Abel

The second son of Adam and Eve. His name is mentioned by the Holy Ghost with peculiar honour, in that illustrious list of Old Testament saints, who all died, as they had lived, by faith. Heb 11:4 "By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." By which we derive full authority to conclude, that Abel’s faith in Christ, the promised seed, gave a blessedness in the acceptance of his sacrifice, which Cain’s had not. Abel came to the Lord as a sinner; and, by the lamb he offered in sacrifice, testified the sense he had of sin, and his hopes of salvation by Christ. Cain came to the Lord, not under the apprehension of sin, but to present an offering of tribute. He therefore slighted the promised seed, and redemption by, Christ: and stands in the front of the Bible, the first desit the world ever knew. Gen 4:3-5 It may be not amiss to add, that the word Abel signifies vanity, a vapor, emptiness, and the like.

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,”—which is a more literal rendering than “in process of time,” as in our translation, that is, on the Sabbath,— both brothers brought an offering to the Lord. Cain “brought of the fruit of the ground;” Abel “the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof.” “And the Lord had respect to Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and his offering he had not respect.” As Cain afterward complains that “he should be hid from the face or presence of the Lord,” it is probable that the worship of the first family was performed before some. visible manifestation of the glory of God, which thus consecrated a particular place for their services. Some have thought that this was at the east gate of Eden, where “Cherubim and a flaming sword were placed;” but this was a vengeful manifestation, and could only have inspired a dread of God inconsistent with the confidence and hope with which men through the promise of redemption were now encouraged to draw nigh to him. The respect which God was pleased to show to Abel’s offering, appears from the account to have been sensibly declared; for Cain must have known by some token that the sacrifice of Abel was accepted, the absence of which sign, as to his own offering, showed that it was rejected. Whether this was by fire going forth from “the presence of the Lord,” to consume the sacrifice, as in later instances recorded in the Old Testament, or in some other way, it is in vain to inquire;—that the token of acceptance was a sensible one is however an almost certain inference. The effect of this upon Cain was not to humble him before God, but to excite anger against his brother; and, being in the field with him, or, as the old versions have it, having said to him, “Let us go out into the field,” “he rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him;” and for that crime, by which the first blood of man was shed by man upon the earth,—a murder aggravated by the relationship and the “righteous” character of the sufferer, and having in it also the nature of religious persecution,—he was pronounced by the Lord “cursed from the earth.”

2. As the sacrifice of Abel is the first on record, and has given rise to some controversy, it demands particular attention. It was offered, says St. Paul, “in faith,” and it was “a more excellent sacrifice” than that of Cain. Both these expressions intimate that it was EXPIATORY and PREFIGURATIVE.

As to the matter of the sacrifice, it was an animal offering. “Cain brought of the fruit of the ground; and Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof;” or, more literally, “the fat of them,” that is, according to the Hebrew idiom, the fattest or best of his flock; and in this circumstance consisted its specific character as an act of faith. This is supported by the import of the phrase, ωλειονα υσιαν, used by the Apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews, when speaking of the sacrifice of Abel. Our translators have rendered it, “a more excellent sacrifice.” Wickliffe translates it, as Archbishop Magee observes, uncouthly, but in the full sense of the original, “a much more sacrifice;” and the controversy which has arisen on this point is, whether this epithet of “much more,” or “fuller,” refers to quantity or quality; whether it is to be understood in the sense of a more abundant, or of a better, a more excellent sacrifice. Dr. Kennicott takes it in the sense of measure and quantity, as well as quality; and supposes that Abel brought a double offering of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fruit of the ground also. His criticism has been very satisfactorily refuted by Archbishop Magee. The sacrifice of Abel was that of animal victims, and it was indicative not of gratitude but of “faith:” a quality not to be made manifest by the quantity of an offering, for the one has no relation to the other.

3. This will more fully appear if we consider the import of the words of the Apostle,— “By FAITH Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained WITNESS that he was RIGHTEOUS, God testifying of his gifts; and by it, he, being dead, yet speaketh.” Now what is the meaning of the Apostle, when he says that it was witnessed or testified to Abel that he was righteous? His doctrine is, that men are sinners; that all, consequently, need pardon; and to be declared, witnessed, and accounted righteous, are, according to his style of writing, the same as “to be justified, pardoned, and dealt with as righteous.” Thus he argues that Abraham believed God, “and it was accounted to him for righteousness,”—”that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness,”—”that he received the sign of circumcision, a seal,” a visible confirmatory, declaratory, and witnessing mark “of the righteousness which he had by faith.” In these cases we have a similarity so striking, that they can scarcely fail to explain each other. In both, sinful men are placed in the condition of righteous men; the instrument in both cases, is

faith; and the transaction is, in both cases also, publicly and sensibly witnessed,—as to Abraham, by the sign of circumcision; as to Abel, by a visible acceptance of his sacrifice, and the rejection of that of Cain.

Abel had faith, and he expressed that faith by the kind of sacrifice he offered. It was in this way that his faith “pleased God;” it pleased him as a principle, and by the act to which it led, which act was the offering of a sacrifice to God different from that of Cain. Cain had not this faith, whatever might be its object; and Cain, accordingly, did not bring an offering to which God had “respect.” That which vitiated the offering of Cain was the want of this faith; for his offering was not significant of faith:

that which “pleased God,” in the case of Abel, was his faith; and he had “respect” to his offering, because it was the expression of that faith; and upon his faith so expressing itself, God witnessed to him “that he was righteous.” So forcibly do the words of St. Paul, when commenting upon this transaction, show, that Abel’s sacrifice was accepted, because of its immediate connection with his faith, for by faith he is said to have offered it; and whatever it might be, which made Abel’s offering differ from that of Cain, whether abundance, or kind, or both, this was the result of his faith. So evident also is it from the Apostle, that Abel was witnessed to be “righteous,” not with reference to any previous “habit of a religious life,” as some say, but with reference to his faith; and to this faith as expressing itself by his offering a more excellent sacrifice.”

4. If, then, the faith of Abel had an immediate connection with his sacrifice, and both with his being accepted as “righteous,”—that is, justified, in St. Paul’s use of the term,—to what had his faith respect? The particular object of the faith of the elders, celebrated in Hebrews 11, is to be deduced from the circumstances mentioned by St. Paul as illustrative of the existence and operation of this great principle, and by which it manifested itself in them. Let us explain this, and then ascertain the object of Abel’s faith also from the manner of its manifestation,—from the acts in which it embodied and rendered itself conspicuous.

Faith, in this chapter, is taken in the sense of affiance in God, and, as such, it can only be exercised toward God, as to all its particular acts, in those respects in which we have some warrant to confide in him. This supposes revelation, and, in particular, promises or declarations on his part, as the ground of every act of affiance. When, therefore, it is said that “by faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death,” it must be supposed that he had some promise or intimation to this effect, on which, improbable as the event was, he nobly relied; and in the result God honoured his faith in the sight of all men. The faith of Noah had immediate respect to the threatened flood, and to the promise of God to preserve him in the ark which he was commanded to prepare. The chapter is filled with other instances, expressed or implied; and from the whole, as well as from the nature of things, it will appear, that when the Apostle speaks of the faith of the elders in its particular acts, he represents it as having respect to some promise, declaration, or revelation of God.

This revelation was necessarily antecedent to the faith; but it is also to be observed, that the acts by which the faith was represented, whenever it was represented by particular acts, and when the case admitted it, had a natural and striking conformity and correspondence to the previous revelation. So Noah built the ark, which indicated that he had heard the threat of the world’s destruction by water, and had received the promise of his own preservation, and that of his family, as well as that of a part of the beasts of the earth. When Abraham went into Canaan at the command of God, and upon the promise that that country should become the inheritance of his descendants, he showed his faith by taking possession of it for them in anticipation, and his residence there indicated the kind of promise which he had received. Thus these instances show, that when the faith which the Apostle commends exhibited itself in some particular act, that act had a correspondency to the previous promise or revelation which was the ground of faith. We must therefore interpret the acts of Abel’s faith so as to make them also correspond with an antecedent revelation. His faith had respect to some previous revelation, and the nature of the revelation is to be collected from the significant manner in, which he declared his faith in it.

Now that which Abel did “by faith,” was, generally, to perform an act of solemn worship, in the confidence that it would be acceptable to God. This supposes a revelation, immediate or by tradition, that such acts of worship were acceptable to God, or his faith could have had no warrant, and would not have been faith, but fancy. But the case must be considered more particularly. His faith led him to offer “a more excellent sacrifice” than that of Cain; but this as necessarily implies, that there was some antecedent revelation to which his faith, as thus expressed, had respect, and on which that peculiarity of his offering, which distinguished it from the offering of Cain, was founded; a revelation which indicated that the way in which God would be approached acceptably, in solemn worship, was by animal sacrifices. Without this, the faith to which his offering, which was an offering of the firstlings of his flock, had a special fitness and adaptation, could have had no warrant in Divine authority. But this revelation must have included, in order to its being the ground of faith, as “the substance of things hoped for,” a promise of a benefit to be conferred, in which promise Abel might confide. But if so, then this promise must have been connected, not with the worship of God in general, or performed in any way whatever indifferently, but with his worship by animal oblations; for it was in this way that the faith of Abel specially and distinctively indicated itself. The antecedent revelation was, therefore, a promise of a benefit to be conferred, by means of animal sacrifice; and we are taught what this benefit was, by that which was actually received by the offerer,—”He obtained witness that he was righteous;” which must be interpreted in the sense of a declaration of his personal justification, and acceptance as righteous, by the forgiveness of his sins. The reason of Abel’s acceptance and of Cain’s rejection is hereby made manifest; the one, in seeking the Divine favour, conformed to his established and appointed method of being approached by guilty men, and the other not only neglected this, but profanely and presumptuously substituted his own inventions.

5. It is impossible, then, to allow the sacrifice of Abel, in this instance, to have been an act of FAITH, without supposing that it had respect to a previous revelation, which agreed with all the parts of that sacrificial action by which he expressed his faith in it. Had Abel’s sacrifice been eucharistic merely, it would have expressed gratitude, but not faith; or if faith in the general sense of confidence in God that he would receive an act of grateful worship, and reward the worshippers, it did not more express faith than the offering of Cain, who surely believed these two points, or he would not have brought an offering of any kind. The offering of Abel expressed a faith which Cain had not; and the doctrinal principles which Abel’s faith respected were such as his sacrifice visibly embodied. If it was not an eucharistic sacrifice, it was an expiatory one; and, in fact, it is only in a sacrifice of this kind, that it is possible to see that faith exhibited which Abel had, and Cain had not. If then we refer to the subsequent sacrifices of expiation appointed by Divine authority, and their explanation in the New Testament, it will be obvious to what doctrines and principles of an antecedent revelation the faith of Abel had respect, and which his sacrifice, the exhibition of his faith, proclaimed: confession of the fact of being a sinner,—acknowledgment that the demerit and penalty of sin is death,— submission to an appointed mode of expiation,—animal sacrifice offered vicariously, but in itself a mere type of a better sacrifice, “the Seed of the woman,” appointed to be offered at some future period,—and the efficacy of this appointed method of expiation to obtain forgiveness, and to admit the guilty into the Divine favour.

“Abel,” Dr. Magee justly says, “in firm reliance on the promise of God, and in obedience to his command, offered that sacrifice which had been enjoined as the religious expression of his faith; whilst Cain, disregarding the gracious assurances that had been vouchsafed, or at least disdaining to adopt the prescribed mode of manifesting his belief, possibly as not appearing to his reason to possess any efficacy or natural fitness, thought he had sufficiently acquitted himself of his duty in acknowledging the general superintendence of God, and expressing his gratitude to the Supreme Benefactor, by presenting some of those good things which he thereby confessed to have been derived from his bounty. In short, Cain, the first-born of the fall, exhibits the first fruits of his parents’ disobedience, in the arrogance and self-sufficiency of reason rejecting the aids of revelation, because they fell not within its apprehension of right. He takes the first place in the annals of Deism, and displays, in his proud rejection of the ordinance of sacrifice, the same spirit which, in later days, has actuated his enlightened followers, in rejecting the sacrifice of Christ.”

Abel was killed about the year of the world, 130.

Abel, 1

A´bel, properly Hebel, the second son of Adam, who was slain by Cain, his elder brother (Gen 4:1-16). The circumstances of that mysterious transaction are considered elsewhere [CAIN]. To the name Abel a twofold interpretation has been given. Its primary signification is weakness or vanity. By another rendering it signifies grief or lamentation, both meanings being justified by the Scripture narrative. Cain (a possession) was so named to indicate both the joy of his mother and his right to the inheritance of the first-born: Abel received a name indicative of his weakness and poverty when compared with the supposed glory of his brother’s destiny, and prophetically of the pain and sorrow which were to be inflicted on him and his parents.

Abel, 2

Abel, a name of several villages in Israel, with additions in the case of the more important, to distinguish them from one another. It appears to mean fresh grass; and the places so named may be conceived to have been in peculiarly verdant situations.

Abel, 3

Abel, Abel-beth-Maacah, or Abel-Maim. A city in the north of Palestine, which seems to have been of considerable strength from its history, and of importance from its being called ’a mother in Israel’ (2Sa 20:19). The identity of the city under these different names will be seen by a comparison of 2Sa 20:14-15; 2Sa 20:18; 1Ki 15:20; 2Ch 16:4. The addition of ’Maacah’ marks it as belonging to, or being near to, the region Maacah, which lay eastward of the Jordan under Mount Lebanon. This is the town in which Sheba posted himself when he rebelled against David. Eighty years afterwards it was taken and sacked by Benhadad, king of Syria; and 200 years subsequently by Tiglath-pileser, who sent away the inhabitants captives into Assyria (2Ki 15:29).

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, {\cf11 \ul Gen 4:1-26}. 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, {\cf11 \ul Heb 11:4}. "The blood of Abel" called from the ground for vengeance, {\cf11 \ul Gen 4:10}; but the blood of Christ claims forgiveness and salvation for his people, {\cf11 \ul Heb 12:24}; {\cf11 \ul Heb 12:1}Jo 1:7\PAR

2. Abel is also a prefix in the names of several towns. In such cases it signifies a grassy place or meadow.\PAR

\PAR

A’bel. ( that is, breath, vapor, transitoriness, probably, so called, from the shortness of his life).

1. The second son of Adam, murdered by his brother Cain, Gen 4:1-16, he was a keeper or feeder of sheep. Our Lord spoke of Abel as the first martyr, Mat 23:35, so did the early Church subsequently. The traditional site of his murder and his grave are pointed out near Damascus.

2. The name of several places in Palestine, probably signifies a meadow.

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 (Gen 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" (1Jn 3:12). Envy of the godly was "the way of Cain" (Jud 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 (Gen 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": Gen 4:16; Gen 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": Mat 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" (Gen 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" (Gen 4:10) shows how precious in God’s sight is the death of His saints (Psa 116:15; Rev 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 (Luk 11:51; Mat 23:34-35-38). 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.)

(Heb. Abel’-, אָבֵלאּ, a name of several villages in Palestine, with additions in the case of the more important, to distinguish them from one another (see each in its alphabetical order). From a comparison of the Arabic and Syriac, it appears to mean fresh grass; and the places so named may be conceived to have been in peculiarly verdant situations (Gesenius, Thes. Heb. p. 14; see, however, other significations in Lengerke, Kenaan, 1:358; Hengstenberg, Pentat. 2, 261). SEE ABILA.

In 1Sa 6:18, it is used as an appellative, and probably signifies a grassy plain. In this passage, however, perhaps we should read (as in the margin) אֶבֶן, stone, instead of אָבֵל, Abel, or meadow, as the context (verses 14, 15) requires, and the Sept. and Syriac versions explain; the awkward insertion of our translators, “the great [stone of] Abel,” would thus be unnecessary.

In 2Sa 20:14; 2Sa 20:18, ABEL SEE ABEL stands alone for ABELBETH-MAACHAH SEE ABELBETH-MAACHAH (q. V.).

Abel (â’bel), vapor, Gen 4:2, was the second son of Adam and Eve, so called perhaps from the shortness of his life, as he was murdered by Cain. Hence to Eve the life of Abel seemed but "a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." Jas 4:14. Abel was occupied as 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, It is supposed that besides a thank-offering, Abel brought a sin-offering, and thus showed his sense of sin, as well as his faith in a promised Saviour. He did it by faith, Heb 11:4, founded no doubt upon some revelation from God. His offering was a type of Christ, the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Rev 13:8; Rev 5:6; Rev 5:12; Rev 1:6; Joh 1:29. "The Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering," Gen 4:4, and accepted it. Heb 11:4. Not so with Cain. Either his sacrifice, or the manner of presenting it, was offensive to God, and the offering was rejected. 1Jn 3:12. Cain was angry, and filled with envy, and when he and his brother were in the field together, he took his brother’s life. Gen 4:3-8. Our Saviour distinguishes Abel by the title righteous, Mat 23:35. He is also one of the faithful "elders" mentioned in the epistle to the Hebrews, ch. 11:4, and is justly called the first martyr.

Abel, meadow, grassy plain, as below. A name prefixed to several places. Instead of "the great stone of Abel," in 1Sa 6:18, the Septuagint, and Chaldee versions, and some Hebrew manuscripts, read "the great stone;" as in the margin, and the 14th and 15th verses. Most likely this "great stone" was a boundary mark, or an ancient monument, in Bethshemesh, on the confines of Judah, Dan, and Philistia.

[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. Mat 23:35. Thus early were brought out in clear lines the two seeds: one born of God, and the other ’of that wicked one’ 1Jn 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.

[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 (הֶבֶל, Ἄβελ).—. The name occurs in the Gospels only in Mat 23:35 || Luk 11:51, where Jesus declares that the blood of the prophets will be required of this generation. The passage is one of a series of invectives against Pharisaism, collected in Matthew 23, parts of which are preserved in Luke 11, 13, 14, 20, 21. Abel is named as the first of the long line of martyrs whose blood had been shed during the period covered by the OT, the last being Zachariah (which see). ‘In both cases the ἐκζήτησις is indicated: “the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground” (Gen 4:10); “the Lord look upon it, and require it” (2Ch 24:22).’ In St. Matthew the words are addressed to the Pharisees in the 2nd person: ‘that upon you may come every righteous blood [.e. the blood of each righteous person] shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous, until the blood of Zachariah … etc.’ In St. Luke the passage is thrown into the 3rd person: ‘that the blood of all the prophets which hath been shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel until the blood of Zachariah … etc.’

The description of Abel in St. Matthew as ‘the righteous’ is noteworthy, and should be compared with Heb 11:4. In the story of Abel nothing whatever is said as to his moral character; the contrast between him and his brother lay in the fact that ‘Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.’ The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says that it was faith which led Abel to offer the more excellent sacrifice; but wherein the excellence consisted the narrative of Genesis does not explain. But the expression τοῦ δικαίου seems to reflect the Pharisaic conception of righteousness as that which ‘consisted primarily in the observance of all the rites and ceremonies prescribed in the law’ (cf. Luk 1:6). Abel’s offering must have been preferred presumably because it was in some way more to God’s liking—more correct. This, however, was not consonant with Christ’s idea of righteousness—‘except your righteousness shall abound beyond that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ (Mat 5:20). It may be concluded, therefore, that St. Luke has preserved the more original form of Christ’s words, and that ‘the righteous’ is an addition in Mat 23:35 due to current Jewish conceptions.

2. It is possible that Christ had the story of Abel in mind when He spoke of the devil as being ‘a murderer (ἀνθρωποκτόνος) from the beginning,’ i.e. the instigator of murder as he is of lies (Joh 8:44). But the passage may be a reference to the introduction of death into the world by the fall of Adam.

3. In Heb 12:24 the ‘blood of Abel’ is contrasted with the ‘blood of sprinkling’ under the new dispensation. In Gen 4:10 God says: ‘Hark! (קוֹל) thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground,’ .e. it pleads for vengeance. But the blood of sprinkling ‘speaketh something better’ (κρεῖττον λαλοῦντι): it is the blood shed in ratification of a New Covenant, whose mediator is Jesus.

Literature.—The most recent commentaries on Matthew and Luke (ad locc.); Wright, Synopsis of the Gospels in Greek, p. 232; Sanday-Headlam, Romans, pp. 28–31, on δίκαιος and its cognates; Driver, Genesis (in Westminster commentaries); Dillmann, ‘Genesis,’ in Kurzgef. exeget. Handb. z. AT [English translation by Stevenson, Edinburgh, 1897]; Marcus Dods, ‘Genesis’ in Expositor’s Bible.

A. H. M‘Neile.

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By: J. Frederic McCurdy, Kaufmann Kohler, Louis Ginzberg, Richard Gottheil

—Biblical Data:

The younger brother of Cain and the second son of Adam and Eve. He was the first shepherd, while Cain was a tiller of the soil. The writer of Gen. iv. tells us that when the brothers came as a matter of course to present their offerings to God, the sacrifice of Abel—the first-lings of his flock—was preferred to that of Cain, who gave of the fruits of the earth. The acceptance of Abel's offering aroused the jealousy of Cain, who, in spite of the warnings of God, wreaked his vengeance upon the favorite by murdering him.

J. F. McC.—In Hellenistic and Rabbinical Literature:

Abel was regarded as the first innocent victim of the power of evil, represented by Cain; the first martyrsaint, with the title the Just. In Enoch, xxii. 7 the soul of Abel is the chief of the martyr-souls in Sheol, crying to God for vengeance until the seed of Cain shall be destroyed from the earth. In the vision of the bulls and lambs (Enoch, lxxxv. 3-6) Abel, whose death is deeply mourned by Eve, is the red bull pursued by Cain, the black bull. In the Testament of Abraham (recension A, chap. xiii., and recension B, chap. xi.) Abel is described as the judge of the souls:

"an awful man sitting upon the throne to judge all creatures, and examining the righteous and the sinners. He being the first to die as martyr, God brought him hither [to the place of judgment in the nether world] to give judgment, while Enoch, the heavenly scribe, stands at his side writing down the sin and the righteousness of each. For God said: I shall not judge you, but each man shall be judged by man. Being descendants of the first man, they shall be judged by his son until the great and glorious appearance of the Lord, when they will be judged by the twelve tribes [judges] of Israel [compare Matt. xix. 28], and then the last judgment by the Lord Himself shall be perfect and unchangeable."

Josephus ("Ant." i. 2, § 1) calls Abel "a lover of righteousness, excellent in virtue, and a believer in God's omnipresence; Cain altogether wicked, greedy, and wholly intent upon 'getting' []."

According to the Ethiopic Book of Adam and Eve (ii. 1-15) and the Syrian Cave of Treasures, both works of half-Jewish, half-pagan (Egyptian) character (see Gelzer, "Julius Africanus," ii. 272 et seq.), the body of Abel the Just, after many days of mourning, was placed in the Cave of Treasures. Before this cave, Adam and Eve and their descendants offered their prayers; and "by the blood of Abel the Just" Seth and his descendants adjured their children not to mingle with the seed of the unrighteous.

It is, therefore, an awful curse hurled against the Pharisees when Jesus is represented as saying: "Upon you may all the righteous blood shed upon the earth come, from the blood of the righteous Abel [compare Epistle to the Hebrews, xi. 4, and I John, iii. 12] unto the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar" (Matt. xxiii. 35). From Josephus ("B. J." iv. 5, § 4) it appears that this murder took place thirty-four years after the death of Jesus.

Abel, according to Midrash, protested against Cain's denial of a divine judgment and of a future retribution, and declared for the existence of a divine judgment and a judge, a future world with reward for the righteous and punishment for the wicked. "With the first produce of the field the Lord blessed all the saints from Abel until now," says Issachar (Test. Patriarchs, p. 5). According to Pirḳe de-R. Eliezer (chap. xxi.), Abel's dog watched by his corpse to keep off the beasts of prey; and while Adam and Eve were sitting there, weeping and mourning, a raven came and buried a bird in the sand. Thereupon Adam said, "Let us do the same"; and he dug up the earth and buried his son.

Regarding the mourning over Abel, compare the Book of Jubilees, iv. 7, with the strange interpretation of Abel as "Mourning" (as if the name were written ). Compare Philo, "De Migratione Abrahami," xiii., and Josephus, "Ant." i. 2, § 1.

God's favorable attitude toward Abel's sacrifice (Gen. iv. 4) is shown in the fact that it was consumed by fire from heaven. This is a haggadic idea known to Theodotion, accepted by the Christians, and found in the works of many Church Fathers, such as Cyril of Alexandria, Jerome, Ephraem Syrus, and Aphraates. In midrashic literature, however, it is found only in later works (Midrash Zuṭṭa, p. 35, ed. Buber, Berlin, 1899).

Woman was at the bottom of the strife between the first brothers. Each of the sons of Adam had a twin-sister whom he was to marry. As Abel's twin-sister was the more beautiful, Cain wished to have her for his wife, and sought to get rid of Abel (Pirḳe R. Eliezer, xxi.; Gen. R. xxii. 7, according to Ginzberg's emendation; Epiphanius, "De Hæresi," xl. 5, "Schatzhöhle," ed. Bezold, p. 34; compare, too, "The Book of the Bee," ed. Budge, pp. 26, 27).

Abel, stronger than Cain, overcame him in a struggle between them, but mercifully spared his life. Cain, however, took Abel unawares and, overpowering him, killed him with a stone (Gen. R. xxii. 18)—some say with a cane, or even that he choked him with his fingers (compare Ginzberg, cited below, pp. 229, 230, 298, 299).

The place where Abel was killed remained desolate forever, never producing vegetation (Midrash Canticles, ed. Shechter; "Jew. Quart. Rev.," 1894-95, vii. 160. Jerome, "Commentary on Ezekiel," xxvii.18, supported by Jewish tradition, held it to be Damascus (Heb. : blood; drink). According to another version, the earth refused to take up Abel's blood (Apocalypsis Mosis, xl.).

Since man had no knowledge of burial, Abel's corpse remained unburied for some time. At God's command, two turtle-doves flew down; one died; the other dug a hollow place and moved the dead one into it. Thereupon Adam and Eve did likewise to Abel's body (Tan., Bereshit, § 10; Pirḳe R. Eliezer, xxi., see also Gen. R. l.c.; compare "Denkschrift d. Wiener Akademie," xx. 52, and Ginzberg, l.c. 295).

Bibliography:

Ginzberg, in Monatsschrift, 1899, 226-230, 294-298.

—In Mohammedan Legend:

The story of Cain and Abel is thus told in the Koran (sura v. 30 et seq.): "Recite to them the story of the two sons of Adam: Truly, when they offered an offering and it was accepted from one of them, and was not accepted from the other, that one [Cain] said, 'I will surely kill thee.' He [Abel] said, 'God only accepts from those who fear. If thou dost stretch forth to me thine hand to kill me, I will not stretch forth mine hand to kill thee; verily, I fear God, the Lord of the worlds; verily, I wish that thou mayest draw upon thee my sin and thy sin, and be of the fellows of the fire; for that is the reward of the unjust.' But his soul allowed him to slay his brother, and he slew him, and in the morning he was of those who perish. And God sent a crow to scratch in the earth and show him how he might hide his brother's shame; he said, 'Alas for me! Am I too helpless to become like this crow and hide my brother's shame?' And in the morning he was of those that did repent " (compare Pirḳe R. El. xxi).

No further mention is made of Abel; and the absence of his name here causes the commentator Baidawi and the historian Tabari to say that the two mentioned here were not sons of Adam, but "children of Adam" or merely descendants. The Arabic historians (Ya'ḳubi, Tabari, Ibn al-Athir, etc.) call Abel "Habil"; and, following Jewish tradition, they say that to each one of the brothers a sister or sisters were born. Adam wished that each should marry the sister of the other; but Cain's sister was the handsomer of the two and had been born in paradise; while Abel and his sister had been begotten outside of the garden. Adam suggested that the question should be settled by each one bringing an offering. Abel brought of the best of his flock, but Cain of the worst of the products of the ground. Fire fell from heaven, and consumed only the offering of Abel. The sister of Abel is called Kelimia; that of Cain, Lubda (compare Lebuda and Kelimat in the Syriac "Schatzhöhle," ed. Bezold, trans., p. 8; and in the "Book of the Bee," ed. Budge, trans., p. 25; in the Ethiopic Midrash the names are Aklemia and Lubuwa; see Malan, "Book of Adam and Eve," pp. 93, 104). According to an another tradition, Adam's height shrank considerably through grief at the death of Abel.

Bibliography:

Weil, Biblische Legenden der Musulmänner, p. 30;

Grünbaum, Neue Beiträge zur Semitischen Sagenkunde, pp. 67 et seq.

—Critical View:

The Biblical account of Abel comes from one writer (J) only, and is so brief and fragmentary that much is left to speculation when we try to get the original form of the story. The name itself can not be satisfactorily explained, as it is only clear that the narrative comes from a very old tradition. The Assyrian word for son is hablu, and the derivation from a Babylonian source seems to be quite probable (Stade's "Zeitschrift," 1884, p. 250). The story is intended to set forth: First, the superiority of the pastoral over the agricultural occupation. This prejudice naturally inhered in the nomadic life. The fact confirms the antiquity of the original story. Secondly, it emphasizes the peculiar value of the choicest animal sacrifices as developed later in the ritual system. Thirdly, it shows how deep-seated was the jealousy and rivalry between people of different occupations, who in ancient times formed separate communities and were continually at war. Fourthly, there also lurks in the story a consciousness that certain people are more pleasing to God than others, and that the difference is, in part at least, connected with modes of worship and sacrifice. Neither Abel nor Cain is referred to in later Old Testament books. The New Testament has several references.

ABEL.—Gen 4:2-10. The Heb. form Hebhel denotes ‘vapour’ or ‘breath’ (cf. Ecc 1:1, EV [Note: English Version.] ‘vanity’), which is suggestive as the name of a son of Adam (‘man’). But it is perhaps to be connected with the Assyr. [Note: 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 Gen 4:8 Heb. has ‘and Cain said unto Abel his brother’ (not as AV [Note: Authorized Version.] and RV [Note: Revised Version.] ). LXX [Note: 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 J″ [Note: 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 (Gen 4:10).

In Mat 23:35 || Luk 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.—A word meaning ‘meadow,’ and entering as an element into several place-names. In 1Sa 6:18 a reference in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] to ‘Abel’ is in the RV [Note: Revised Version.] corrected ‘great stone.’ Elsewhere the name is found only with to qualifying epithets.

R. A. S. Macalister.

Second son of Adam, slain by his brother Cain because the latter’s oblation was not accepted favorably by God, as Abel’s was. For his death in this way he is regarded as a type of Our Saviour. His death symbolizes, too, the bloody sacrifice of the Cross and the unbloody one of the altar. He is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass, and his name holds first place in the Litany for the Dying.

("Meadow")Name of several places distinguished by additional words: (1) Abel-Beth-Maacha (meadow of the house, or family, of Maacha). In Vulgate also "Abeldomus and Maacha," "Abeldomus Mancha", "Abela and Maacha"; identical with Abel-Maim (meadow of water), II Par., xvi, 4. It was a city in Upper Galilee, a little west of Dan.--II K., xx. 14-19; III K., xv, 20; IV K., xv, 29; II Par., xvi, 4. (2) Abel-Keramim (meadow of vineyards), a village of the Ammonites, about six miles from Philadelphia. Jud., xi, 33. (3) Abelmehula, Abelmeula (Abelmechola, "a meadow of the dance"), in the Jordan valley near Bethsan.--Jud., vii, 23; III K., iv, 12; xix, 16. (4) Abel-Misraim (Vulg. "the mourning of Egypt"), according to St. Jerome identical with the "threshing floor of Atad." Gen., 50:10 sq. (5) Abelsatim, Settim, Setim, Hebr. abhel hashshittim (meadow of acacias) is a place in the plains of Moab. Num., xxv, 1; xxxiii, 49; xxxiv-xxxvi; Jos., ii, 1; iii, 1; Mich. vi, 5. (6) The great Abel in I K., vi, 18, is a misreading for the great ebhen (stone).----------------------------------- Vigouroux, in Dict. de la Bible (Paris, 1895) HAGEN, Lex. Bibl. (Paris, 1905); HOLZAMMER, in Kirchenlex. (Freiburg, 1882); CONDER, in Dict. of the Bible (New York, 1903). A.J. MAAS The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume ICopyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

ā´bel (ה בל, hebhel; Ἄβελ, Ábel; Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek Hábel; etymology uncertain. Some translation “a breath,” “vapor,” “transitoriness,” which are suggestive of his brief existence and tragic end; others take it to be a variant of Jabal, yābhāl, “shepherd” or “herdman,” Gen 4:20. Compare Assyrian ablu and Babylonian abil, “son”): The second son of Adam and Eve. The absence of the verb hārāh (Gen 4:2; compare Gen 4:1) has been taken to imply, perhaps truly, that Cain and Abel were twins.

1. A Shepherd

“Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground,” thus representing the two fundamental pursuits of civilized life, the two earliest subdivisions of the human race. On the Hebrew tradition of the superiority of the pastoral over agricultural and city life, see Expositor Times, V, 351ff. The narrative may possibly bear witness to the primitive idea that pastoral life was more pleasing to Yahweh than husbandry.

2. A Worshipper

“In process of time,” the two brothers came in a solemn manner to sacrifice unto Yahweh, in order to express their gratitude to Him whose tenants they were in the land (Gen 4:3, Gen 4:4. See SACRIFICE). How Yahweh signified His acceptance of the one offering and rejection of the other, we are not told. That it was due to the difference in the material of the sacrifice or in their manner of offering was probably the belief among the early Israelites, who regarded animal offerings as superior to cereal offerings. Both kinds, however, were fully in accord with Hebrew law and custom. It has been suggested that the Septuagint rendering of Gen 4:7 makes Cain’s offense a ritual one, the offering not being “correctly” made or rightly divided, and hence rejected as irregular. “If thou makest a proper offering, but dost not cut in pieces rightly, art thou not in fault? Be still!” The Septuagint evidently took the rebuke to turn upon Cain’s neglect to prepare his offering according to strict ceremonial requirements. διέλῃς, diélēs (Septuagint in the place cited.), however, implies נתח, (אנתּח nāthaḥ (nattaḥ), and would only apply to animal sacrifices. Compare Exo 29:17; Lev 8:20; Jdg 19:29; 1Ki 18:23; and see COUCH.

3. A Righteous Man

The true reason for the Divine preference is doubtless to be found in the disposition of the brothers (see CAIN). Well-doing consisted not in the outward offering (Gen 4:7) but in the right state of mind and feeling. The acceptability depends on the inner motives and moral characters of the offerers. “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent (abundant, pleı́ōna) sacrifice than Cain” (Heb 11:4). The “more abundant sacrifice,” Westcott thinks, “suggests the deeper gratitude of Abel, and shows a fuller sense of the claims of God” to the best. Cain’s “works (the collective expression of his inner life) were evil, and his brother’s righteous” (1Jn 3:12). “It would be an outrage if the gods looked to gifts and sacrifices and not to the soul” (Alcibiades II.149E.150A). Cain’s heart was no longer pure; it had a criminal propensity, springing from envy and jealousy, which rendered both his offering and person unacceptable. His evil works and hatred of his brother culminated in the act of murder, specifically evoked by the opposite character of Abel’s works and the acceptance of his offering. The evil man cannot endure the sight of goodness in another.

4. A Martyr

Abel ranks as the first martyr (Mat 23:35), whose blood cried for vengeance (Gen 4:10; compare Rev 6:9, Rev 6:10) and brought despair (Gen 4:13), whereas that of Jesus appeals to God for forgiveness and speaks peace (Heb 12:24) and is preferred before Abel’s.

5. A Type

The first two brothers in history stand as the types and representatives of the two main and enduring divisions of mankind, and bear witness to the absolute antithesis and eternal enmity between good and evil.

Abel (Ἄâåë) has the first place in the roll of ‘the elders’ (ïἱ ðñåóâýôåñïé, Heb_11:2), or men of past generations, who by their faith pleased God and had witness borne to them. It Is recorded of him that he offered unto God a more excellent Sacrifice (ðëåßïíá èõóßáí) than his older brother (Heb_11:4). In the original story (Gen_4:1-7) his offering was probably regarded as mere pleasing on account of the material of his Sacrifice. It was in accordance with primitive Semitic ideas that the occupation of a keeper of sheep was more pleasing be God than that of a tiller of the ground, and accordingly that a firstling of the flock was a more acceptable offering than the fruit of the ground. The ancient writer of the story (J) evidently wished to teach that animal sacrifice alone was pleasing to God (Gunkel, Genesis , 38; Skinner, 105). The author of Hebrews gives the story a different turn. The greater excellence of Abel’s sacrifice consisted in the disposition with which it was offered. The spirit of the worshipper rather than the substance of the offering is now considered the essential element. Abel’s sacrifice was the offering of a man whose heart was right. Through his faith he won God’s approval of his gifts, and through his faith his blood continued to speak for him after his death. In a later passage of Heb. (Heb_12:24) that blood is contrasted with ‘the blood of sprinkling,’ by which the new covenant is confirmed. The blood of Abel cried out from the ground for vengeance (cf. Job_16:18, Isa_26:21, 2Ki_9:26; also Rev_6:9-10): it was such a cry as is sounded in Milton’s sonnet, ‘Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints’; but the blood of the eternal covenant intercedes for mercy.

St. John (1Jn_3:12) uses the murder of Abel by his brother to illustrate the absence of that spirit of love which is the essence of goodness. The writer indicates that the new commandment, or message (ἀããåëßá), which has been heard from the beginning of the Christian era, was also the fundamental law of the moral life from the beginning of human history. Cain was of the evil one (ἐê ôïῦ ðïíçñïῦ), and slaughtered (ἔóöáîåí) his brother.

Literature.-Besides the articles in the Bible Dictionaries, see W. G. Elmslie, Expository Lectures and Sermons, 1892, p. 164; J. Hastings, Greater Men and Women of the Bible, vol. i. [1913] p. 53; G. Matheson, The Representative Men of the Bible, i. [1902] 45; A. P. Peabody, king’s Chapel Sermons, 1891, p. 317; A. Whyte, Bible Characters, i. [1896] 44.

James Strahan.

Gen 4:4 (c) He is a type of the true believer in regard to salvation. He felt his guilt, he realized his insufficiency to pay the price. He obtained an innocent lamb. He offered this lamb as a sacrifice, killing it and burning it upon the altar whereby he proved his faith in the animal who died for him, and shed his blood for him. This is the path the true believer takes today.

As a sinner he feels his need as Abel did. He goes to the innocent and holy Lamb of GOD, JESUS CHRIST, by faith. He kneels a suppliant for mercy at Calvary, where the blood was shed. He believes the Word of GOD that the "blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, c1eanseth us from all sin," 1Jn 1:7. He trusts his soul and life to the living Lamb on the Throne of GOD who makes the death of Calvary and the shed blood effective for the one who believes.

The second son of Adam and Eve, Abel was a keeper of sheep. Like his elder brother Cain, he made an offering to God of things God had given him (Gen 4:1-4). Abel was a righteous man (Mat 23:35), and he offered his sacrifice in a thankful attitude of sincere faith (Gen 4:4; Heb 11:4). Cain was an unrighteous man (1Jn 3:12) and offered his sacrifice in the wrong attitude. God therefore rejected his sacrifice (Gen 4:5; for further details see SACRIFICE).

In envy and anger, Cain killed Abel (Gen 4:8). But God gave to Adam and Eve another son, Seth, who helped maintain the sort of faith in God that Abel had shown (Gen 4:25-26).

The son of Adam and Eve who was

killed by his brother Cain. Read

Gen. 4:1–16.