is probably Abil el-Kameh, west of Banias.

2. Abel-satim (Vulgate; Heb. Abel ha-Sittim "A. of the acacias," or even simply Settim [Sittim]). Camp of the Israelites before crossing the Jordan (Num. 25:1; 33:49; Josh. 2:1; 3:1; Mic. 6:5); today Tell Kefrein, 11 km east of the Jordan, in the direction of Jericho (according to a few, Wadi es-Sejale, 5 km farther south).

3. Abel-kéramim "A. of the vineyards." Village of the Ammonites (Judg. 11:33) situated, according to the Onomasticon of Eusebius (32, 14-16), 6 or 7 miles (about 10 km) from Philadelphia (v. RABBĀH); perhaps it is present-day Na'ur or, according to others, Abil ez-Zait.

4. Abel-mehula (Heb. Abel Meholāh "A. of the dance"). Birthplace of Elisha (Judg. 7:22; I Kings 4:12; 19:16); perhaps it is today's Tell Abu Sifri, about 15 km south of Beisan.

5. Abel Misrajim "A. of Egypt," interpreted by Gen. 50:11 as "mourning (èbel) of the Egyptians," because there

Joseph and his brothers wept over the death of Jacob. Situated east of the Jordan, perhaps it is today's Tell el-Ağlah or Hirbet Gharbe.

The Abel magnus (of the Vulgate) in I Sam. 6:18 corresponds to the Heb. Abel ha-gédholāh; but with the Septuagint and Targum it should be read eben ha-gédholāh, that is, "the great stone" (cf. vers. 14 ff.).

Bibliography5 works

BIBL.: A. E. Mader, s. v. in LThK, I, p. 16; F. M. Abel, Géographie de la Palestine, II, Paris 1958, p. 233 ff., 274. - On Abel beth-Maacha; R. Kittel, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, II, Stuttgart 1925, pp. 226, 364 ff.; J. Braslawski, A. b.-M. in the Inscriptions of Tiglathalester III, in Bulletin of the Jewish Palestine Explor. Soc., (Jan. 1935), pp. 43-44. - On Abel-satim; F. M. Abel, Exploration du sud-est de la vallée du Jourdain, in Revue Biblique, 40 (1931), pp. 216-26, 375-82.

Gaetano M. Perrella

@incollection{ec1_abel_ebr_abhel_prato_forse_per, author = {Perrella, Gaetano Maria}, title = {Abel (Ebr. Abhèl «Prato»; Forse Però È Aramaizzazione dal Cananeo Abil «Canale»)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {I}, pages = {59--60}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1948}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/abel-ebr-abhel-prato-forse-pero-e-aramaizzazione-dal-cananeo-abil-canale} }

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