Abel

(Heb. Hebhel), a breath, or vanity, the second son of Adam and Eve. He was put to death by his brother Cain (Gen. 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” (Gen. 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 (Gen. 4:8, 9. Comp. 1 John 3:12). There are several references to Abel in the New Testament. Our Saviour speaks of him as “righteous” (Matt. 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…

the name of several places in Palestine, probably signifies a meadow . (i.e., breath, vapor, transitoriness, probably so called from the shortness of his life), the second son of Adam, murdered by his brother Cain, (Genesis 4:1-16) he was a keeper or feeder of sheep. Our Lord spoke of Abel as the first martyr, (Matthew 23:35) so did the early Church subsequently. The traditional site of his murder and his grave are pointed out near Damascus.

A'BEL( Heb. Hebel—i. e. breath, vapor), the second son of Adam and Eve, so called perhaps from the fleeting character of his life, or because, since Cain was not the promised seed, as Eve expected at his birth, life itself seemed of little worth; it was but "a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." Gen 4:2. He was a keeper or feeder of sheep, and in process of time brought of the firstlings or first-fruits of his flock an offering unto the Lord. God accepted his offering and gave him evidence of it. Heb 11:4. Not so with Cain. Either his sacrifice, or the manner of presenting it, offended God, and the offering was rejected. 1 John 3:12. Cain, exceedingly angry, and filled with envy, embraced an opportunity when they were in the field together to take his brother's life. Gen 4. Our Saviour distinguishes Abel by the title "righteous." Matt 23:35. He is also one of the faithful "elders" mentioned in the Epistle to the Matt 23:Hebrews, ch. 11 , and is justly called the first martyr.

A'BEL (meadow), a prefix in the names of several places, as below.

A'BEL, of the vineyards, see margin, Jud 11:33, or "plain of the vineyards," as the text reads, was a place east of the Jordan, perhaps the present Merj Ekkeh.

A'BEL, and A'BEL-BETH-MA'ACHAH (meadow of the house of oppression), a town in the north of Palestine near Cesarea Philippi, the modern Ahil-el-Kamh, a ruin on a stream north of the waters of Merom. It was attacked by Joab, 2 Sam 20:14, 2 Sam 20:15; by Benhadad, 1 Kgs 15:20; and by Tiglath-pileser. 2 Kgs 15:29.