(Aarʹon).

A son of Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi, born in Egypt in 1597 B.C.E. Levi was Aaron’s great-grandfather. (Ex 6:13, 16-20) Miriam was his elder sister, and Moses was his younger brother by three years. (Ex 2:1-4; 7:7) Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, and had four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. (Ex 6:23) He died in 1474 B.C.E. at the age of 123 years.​—Nu 33:39.

Owing to Moses’ reluctance because he found it difficult to speak fluently, Jehovah assigned Aaron to act as Moses’ spokesman before Pharaoh, saying of Aaron: “I do know that he can really speak.” Aaron went to meet Moses at Mount Sinai and was informed of the far-reaching proportions of the divinely outlined program of action involving Israel and Egypt, and the brothers then journeyed back to Egypt.​—Ex 4:14-16, 27-30.

Aaron now began serving as “a mouth” to Moses, speaking for him to the older men of Israel and performing miraculous signs as proof of the divine origin of their messages. When the time came for their appearance at Pharaoh’s court, the 83-year-old Aaron, as Moses’ spokesman, had to face up to that arrogant ruler. As Jehovah thereafter told Moses: “See, I have made you God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your own brother will become your prophet.” (Ex 7:1, 7) It was Aaron who performed the first miraculous sign before Pharaoh and his magic-practicing priests; and, later, it was Aaron who, at Moses’ order, stretched forth Moses’ rod and signaled the start of the Ten Plagues. (Ex 7:9-12, 19, 20) He continued to work in united coordination with Moses and in obedience to God during the succeeding plagues, until liberation finally came. In this he was a good example for Christians who serve as “ambassadors substituting for Christ, as though God were making entreaty through us.”​—Ex 7:6; 2Co 5:20.

Aaron’s activity as spokesman for Moses evidently diminished during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, since Moses appears to have done more of the speaking himself. (Ex 32:26-30; 34:31-34; 35:1, 4) The rod also returned to Moses’ hands after the third plague. And Aaron, along with Hur, merely supported Moses’ arms at the battle of Amalek. (Ex 9:23; 17:9, 12) However, Jehovah generally continued to associate Aaron with Moses when giving instruction, and they are spoken of as acting and speaking together, right up to the time of Aaron’s death.​—Nu 20:6-12.

Aaron, in his subordinate position, did not accompany Moses to the top of Mount Sinai to receive the Law covenant, but, together with two of his sons and 70 of the older men of the nation, he was permitted to ascend the mountain and behold a magnificent vision of God’s glory. (Ex 24:9-15) In the Law covenant Aaron and his house received honorable mention, and God designated Aaron for the position of high priest.​—Ex 28:1-3.

High Priest. By a seven-day installation ceremony Aaron was invested with his sacred duties by Moses as God’s agent, and his four sons were also installed as underpriests. Moses dressed Aaron in beautiful garments of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet materials, including shoulder pieces and a breastpiece that was adorned with precious gems of varied colors. On his head was placed a turban of fine linen. Attached to it was a plate of pure gold, engraved with the words “Holiness belongs to Jehovah.” (Le 8:7-9; Ex 28) Aaron was then anointed in the manner described at Psalm 133:2 and could thereafter be called the ma·shiʹach, or messiah (khri·stosʹ, LXX), that is, the “anointed one.”​—Le 4:5, 16; 6:22.

Aaron not only was placed over all the priesthood but also was divinely declared to be the one from whose line, or house, all future high priests must come. Yet Aaron himself had not received the priesthood by inheritance, and so the apostle Paul could say of him: “A man takes this honor, not of his own accord, but only when he is called by God, just as Aaron also was. So too the Christ did not glorify himself by becoming a high priest, but was glorified by him who spoke with reference to him: ‘You are my son; I, today, I have become your father.’” (Heb 5:4, 5) Paul thereafter demonstrates the way in which the priestly office, first filled by Aaron, was typical of that which Christ Jesus fills as a superior and heavenly high priest. This being so, the priestly functions of Aaron’s high office take on added meaning for us.​—Heb 8:1-6; 9:6-14, 23-28.

As high priest, Aaron was responsible for directing all features of worship at the tabernacle and supervising the work of the thousands of Levites engaged in its service. (Nu 3:5-10) On the annual Day of Atonement he presented sin offerings for the priesthood and Levites and for the people of Israel, and he alone was permitted to enter the Most Holy of the tabernacle with the sacrificial blood of the animals. (Le 16) The daily offering up of incense, the presentation of the firstfruits of the grain harvest, and many other features of the worship were exclusive prerogatives of Aaron and his sons as priests. (Ex 30:7, 8; Lu 1:8-11; Le 23:4-11) His anointing, however, sanctified him to perform not only sacrificial duties for the nation but other duties as well. He was responsible to teach the nation the Word of God. (Le 10:8-11; De 24:8; Mal 2:7) He, as well as his successors, served as the chief officer under Jehovah the King. On high state occasions he wore the costly garments and the “shining plate” of gold on his linen turban. He also wore the breastpiece that contained the Urim and Thummim, enabling him to receive Jehovah’s “Yes” or “No” to national problems; although, for the duration of Moses’ life and mediatorship, this feature appears to have received little use.​—Ex 28:4, 29, 30, 36; see HIGH PRIEST.

Aaron’s devotion to pure worship was early put to the test by the death of his sons Nadab and Abihu, who suffered destruction by God for making profane use of their priestly positions. The record says: “And Aaron kept silent.” When he and his two surviving sons were instructed not to mourn over the dead transgressors, “they did according to Moses’ word.”​—Le 10:1-11.

During nearly 40 years Aaron represented the 12 tribes before Jehovah in his capacity as high priest. While in the wilderness, a serious rebellion broke out against the authority of Moses and Aaron. It was led by a Levite named Korah, together with the Reubenites Dathan, Abiram, and On, who complained against their leadership. Jehovah caused the earth to open beneath the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, swallowing them up along with their households, while Korah himself and 250 of his coconspirators were destroyed by fire. (Nu 16:1-35) Murmuring broke out now on the part of the congregation against Moses and Aaron; and in the divine plague that ensued, Aaron showed great faith and courage in obediently going out with his fire holder and making atonement for the people while “standing between the dead and the living,” until the scourge was stopped.​—Nu 16:46-50.

God now directed that 12 rods, each representing one of the 12 tribes, be placed in the tabernacle, and the rod for the tribe of Levi was inscribed with Aaron’s name. (Nu 17:1-4) On the following day Moses entered the tent of the Testimony and found that Aaron’s rod had budded, blossomed with flowers, and bore ripe almonds. (Nu 17:8) This established beyond dispute Jehovah’s choice of the Levite sons of Aaron for priestly service and His authorization of Aaron as high priest. Thereafter, the right of Aaron’s house to the priesthood was never seriously challenged. The budded rod of Aaron was placed in the ark of the covenant as “a sign to the sons of rebelliousness,” though it appears that after the death of these rebellious ones and the entry of the nation into the Land of Promise the rod was removed, having served its purpose.​—Nu 17:10; Heb 9:4; 2Ch 5:10; 1Ki 8:9.

Why was Aaron not punished for making the golden calf?

Despite his privileged position, Aaron had his shortcomings. During Moses’ first 40-day stay on Mount Sinai, “the people congregated themselves about Aaron and said to him: ‘Get up, make for us a god who will go ahead of us, because as regards this Moses, the man who led us up out of the land of Egypt, we certainly do not know what has happened to him.’” (Ex 32:1) Aaron acceded and cooperated with them in making a golden calf statue. (Ex 32:2-6) When later confronted by Moses, he gave a weak excuse. (Ex 32:22-24) However, Jehovah did not single him out as the prime wrongdoer but told Moses: “So now let me be, that my anger may blaze against them and I may exterminate them.” (Ex 32:10) Moses appealed to Jehovah for the people and specifically for Aaron and then brought the matter to a showdown by crying: “Who is on Jehovah’s side? To me!” (Ex 32:11, 26; De 9:20) All the sons of Levi responded, undoubtedly including Aaron. Three thousand idolaters, probably the prime instigators, were slain by them. (Ex 32:28) Nevertheless, Moses later reminded the rest of the people that they too bore guilt. (Ex 32:30) So Aaron was not alone in receiving God’s mercy. His subsequent actions indicated that he was not in heart harmony with the idolatrous movement but simply gave in to the pressure of the rebels. (Ex 32:35) Jehovah showed that Aaron had received his forgiveness by maintaining as valid Aaron’s appointment to become high priest.​—Ex 40:12, 13.

After having loyally supported his younger brother through many difficult experiences and having recently been installed as high priest by Moses as God’s representative, Aaron foolishly associated himself with his sister Miriam in criticizing Moses for his marriage to a Cushite woman and in challenging Moses’ unique relationship and position with Jehovah God, saying: “Is it just by Moses alone that Jehovah has spoken? Is it not by us also that he has spoken?” (Nu 12:1, 2) Jehovah swiftly took action, brought the three before him in front of the tent of meeting, and strongly castigated Aaron and Miriam for disrespecting God’s appointment. The fact that only Miriam was stricken with leprosy may mark her as the instigator of the action and may indicate that Aaron again had shown weakness by being induced to join her. However, if Aaron had been similarly struck with leprosy, it would have invalidated his appointment as high priest, according to God’s law. (Le 21:21-23) His right heart attitude manifested itself by his immediate confession and apology for the foolishness of their act and by his agonized plea for Moses’ intercession on leprous Miriam’s behalf.​—Nu 12:10-13.

Aaron again shared responsibility for wrong when he, along with Moses, failed to sanctify and honor God before the congregation in the incident involving the providing of water at Meribah in Kadesh. For this action God decreed that neither of them would enjoy the privilege of bringing the nation into the Land of Promise.​—Nu 20:9-13.

On the first day of the month Ab, in the 40th year following the Exodus, the nation of Israel lay encamped on the frontier of Edom before Mount Hor. Within a matter of months they would be crossing over the Jordan; but not the 123-year-old Aaron. At Jehovah’s instruction, and with all the camp watching, Aaron, his son Eleazar, and Moses went climbing to the top of Mount Hor. There Aaron let his brother remove his priestly garments from him and put them on his son and successor to the high priesthood, Eleazar. Then Aaron died. He was probably buried there by his brother and his son, and for 30 days Israel mourned his death.​—Nu 20:24-29.

It is noteworthy that in each of his three deflections, Aaron does not appear as the principal initiator of the wrong action but, rather, seems to have allowed the pressure of the circumstances or the influence of others to sway him from a course of rectitude. Particularly in his first trespass, he could have applied the principle underlying the command: “You must not follow after the crowd for evil ends.” (Ex 23:2) Nevertheless, his name is thereafter used in the Scriptures in an honorable way, and God’s Son, during his earthly lifetime, recognized the legitimacy of the Aaronic priesthood.​—Ps 115:10, 12; 118:3; 133:1, 2; 135:19; Mt 5:17-19; 8:4.

Aaron’s Priestly Descendants. The expression “Aaronites” appears in the King James Version and Moffatt at 1 Chronicles 12:27; 27:17. (The Masoretic text in Hebrew simply uses the name Aaron. LXX [Lagardian edition, at 1Ch 12:27] says “of the sons of Aaron.”) It is evident that the word “Aaron” is here used in a collective sense, much as is the name Israel, and stands for the house of Aaron or his male descendants in David’s time who were of the tribe of Levi and were serving as priests. (1Ch 6:48-53) The New World Translation reads: “And Jehoiada was the leader [of the sons] of Aaron, and with him were three thousand seven hundred” (1Ch 12:27), bracketing the words “of the sons” to denote that they are supplied.

The postexilic name of the 5th lunar month of the Jewish sacred calendar, but the 11th of the secular calendar. It corresponds to part of July and part of August.

The meaning of the name Ab is uncertain. In the Bible it is mentioned, not directly by name, but only as “the fifth month.” The name does appear, however, in the Mishnah (Taʽanit 4:6) and other postexilic Jewish writings.

Ab was a month of summer heat, a time when the harvesting of grapes began in Israel.​—See CALENDAR.

It was on the first day of Ab that Aaron died on Mount Hor. (Nu 33:38) Second Kings 25:8 says that it was on the seventh day of this month that Nebuzaradan, the servant of the king of Babylon, “came to Jerusalem.” However, Jeremiah 52:12 tells us that it was on the tenth day of this month that Nebuzaradan “came into Jerusalem.” The Soncino Books of the Bible comments on this, saying: “The interval of three days may be accounted for as representing the date of Nebuzaradan’s arrival on the scene and the commencement of operations.” (Edited by A. Cohen, London, 1949) It would appear, then, that Nebuzaradan arrived at Jerusalem on the seventh day, made his survey from his camp outside the city walls, and gave directions for the demolition of the city fortifications and the plundering of its treasures; finally, on the tenth day of the month, he entered the city and its holy temple. According to Josephus (The Jewish War, VI, 250, 268 [iv, 5, 8]), Herod’s temple was burned by the Romans on the tenth day of the fifth month (70 C.E.), and Josephus makes note of the precise correspondency of this date with the burning of the first temple on the same day by the Babylonians.

During the following 70-year Babylonian exile, this fifth month was a time of fastings and wailings by the Jews in memory of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. (Zec 7:3, 5; 8:19) It was also in the month Ab that Ezra returned to the restored Jerusalem to instruct the Jews in the Law of Jehovah.​—Ezr 7:8, 9, 25.

(A·badʹdon) [from Heb., meaning “Destruction”].

At Revelation 9:11 this Hebrew word is transliterated into the English text. There we read concerning the symbolic plague of locusts that they have “a king, the angel of the abyss. In Hebrew his name is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.”

In Hebrew the word ʼavad·dohnʹ means “destruction” and may also refer to “the place of destruction.” It appears in the original Hebrew text a total of five times, and in four of the occurrences it is used to parallel “the burial place,” “Sheol,” and “death.” (Ps 88:11; Job 26:6; 28:22; Pr 15:11) The word ʼavad·dohnʹ in these texts evidently refers to the destructive processes that ensue with human death, and these scriptures indicate that decay or destruction takes place in Sheol, the common grave of mankind. At Job 31:12 ʼavad·dohnʹ designates the damaging effect of an adulterous course. Job declared: “That [adulterous course] is a fire that would eat clear to destruction [ʽadh-ʼavad·dohnʹ], and among all my produce it would take root.”​—Compare Pr 6:26-28, 32; 7:26, 27.

Abaddon, the angel of the abyss​—who is he?

At Revelation 9:11, however, the word “Abaddon” is used as the name of “the angel of the abyss.” The corresponding Greek name Apollyon means “Destroyer.” In the 19th century there were efforts made to show that this text prophetically applied to individuals such as Emperor Vespasian, Muhammad, and even Napoleon, and the angel was generally regarded as “satanic.” It should be noted, however, that at Revelation 20:1-3 the angel having “the key of the abyss” is shown to be God’s representative from heaven, and rather than being “satanic,” he binds and hurls Satan into the abyss. Commenting on Revelation 9:11, The Interpreter’s Bible says: “Abaddon, however, is an angel not of Satan but of God, performing his work of destruction at God’s bidding.”

In the Hebrew scriptures just considered, it is evident that ʼavad·dohnʹ is paralleled with Sheol and death. At Revelation 1:18 we find Christ Jesus stating: “I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” His power with regard to the abyss is shown at Luke 8:31. That he has destroying power, including the power of destruction over Satan, is evident from Hebrews 2:14, which says that Jesus partook of blood and flesh in order that “through his death he might bring to nothing the one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil.” At Revelation 19:11-16 he is clearly represented as God’s appointed Destroyer or Executioner.​—See APOLLYON.

(A·bagʹtha).

The name of one of seven court officials who ministered to the Persian king Ahasuerus, the husband of the Jewess Esther, in his palace in Shushan, then capital of Persia.​—Es 1:10.

In the King James Version, Abagtha is said to be one of seven “chamberlains,” and the marginal reading says “eunuchs.” While eunuchs were frequently used as trusted servants within royal households in Middle Eastern countries, the original Hebrew word sa·risʹ primarily has the meaning of “court official” and only secondarily has reference to a castrated person. Since these seven court officials were attendants of the king and apparently not assigned as guardians of the women (as was Hegai, the king’s eunuch mentioned at Esther 2:3), they may not have been eunuchs in the physical sense.

(A·baʹnah).

One of the two rivers of Damascus referred to by the Syrian army commander Naaman when scorning Elisha’s instructions to bathe himself in the waters of the Jordan as a cure for his leprosy.​—2Ki 5:12.

This river is generally identified with the Nahr Barada, which rises in the Anti-Lebanon mountains to the NW of Damascus and, after traversing the mountains, emerges from a gorge just to the W of Damascus. Then it courses through the northern part of the city and fans out to irrigate a large area before finally losing itself in a body of marshes to the E of the city. Its waters, used to irrigate fields and orchards by means of canals and conduits, create an extensive verdant oasis. It can well be said that Damascus owes its existence to the Barada. It has long been the source of water for the city’s cisterns, fountains, and baths. Classical writers called it Golden River (Chrysorrhoas). So, Naaman’s high opinion of the river appears to have had a solid basis.

The word “Amana” or “Amanah” is used instead of “Abanah” at 2 Kings 5:12 in An American Translation, also in the translation published by The Jewish Publication Society of America, and the margin of the Masoretic text as well as the Syriac Peshitta so read. At Song of Solomon 4:8 reference is made to “Amana” in many translations, and it is understood to refer to the Anti-Lebanon mountains in which the river here discussed has its source. Hence, the river may have taken on the name of the mountains in which it originated.

(Abʹa·rim) [Fords (Crossings); Borderland (Regions Beyond)].

This name doubtless applies to a region E of the Jordan River and, more particularly, E of the Dead Sea. At Jeremiah 22:20 it is mentioned along with regions of Lebanon and Bashan.

In the other instances where it appears in the Bible record, it is connected with a range or system of mountains. The term “Abarim,” as referring to the “regions beyond,” may indicate that the ones originating the term were located on the western side of the Jordan; and it is possible that this term was originally used by Abraham and was still retained by the Israelites on leaving Egypt.

It was near the end of the 40-year trek through the wilderness that the Israelites reached this territory and encamped “in the mountains of Abarim.” (Nu 33:47, 48) Thereafter they descended to the Plains of Moab, which lie E of the Jordan at the N end of the Dead Sea. Here they made their final encampment before crossing the Jordan River. Here, too, Jehovah said to Moses: “Go up into this mountain of Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, which fronts toward Jericho, and see the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel as a possession.”​—De 32:49; Nu 27:12.

It would appear from this that the region of Abarim, together with its range of mountains, was in the NW part of the territory of Moab. However, it may possibly have extended the full length of the chain of mountain bluffs that rise along the entire E side of the Dead Sea from N to S. At Numbers 21:11 and 33:44 reference is made to a stopping point on the route of the Israelites called “Iye-abarim,” and the context places this to the S of Moab and at the S end of the Dead Sea. It may have marked the southernmost point of the region called Abarim.​—See IYE-ABARIM.

Mount Nebo was evidently one of the higher mountains of Abarim.​—See NEBO No. 3.

(Abʹba).

The word ʼab·baʼʹ in Aramaic corresponds to the emphatic or definite form of ʼav, literally meaning “the father,” or “O Father.” It was the intimate name used by children for their fathers and combines some of the intimacy of the English word “papa” while retaining the dignity of the word “father,” being both informal and yet respectful. It was, therefore, an endearing form of address rather than a title and was among the first words a child learned to speak.

This Aramaic word appears three times in the Scriptures. It is always in transliterated form in the original Greek and usually is transliterated in English translations. Each time the term is followed immediately by the translation ho pa·terʹ in Greek, which literally means “the father” or, used as the vocative, “O Father.” In each case it is used with reference to the heavenly Father, Jehovah.

Mark records that Jesus used the term when praying to Jehovah God in Gethsemane shortly before his death, saying: “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; remove this cup from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.” (Mr 14:36) Here is the fervent appeal of a son to a beloved father, followed quickly by an assurance that, in any event, he would remain obedient.

The two other occurrences are in Paul’s letters, at Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6. In both places the word is used in connection with Christians called to be spirit-begotten sons of God and indicates the intimacy of their relationship with their Father. While they are “slaves to God” and “bought with a price,” yet they are also sons in the house of a loving Father, and they are made positively aware of this status by holy spirit through their Lord Jesus.​—Ro 6:22; 1Co 7:23; Ro 8:15; Ga 4:6.

Rather than as just a translation from Aramaic into Greek, some see in the use of both ʼAb·baʼʹ and “Father” together, first, the trust, confidence, and submissiveness of a child, followed by a mature appreciation of the filial relationship and its responsibilities. It seems evident from these texts that, in apostolic times, the Christians made use of the term ʼAb·baʼʹ in their prayers to God.

The word ʼAb·baʼʹ came to be applied as a title of honor to the Jewish rabbis in the early centuries of the Common Era and is found as such in the Babylonian Talmud. (Berakhot 16b) The one acting in the capacity of vice-president of the Jewish Sanhedrin already held the title of ʼAv, or Father of the Sanhedrin. In later periods the title was also applied to the bishops of the Coptic, Ethiopic, and Syrian churches and, more particularly, became the title of the Bishop of Alexandria, thereby making him the “papa” or “pope” of that part of the Eastern church. The English words “abbot” and “abbey” are both derived from the Aramaic ʼab·baʼʹ. Jerome, the translator of the Latin Vulgate, objected to the use of the title “abbot” as applied to the Catholic monks in his time and did so on the basis that it violated Jesus’ instructions at Matthew 23:9: “Moreover, do not call anyone your father on earth, for one is your Father, the heavenly One.”

(Abʹda) [Servant].

1. The father of Adoniram. (1Ki 4:6) His son, Adoniram, was a prince over those conscripted for forced labor during David’s, Solomon’s, and Rehoboam’s reigns, and is evidently the Adoram, or Hadoram, referred to in other texts. (2Sa 20:24; 1Ki 12:18; 2Ch 10:18) Hence, Abda probably was a contemporary of King David.

2. A descendant of Jeduthun, of the tribe of Levi. (Ne 11:17, 18) Abda the Levite is evidently the same as the “Obadiah” mentioned at 1 Chronicles 9:16. He was among the exiles to return to Jerusalem from Babylon.

(Abʹde·el) [Servant of God].

Father of Shelemiah, one of three men sent by King Jehoiakim to seize the prophet Jeremiah and his secretary Baruch.​—Jer 36:26.

(Abʹdi) [shortened form of Abdiel].

1. A Levite of the house of Merari. He was the father of Kishi and probably a contemporary of Saul, whose reign ran from 1117 to 1078 B.C.E.​—1Ch 6:31, 33, 39, 44.

2. Also a Levite of the house of Merari. He was the father of Kish. (2Ch 29:12) Because of the similarity of their sons’ names, this Abdi and the one described above are represented in some Bible dictionaries as being the same person. However, the fact that this second Abdi’s son, Kish, lived in the time of King Hezekiah some 250 years after David’s time, makes such a conclusion illogical. This second Abdi was probably a contemporary of Kings Jotham and Ahaz, whose reigns cover the period from 777 B.C.E. to about 746 B.C.E.

3. A man of the family of Elam who lived in postexilic times. (Ezr 10:26) He was among those Israelites who had taken foreign wives but who put them away in response to Ezra’s exhortation following his return to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes (Longimanus) (468 B.C.E.).​—Ezr 7:8; 10:1-4, 10-12, 26, 44.

(Abʹdi·el) [Servant of God].

The son of Guni and the father of Ahi, of the tribe of Gad. (1Ch 5:15) He lived in the region of Gilead and Bashan, E of the Jordan, an area prominent for cattle raising.​—1Ch 5:16.

(Abʹdon) [from a root meaning “servant”].

1. A judge, the son of Hillel the Pirathonite of Ephraim. (Jg 12:13-15) According to Josephus (Jewish Antiquities, V, 273 [vii, 15]), his rule of eight years was one of peace, and the Bible record makes no mention of wars during that period. Abdon’s 40 sons and 30 grandsons all “rode on seventy full-grown asses,” a sign of considerable wealth and rank at that time. At the end of his judgeship, Abdon was buried in his native Ephraim.

Some would connect Abdon with “Bedan,” mentioned at 1 Samuel 12:11; however, Bedan is more likely identified with Barak, whose name appears in this text in both the Greek Septuagint and the Syriac Peshitta.

2. A Benjamite, firstborn son of Jeiel and evidently a brother of Ner, Saul’s grandfather.​—1Ch 8:29, 30; 9:35, 36, 39.

3. An official in King Josiah’s court (2Ch 34:20), called Achbor at 2 Kings 22:12.​—See ACHBOR No. 2.

4. A son of Shashak of the tribe of Benjamin; a headman dwelling in Jerusalem.​—1Ch 8:23-28.

5. One of four cities in the territory of Asher given to the Levites of the family of Gershon (Gershom). (Jos 21:27-31; 1Ch 6:71-75) It is probably Khirbet ʽAbdeh (Tel ʽAvdon) about 6 km (3.5 mi) E of Achzib. This site lies on the N side of the Wadi Qarn (Nahal Keziv) and at the foot of the hills of Galilee and hence near the N end of the Plain of Asher.

(A·bedʹne·go) [probably, Servant of Nebo [a Babylonian god]].

The name given to Azariah, one of the youths of the Jewish royalty or nobility taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in 617 B.C.E.​—Da 1:3, 4, 7.

Some scholars believe “Nego” to be an intentional corruption of the name Nebo, a Babylonian god, so as not to offend Azariah. (See NEBO No. 4.) The name Azariah means “Jehovah Has Helped,” and it appears that these Hebrews, among themselves, continued to use their original names. (Da 2:17) In Babylon he, along with Daniel, Hananiah, and Mishael, passed, with high honors, a three-year training course and a regal examination personally conducted by Nebuchadnezzar, after having first demonstrated religious integrity in matters of food and drink. (Da 1:4, 5, 8-20) Later, at Daniel’s request, the king made Azariah and his two companions administrators over the jurisdictional district of Babylon.​—Da 2:49.

Abednego (Azariah), along with his two Hebrew companions, was subsequently denounced before the king by certain Chaldeans for refusing to bow down to the king’s golden image in response to particular music. (Da 3:5, 8, 12) When they were questioned by the enraged king, their firm refusal to violate their conscience and their expression of faith in Jehovah resulted in the king’s having them thrown into a superheated furnace, where they were miraculously protected by God’s angelic representative. Following their release by the shaken king, and after members of the royal court saw that the three men had escaped unharmed, they were restored to royal favor.​—Da 3:15-30; see MESHACH; SHADRACH.

(Aʹbel).

1. [possibly, Exhalation; Vanity]. The second son of Adam and his wife Eve, and the younger brother of their firstborn son, Cain.​—Ge 4:2.

It is probable that, while yet alive, Abel had sisters; the record mentions the birth of daughters to his parents, but their names are not recorded. (Ge 5:1-4) As a man, he became a herder of sheep; his brother, a farmer.​—Ge 4:2.

After an indefinite period of time, Abel made an offering to Jehovah God. Cain did likewise. Each brought of what he had: Abel, of the firstlings of his flocks; Cain, of his produce. (Ge 4:3, 4) They both had belief in God. They undoubtedly learned of Him from their parents and must have known why they all were outside the garden of Eden and denied entry to it. Their offerings indicated a recognition of their alienated state and of their desire for God’s favor. Though it is likely that they used altars for their offerings, the record does not state whether they did or not.

God expressed favor toward Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. How the approval and the rejection were manifested the record does not show, but it was undoubtedly evident to both men. Some point out that Abel’s offering is specified to have been of the “firstlings of his flock, even their fatty pieces,” whereas Cain’s offering is not said to be of the choicest fruits. Did Abel think that shedding the blood of a living creature was a more valuable sacrifice, perhaps meditating on the divine promise at Genesis 3:15 concerning the seed, whose blood would have to be shed? Many centuries after Abel’s time, the sacrifice of an unblemished lamb was used to picture the sacrifice of God’s own perfect Son. (Joh 1:29) However, much of that surely lay well beyond Abel’s understanding. The reason for God’s approval of only Abel’s offering is made clear by later writings. The apostle Paul lists Abel as the first man of faith, at Hebrews 11:4, and shows that this resulted in his sacrifice being of “greater worth” than Cain’s offering. By contrast, 1 John 3:11, 12 shows Cain’s heart attitude to have been bad; and his later rejection of God’s counsel and warning, as well as his premeditated murder of his brother Abel, demonstrated this.

Jesus shows Abel to have been the first martyr and object of religious persecution waged by his intolerant brother Cain. In doing so, Jesus speaks of Abel as living at “the founding of the world.” (Lu 11:48-51) The Greek word for “world” is koʹsmos and in this text refers to the world of mankind. The term “founding” is a rendering of the Greek ka·ta·bo·leʹ and literally means “throwing down [of seed].” (Heb 11:11, Int) By the expression “the founding of the world,” Jesus manifestly referred to the birth of children to Adam and Eve, thereby producing a world of mankind. Paul includes Abel among the “cloud of witnesses” of pre-Christian times.​—Heb 11:4; 12:1.

How does the blood of Jesus ‘speak in a better way than that of Abel’?

Because of his faith and divine approval, the record of which continues to bear witness, it could be said that Abel, “although he died, yet speaks.” (Heb 11:4) At Hebrews 12:24 the apostle refers to “Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and the blood of sprinkling, which speaks in a better way than Abel’s blood.” Though shed in martyrdom, Abel’s blood did not ransom or redeem anyone, any more than did the blood of his sacrificed sheep. His blood in effect cried to God for vengeance upon assassin Cain. The blood of Jesus, here presented as validating the new covenant, speaks in a better way than Abel’s in that it calls to God for mercy upon all persons of faith like Abel, and is the means by which their ransoming is possible.

Since Seth was evidently born shortly after Abel’s death and when Adam was 130 years of age, it is possible that Abel may have been as much as 100 years old at the time of his martyrdom.​—Ge 4:25; 5:3.

2. [Watercourse]. A town also called Abel-beth-maacah or Abel of Beth-maacah. Elsewhere used as a prefix to the names of various places.​—2Sa 20:18; see ABEL-BETH-MAACAH.

3. At 1 Samuel 6:18 the King James Version refers to “the great stone of Abel,” while the marginal reading says, “Or, great Abel, that is, mourning.” However, modern translations generally read here simply “the great stone.” (Compare AT, NC [Spanish], NW, JB, and others.) While the Masoretic Hebrew text uses the word ʼA·velʹ in this verse, the Greek Septuagint and the Aramaic Targums translate it as if it were ʼeʹven, that is, “stone.” This agrees with verse 14 of the same chapter. It could not refer to Abel of Beth-maacah, since the incident recorded at 1 Samuel 6:18 took place near Beth-shemesh in Judah.

(Aʹbel-beth-maʹa·cah), Abel of Beth-maacah [Watercourse of the House of Maacah].

A fortified city of Naphtali in northern Palestine probably 7 km (4 mi) WNW of Dan, identified with Tell Abil (Tel Avel Bet Maʽakha). It was favorably located on the road from Hazor northward at the intersection of the E-W route from Damascus to Tyre.

David’s men under Joab besieged the city when the rebel Sheba fled there. Thereupon, a wise woman, speaking for “the peaceable and faithful ones of Israel,” pleaded with Joab not to destroy Abel, from of old the place to inquire for wise judgments, hence “a mother in Israel”; meaning also, probably, a metropolis or city having dependent towns. Heeding this woman’s advice, the inhabitants pitched Sheba’s head over the wall, and the city was spared.​—2Sa 20:14-22.

Instigated by Asa of Judah, Syrian Ben-hadad I struck down Abel-beth-maacah to divert Baasha of Israel from building Ramah. (1Ki 15:20; see RAMAH No. 1.) Abel of Beth-maacah was captured by Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria during the reign of Pekah, and its inhabitants were sent into exile. (2Ki 15:29) This city, called in Assyrian texts Abilakka, appears in the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III in the list of cities he conquered. The surrounding fertile, well-watered fields doubtless gave rise to another merited name, Abel-maim (meaning “Watercourse of Waters”). Its situation made it a good storage place.​—2Ch 16:4.

(Aʹbel-kerʹa·mim) [Watercourse of the Vineyards].

The most distant point to which Jephthah pursued the Ammonites in their defeat. (Jg 11:33) It is generally held to be situated between Heshbon and Rabbah, or Rabbah Ammon (modern ʽAmman). It is generally identified today with Khirbet es-Suq, about 8 km (5 mi) S of Rabbah (ʽAmman), which possibly fits Eusebius’ description. (Onomasticon, 32, 15-16) Some recommend Naʽur, about 14 km (9 mi) SW of Rabbah Ammon as the probable location.

See ABEL-BETH-MAACAH.

(Aʹbel-me·hoʹlah) [Watercourse of Dancing].

The home of Elisha, where Elijah found him plowing and anointed him prophet successor.​—1Ki 19:16-19.

At an earlier date Abel-meholah figures in the account of the defeat of the Midianites by Gideon’s small band of warriors. The disorganized flight of the Midianites is reported to have carried them “as far as the outskirts of Abel-meholah by Tabbath.”​—Jg 7:22.

Because Tabbath lies E of the Jordan River, effort has been made since 1951 to identify Abel-meholah with Tell el-Maqlub on the Wadi el-Yabis. Additional argument adduced for this identification has been that Elijah, after leaving Horeb, stopped at Abel-meholah to anoint Elisha and had the further commission to travel to “the wilderness of Damascus” to anoint Hazael as king over Syria. (1Ki 19:15) The major ancient highway leading from Horeb to Damascus was E of the Jordan, although at times this route was controlled by nomads.

However, the account of Gideon’s pursuit of the Midianites in reality indicates that they were W (rather than E) of the Jordan at the point of Judges 7:22. (See Jg 7:24.) And, as regards Elijah’s trip to the Wilderness of Damascus, the record shows that this was not effected immediately but, rather, was made sometime later by his successor, Elisha. (1Ki 19:15-19; 2Ki 8:7-13) In view of this, some geographic texts continue to recommend a site W of the Jordan rather than E of it. (The Geographical and Topographical Texts of the Old Testament, by J. Simons, Leiden, 1959; The Geography of the Bible, by D. Baly, 1957; and the Atlas of the Bible, by L. H. Grollenberg, 1956) Both Jerome and Eusebius of the early centuries of the Common Era identified Abel-meholah with a site 10 Roman miles (15 km; 9 mi) S of Beth-shean (W of the Jordan). The Land of the Bible, by Y. Aharoni, states: “Abel-meholah has now been identified with much confidence with Tell Abu Sus on the [west] bank of the Jordan, 15 km. south of Beth-shean.” (Translated and edited by A. Rainey, 1979, p. 313) The nearby plain of Beth-shean is well suited for large-scale farming.​—Compare 1Ki 19:19.

Further indication in favor of such a site W of the Jordan is the fact that Abel-meholah later formed part of Solomon’s fifth administrative district and is listed with other places W of the Jordan. (1Ki 4:12) It was evidently the home of Adriel the Meholathite, a son-in-law of Saul. (1Sa 18:19; 2Sa 21:8) Festal dancing in harvest celebrations perhaps accounts for this name Abel-meholah.

See ATAD.

See ABEL-BETH-MAACAH.

See SHITTIM No. 1.

The Hebrew word nid·dahʹ occurs 30 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and is possibly derived from the root word na·dhahʹ, which means “exclude; put out of mind (refuse to think of).” (Isa 66:5; Am 6:3) Nid·dahʹ indicates impurity, something abhorrent, whether physically, as for example, from menstruation (Le 12:2, 5; 15:20, 24, 25, 33), or morally, as from idolatry. (Ezr 9:11; 2Ch 29:5) The same Hebrew word is used with regard to the “water for cleansing” (Nu 19:9-21; 31:23, NW; “water used in case of menstruation,” Nu 19:9, NW, ftn; “water of separation,” KJ; “water for impurity,” RS, AT; “lustral water,” JB), indicating water used to remove that which is impure or unclean.

Thus, at Lamentations 1:17 Jeremiah says that Jerusalem in her desolation “has become an abhorrent thing [“as a menstruous woman,” KJ; “objeto de abominación,” NC (Spanish); “abhorrent,” AT] in among them [that is, among the surrounding nations].”

Prior to Jerusalem’s destruction by Babylon, Jehovah said of the people of Israel through his prophet Ezekiel: “The house of Israel were dwelling upon their soil, and they kept making it unclean with their way and with their dealings. Like the uncleanness of menstruation [nid·dahʹ] their way has become before me.” (Eze 36:17) Due to idolatrous practices, Israel was spiritually impure and would thus be avoided by her husbandly owner, Jehovah God, and would be reunited with him spiritually only after cleansing. Thus, at verse 25, Jehovah says: “And I will sprinkle upon you clean water, and you will become clean; from all your impurities and from all your dungy idols I shall cleanse you.”​—Compare Eze 18:6.

At Ezekiel 7:19, 20 God expresses his anger against Israel for having made religious images with their silver and their gold and says that he will, therefore, cause them to throw their silver and their gold into the streets as an “abhorrent thing [nid·dahʹ].”​—Compare Isa 30:22; see DISGUSTING THING, LOATHSOME THING.

Abhorrence. Other Hebrew expressions having the sense of “abhorrence” are quts, referring to the emotional reaction and defined as “abhor; have an abhorrence of; feel a sickening dread of” (Ge 27:46; 1Ki 11:25; Nu 22:3), and ga·ʽalʹ, also meaning “abhor,” but indicating a rejection of the object abhorred. (Le 26:11, 15, 30; 2Sa 1:21, ftn) In the Greek Septuagint these Hebrew words at times are rendered pro·so·khthiʹzo, signifying “become disgusted” (Ge 27:46; Le 26:15; compare Heb 3:10), and bde·lysʹso·mai, conveying the sense of “express abhorrence of; have disgust for.”​—Le 20:23; 26:11; compare Ro 2:22.

Because the Canaanites were guilty of sexual immorality and perversion, idolatry, and spiritistic practices, the Most High abhorred them, and this resulted in his decreeing their destruction. (Le 20:2-23) The Israelites were warned that, if they became disobedient, Jehovah would also abhor them, withdrawing his protection and blessing. By reason of loyalty to his covenant made with Israel, however, he would not abhor them to the point of bringing about their complete extermination. (Le 26:11-45) In the case of those who will prove to be wicked, the resurrection will turn out to be one to eternal “abhorrence” (Heb., de·ra·ʼohnʹ). It will be a resurrection to condemnatory judgment resulting in everlasting cutting-off.​—Da 12:2; Joh 5:28, 29.

Deliberate rejection of Jehovah’s commands, reproof, and provisions constitutes an improper abhorrence. The Israelites were guilty of this when they refused to follow Jehovah’s commands, as well as when they came to abhor the manna as “contemptible bread.” (Nu 21:5; Le 26:15) Proverbs 3:11 counsels against ‘abhorring Jehovah’s reproof.’

At Romans 12:9 Christians are admonished: “Abhor what is wicked.” The Greek term here rendered “abhor” (a·po·sty·geʹo) is the intensive form of the Greek verb meaning “hate,” and thus literally means “hate intensely.” A person’s failing to abhor what is wicked, no longer loathing it, can result in his becoming an object of Jehovah’s abhorrence.

See ABIJAH No. 7.

(Aʹbi-alʹbon).

A Benjamite and an outstanding warrior listed among 37 of King David’s most valiant fighters. (2Sa 23:31) He is evidently the Abiel referred to in a parallel passage at 1 Chronicles 11:32. He is called the Arbathite, perhaps because of coming from the city of Beth-arabah, which lay near the frontier between Benjamin and Judah above the N end of the Dead Sea. (Jos 15:6; 18:21, 22) His fighting valor was in accord with Jacob’s deathbed prophecy concerning the tribe of Benjamin.​—Ge 49:27.

(A·biʹa·saph) [(My) Father Has Gathered].

One of the three sons of Korah the Levite, and a descendant of Kohath. (Ex 6:16-24) His brothers were Elkanah and Assir. He is apparently referred to as Ebiasaph at 1 Chronicles 6:37 and perhaps at 1 Chronicles 9:19 and 1 Chronicles 6:23.

It appears that Korah’s sons did not join their father in his rebellion, along with Dathan and Abiram, against Moses and Aaron. Hence, these sons did not die with their father at that time. (Nu 26:9-11) Thus, at a later period, we find reference made to “the sons of Korah” in the superscriptions of many of the Psalms (42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87, 88), although this term has, basically, the meaning of “the descendants of Korah,” or “the house of Korah.”

(A·biʹa·thar) [Father of Excellence; Father of More Than Enough (Overflow)].

A son of High Priest Ahimelech, of the tribe of Levi and of the line of Eli. (1Sa 14:3; 22:11; 23:6) He lived during the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon, and during David’s reign he became high priest. He had two sons, Jonathan and Ahimelech (the same name as Abiathar’s father).​—2Sa 15:27, 36; 8:17.

Abiathar was living in Nob, “the city of the priests,” a short distance from Jerusalem, when King Saul had Doeg the Edomite slaughter Abiathar’s father, the high priest, and other priests (85 in all), because of their supposed support of David. Doeg also struck down with the sword all the other residents of the city. Only Abiathar escaped. He fled to David, himself a fugitive, evidently at Keilah, several miles to the SW. David, feeling a certain personal responsibility for the tragedy, told Abiathar: “I well knew on that day, because Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would without fail tell Saul. I personally have wronged every soul of the house of your father. Just dwell with me. Do not be afraid, for whoever looks for my soul looks for your soul, for you are one needing protection with me.”​—1Sa 22:12-23; 23:6.

Abiathar now traveled with David during the remainder of his outlawed state and served as priest for David’s forces. First Samuel 23:6 shows that Abiathar had brought with him an ephod, and while the priests in general wore an ephod of linen (1Sa 22:18), verses 9-12 of chapter 23 indicate that this was apparently the ephod of Abiathar’s father, the high priest, containing the Urim and Thummim.

During the Kingships of David and Solomon. It appears that when David finally gained the throne, Abiathar was made the high priest. Some scholars suggest that, after High Priest Ahimelech’s death, King Saul had Zadok installed as high priest to replace Ahimelech, thereby not recognizing Abiathar, who was in the company of Saul’s future successor, David. They hold that, following his ascension to the throne, David made Abiathar an associate high priest along with Zadok. Such view is evidently taken due to the fact that Zadok and Abiathar are regularly mentioned together as though sharing a high position in the priesthood. (2Sa 15:29, 35; 17:15; 19:11; 20:25; 1Ki 1:7, 8, 25, 26; 4:4; 1Ch 15:11) However, the inspired record nowhere mentions any appointment of Zadok as high priest under King Saul. It is possible that Zadok’s prominence is due to his being a seer or prophet, just as the prophet Samuel received greater mention in the divine record than the high priest of his time. (2Sa 15:27) The evidence indicates that Abiathar was the sole high priest during David’s reign and that Zadok then occupied a position secondary to him.​—1Ki 2:27, 35; Mr 2:26.

The text at 2 Samuel 8:17 has caused some question in this regard, since it says that “Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests” then, but does not mention Abiathar as high priest. Some suggest that the names of Ahimelech and Abiathar were transposed by a scribal error so that the text should read “Abiathar the son of Ahimelech,” even as it does in the Syriac Peshitta. However, the record at 1 Chronicles (18:16; 24:3, 6, 31) confirms the order of the names in this verse as found in the Masoretic text. It therefore appears more likely that Zadok and Ahimelech are mentioned simply as secondary priests under High Priest Abiathar, and that Abiathar’s position was, in this instance, assumed to be understood.​—1Ch 16:37-40; compare Nu 3:32.

Abiathar, along with other priests, shared in the privilege of bringing the ark of Jehovah up from Obed-edom’s home to Jerusalem. (2Sa 6:12; 1Ch 15:11, 12) In addition to being high priest he was included in David’s group of advisers.​—1Ch 27:33, 34.

Toward the latter part of his father David’s reign, Absalom formed a conspiracy against him. Abiathar again stayed by David when circumstances forced the king to flee from Jerusalem. As part of a plan to thwart the counsel of traitorous Ahithophel, David’s previous counselor, Abiathar and Zadok as loyal priests were sent back to Jerusalem to serve as liaison officers to keep David advised of his rebellious son’s plans. (2Sa 15:24-36; 17:15) After Absalom’s death, Abiathar and Zadok served as intermediaries to arrange David’s return to the capital.​—2Sa 19:11-14.

In view of his faithful record of enduring many hardships in David’s company during his time as a fugitive from Saul and again during Absalom’s rebellion, and considering his having enjoyed David’s confidence, friendship, and favor during some four decades, it is surprising to find Abiathar linking himself up with another son of David, Adonijah, in a later conspiracy for the throne. Though the plot also had the support of Joab as head of the army, it failed; and Solomon was appointed as king, with loyal priest Zadok doing the anointing at David’s instruction. (1Ki 1:7, 32-40) Abiathar’s son Jonathan, who had previously served as a runner to bear news to David during Absalom’s insurrection, now went to advise Adonijah of the plot’s miscarriage. King Solomon took no immediate action against Abiathar, but when evidence showed that the plot was still smoldering, he ordered Adonijah’s and Joab’s death and banished priest Abiathar from Jerusalem, saying: “Go to Anathoth to your fields! For you are deserving of death; but on this day I shall not put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah before David my father, and because you suffered affliction during all the time that my father suffered affliction.” (1Ki 2:26) Zadok was now assigned to replace Abiathar in his priestly position, and with this the office of high priest passed again to the line of Aaron’s son Eleazar; and the priestly line of the house of Eli came to a complete end, in fulfillment of the prophecy at 1 Samuel 2:31.​—1Ki 2:27; 1Sa 3:12-14.

While the record later, at 1 Kings 4:4, again refers to “Zadok and Abiathar” as priests of Solomon’s reign, it is likely that Abiathar is listed only in an honorary capacity or in a historical sense. Some scholars suggest that Solomon, after demoting Abiathar, then assigned him to serve as Zadok’s deputy, and that while one officiated on Mount Zion, where the Ark was kept, the other served at the tabernacle, which continued in Gibeon prior to the building of the temple. (See 1Ch 16:37-40.) However, 1 Kings 2:26 shows that Solomon sent Abiathar to his fields in Anathoth, and while Anathoth was not far from Gibeon, Solomon’s order indicates that Abiathar was being removed from any active participation in the priesthood.

At Mark 2:26 most translations have Jesus saying that David went into the house of God and ate the showbread “when Abiathar was high priest.” Since Abiathar’s father, Ahimelech, was the high priest when that event took place, such translation would result in a historical error. It is noteworthy that a number of early manuscripts omit the above phrase, and it is not found in the corresponding passages at Matthew 12:4 and Luke 6:4. However, a similar Greek structure occurs at Mark 12:26 and Luke 20:37, and here many translations use the phrase “in the passage about.” (RS; AT; JB) So, it appears that Mark 2:26 properly allows for the translation given in the New World Translation, which reads: “How he entered into the house of God, in the account about Abiathar the chief priest.” Since the account of the first exploits of Abiathar begins immediately following the record of David’s entering the house of God to eat the showbread, and since Abiathar did later become Israel’s high priest in David’s reign, this translation maintains the historical accuracy of the record.

(Aʹbib) [Green Ears].

The original name of the first lunar month of the Jewish sacred calendar and of the seventh month of the secular calendar. (Ex 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; De 16:1) It corresponds, generally, with part of March and part of April.

The name Abib is understood to mean “Green Ears,” the ears of grain being ripe but still soft. (Compare Le 2:14.) It was during this month that the barley harvest took place, followed some weeks later by the wheat harvest. The latter, or spring, rains also began and these helped to bring the Jordan River to flood stage. (Jos 3:15) It was designated by Jehovah as the initial month of the sacred year at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. (Ex 12:1, 2; 13:4) Following the Babylonian exile this name was replaced by the name Nisan.​—See NISAN.

(A·biʹda) [Father Has Known (Me)].

Abida was a son of Midian and a grandson of Abraham by his wife Keturah. He had four brothers, named Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, and Eldaah.​—Ge 25:1, 2, 4; 1Ch 1:33.

(Abʹi·dan) [(My) Father Has Judged].

The chieftain of the tribe of Benjamin at the time of the census of Israel in the second year following the Exodus from Egypt. (Nu 1:11, 16) He was the head over the 35,400 men of Benjamin over 20 years of age who camped on the W side of the tabernacle.​—Nu 2:18, 22, 23.

At the completion of the tabernacle and its inauguration (1512 B.C.E.), during 12 days each chieftain presented a noncompetitive offering of silver and gold dishware, worth about $1,720, in addition to offerings of grain, oil, incense, and livestock, and it was on the ninth day that Abidan did so. (Nu 7:10, 60-65) He died during the 40-year journey in the wilderness.​—Nu 14:29, 30.

(A·biʹel) [(My) Father Is God].

1. A son of Zeror, and descendant of Becorath and Aphiah, of the tribe of Benjamin. A comparison of 1 Chronicles 8:29-33 and 9:35-39 with 1 Samuel 9:1, 2 and 14:50, 51 gives basis for believing that Abiel is also called “Jeiel” in the Chronicles account, since Jeiel is there shown to be the father of Ner, who became the father of Kish, Saul’s father. First Samuel 14:50, 51 also shows Abiel (or Jeiel) to be the father of Ner. The record in Chronicles indicates that Jeiel (or Abiel) had nine other sons, of whom one was named Kish, and this older Kish would thus be the uncle of the son of Ner who bore the same name.

Assuming Abiel and Jeiel both to be names of the same person, we arrive at a genealogy such as is set forth in this chart.

Therefore, when we read at 1 Samuel 9:1 that Kish (that is, the second Kish, the father of Saul) was “the son of Abiel,” it appears that the meaning is that he was the grandson of Abiel, as is often the case in Bible genealogy where one or more links in the genealogy are simply omitted. (Thus, while “the family of the Matrites” is mentioned at 1 Samuel 10:21 as including Kish and Saul, the name of Matri does not appear in the accounts we are considering, nor in the rest of the Bible.)

The record in 1 Chronicles (8:33; 9:39) seems quite definite in presenting Ner as the immediate father of the second Kish, and this is clearly the more explicit of the two accounts.​—See KISH Nos. 2 and 3.

2. Also a Benjamite.​—See ABI-ALBON.

(Abi-eʹzer) [(My) Father Is a Helper].

1. One of “the sons of Gilead” the grandson of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn. A comparison of the accounts at Numbers 26:28-30 and Joshua 17:1, 2 shows that he is also called Iezer (Jeezer, KJ), which is a shortened form of Abi-ezer, the prefix “Ab” (father) being removed.

Abi-ezer was a family head and an ancestor of Judge Gideon. (Jg 6:11, 24, 34; 8:2) It appears that after the division of land among the tribes of Israel, Abi-ezer’s family either originally or at a later time settled in the area of Ophrah, in the territory of Manasseh W of the Jordan.

The name is also used to stand for the house of Abi-ezer in a collective sense.​—Jg 8:2; see ABI-EZRITE.

2. A son of Hammolecheth, who was sister of Manasseh’s grandson Gilead. (1Ch 7:18) Some commentators view this Abi-ezer as being the same as No. 1.

3. A Benjamite from Anathoth, one of King David’s 37 most valiant fighters. (2Sa 23:27, 39) He was head of a paternal house and divisional head over a force of 24,000 men, serving the king during the ninth month of each year. (1Ch 11:28; 27:1, 12) Along with other Benjamites, by his valor in war he fulfilled the prophecy at Genesis 49:27. His town of Anathoth lay a few miles NNE of Jerusalem, within the territory of Benjamin.​—1Ch 6:60.

(Abi-ezʹrite) [Of (Belonging to) Abi-ezer].

A descendant of Abi-ezer; of the family of Abi-ezer. (Jg 6:11, 24; 8:32) Numbers 26:30 reads “Iezerites” (“Jeezerites,” KJ), which is a contraction of Abi-ezrites. This term is applied in the Bible to those descended from Abi-ezer the ‘son of Gilead,’ rather than to the Abi-ezer of David’s time.​—See ABI-EZER No. 1.

(Abʹi·gail) [(My) Father Has Made Himself Joyful].

1. A wife of David. Originally, the wife of wealthy Nabal from Maon, a city on the edge of the Wilderness of Judah, W of the Dead Sea. (1Sa 25:2, 3; Jos 15:20, 55) She was “good in discretion and beautiful in form,” while her first husband, whose name means “Senseless; Stupid,” was “harsh and bad in his practices.”

Following the prophet Samuel’s death, David and his men moved into the area where the flocks of Abigail’s husband were pastured. David’s men thereafter were like a protective “wall” around Nabal’s shepherds and flocks, night and day. So, when shearing time came, David sent some young men up to Carmel to call Nabal’s attention to the good service rendered him and to request an offering of food from him. (1Sa 25:4-8, 15, 16) But miserly Nabal screamed rebukes at them and insulted David as if he were an inconsequential person, and all of them as if they were possibly runaway slaves. (1Sa 25:9-11, 14) This so angered David that he girded on his sword and led about 400 men toward Carmel to wipe out Nabal and the men of his household.​—1Sa 25:12, 13, 21, 22.

Abigail, hearing of the incident through a disturbed servant, showed her wise perception by immediately rounding up an ample supply of food and grain and then sent these ahead of her in care of her servants, much as Jacob had done before making contact with Esau. (1Sa 25:14-19; Ge 32:13-20) Without saying anything to her husband, she rode to meet David, and in a long and fervent plea, which manifested wisdom and logic as well as respect and humility, she convinced David that her husband’s senseless words did not justify the unrighteous shedding of blood or the failure to trust in Jehovah to settle the matter in a right way himself. (1Sa 25:14-20, 23-31) David thanked God for the woman’s good sense and quick action.​—1Sa 25:32-35; compare Pr 25:21, 22; 15:1, 2.

Returning home, Abigail waited for her husband to sober up from a drunken feast and then informed him of her actions. Now “his heart came to be dead inside him, and he himself became as a stone,” and after ten days Jehovah caused him to expire. When the news reached David, he sent a marriage proposal to Abigail, which she did not hesitate to accept. She shared David’s affections along with Ahinoam, a Jezreelitess, whom David had previously taken as wife. David’s first wife, Michal, had already been given by her father Saul to another man.​—1Sa 25:36-44.

Abigail was with David in Gath on the western edge of the Shephelah and later down in the NW Negeb at Ziklag. During David’s absence a raiding party of Amalekites from the S burned Ziklag and carried off all the women and children, including Abigail and Ahinoam. Assured by Jehovah of success, David led his men in pursuit and, in a surprise attack, overcame the Amalekites and retrieved the captives and possessions.​—1Sa 30:1-19.

Back at Ziklag, three days later, the news of Saul’s death arrived. (2Sa 1:1, 2) Abigail now accompanied her husband to Hebron of Judah, where David was anointed as king. Here she gave birth to a son, Chileab (2Sa 3:3), also called Daniel at 1 Chronicles 3:1. David’s wives increased to six in Hebron, and neither Abigail nor her son receive further mention in the account.​—2Sa 3:2-5.

2. One of David’s two sisters. (1Ch 2:13-17) Some scholars believe that she was only a half sister, being related by mother but not by father. At 2 Samuel 17:25 Abigail is called “the daughter of Nahash.” Rabbinic tradition holds that Nahash is simply another name for Jesse, David’s father. The Greek Septuagint (Lagardian edition) has “Jesse” instead of “Nahash” in this verse. A number of modern translations also read this way. (See AT; JB; NC [Spanish].) However, it is noteworthy that the record at 1 Chronicles 2:13-16 does not call Abigail and Zeruiah ‘daughters of Jesse’ but rather “sisters” of Jesse’s sons, including David. This allows for the possibility that their mother had first been married to a man named Nahash, to whom she bore Abigail and Zeruiah before becoming Jesse’s wife and the mother of his sons. It cannot, therefore, be stated dogmatically that Abigail was the daughter of Jesse.​—See NAHASH No. 2.

Abigail, David’s sister, is mentioned as giving birth to only one son, Amasa. Her husband is referred to as Ithra the Israelite at 2 Samuel 17:25 but elsewhere is called Jether (1Ki 2:5, 32) and at 1 Chronicles 2:17 is spoken of as “Jether the Ishmaelite.” (See JETHER No. 6.) It is possible that Abigail contracted marriage with Jether during the time Jesse and his family were dwelling in the land of Moab. (1Sa 22:3, 4) Her son, Amasa, received no apparent attention during David’s reign until Absalom’s rebellion. His cousin Absalom then made him the head of his armed forces. Nevertheless, following Absalom’s death, Abigail’s brother, King David, dealt with her son Amasa in obtaining support for his return to the throne, and thereafter made Amasa the head of the army, replacing Joab. (2Sa 19:11-14) This appointment soon brought death to Abigail’s son, at the hands of his embittered cousin Joab.​—2Sa 20:4-10.

(Abʹi·ha·il) [(My) Father Is Vital Energy].

A name used in the Bible for three men and two women.

1. A man of the tribe of Levi and of the family (or clan) of Merari. He was the father of Zuriel, chieftain of the paternal house of the clan at the time of the Exodus.​—Nu 3:35.

2. The wife of Abishur, who was of the tribe of Judah. (1Ch 2:29) She had two sons, Ahban and Molid.

3. A man of the tribe of Gad who settled in Bashan and Gilead. He was the son of Huri and a family chief or head.​—1Ch 5:14-17.

4. The daughter of Eliab, David’s oldest brother. (Though the Hebrew word bath [daughter] at 2 Chronicles 11:18 may also mean “granddaughter.”)

The King James Version at 2 Chronicles 11:18 says: “And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse.” This would make Abihail appear to be the second wife of Rehoboam. However, the original Hebrew allows for a different rendering, and hence many modern translations here read: “Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse.” (See RS, AT, JP, NW, JB.) Concerning this, the Soncino Books of the Bible says in a footnote on 2 Chronicles 11:18: “The conjunction is implied. Mahalath was the daughter of Jerimoth and Abihail. Some commentators regard Abihail as the name of another of Rehoboam’s wives.” (Edited by A. Cohen, London, 1952) The singular pronouns used in the following verses (19, 20) support the view that only one wife of Rehoboam is meant in verse 18. It therefore appears most probable that Abihail was the mother of Rehoboam’s wife Mahalath.

5. The father of Queen Esther and a descendant of Benjamin. He was the uncle of Esther’s cousin, Mordecai. (Es 2:5, 15; 9:29) Esther 2:7 indicates that he and his wife died when their daughter Esther was quite young and thus sometime before her marriage to King Ahasuerus.

(A·biʹhu) [He Is Father].

One of Aaron’s four sons by his wife Elisheba; the brother of Nadab, Eleazar, and Ithamar. (Ex 6:23; 1Ch 6:3; 24:1) Born in Egypt, Abihu, as the second son of Aaron, was a mature man by the time of the Exodus, his father then being 83.​—Nu 33:39.

As older sons, Nadab and Abihu were permitted by Jehovah to accompany their father and 70 of the older men of Israel in going partway up Mount Sinai and there to see from a distance a magnificent vision of God’s glory. (Ex 24:1, 9-11) Jehovah honored Aaron’s sons, appointing them to serve as priests with their father, the high priest, and ordaining that from among them should come Aaron’s eventual successor. They would wear priestly robes and headgears “for glory and beauty.” Moses was to “anoint them and fill their hand with power and sanctify them” for their service to God. (Ex 28:1, 40-43) The priesthood would become theirs “as a statute to time indefinite.”​—Ex 29:8, 9.

Thereafter they were continually included in God’s instructions regarding the priesthood and its functions. (Ex 29:10-46; 30:26-38) Also, God emphatically impressed upon them, as well as upon the entire nation, the vital importance of respecting the sanctity of the things related to his worship, including the altar of incense and incidental equipment. Their lives depended upon their respecting the divine regulations.

Now, one year from the start of the Exodus, came the time for setting up of the tabernacle and the installation of the priesthood (1512 B.C.E.). The entire nation assembled before the entrance of the tent of meeting for the installation ceremonies and saw Aaron and Abihu and his brothers, washed and turbaned, receive the anointing as priests of God to represent the nation before Him. Thereafter the newly installed priests remained at the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days to complete their installation and, as Moses said, “‘to fill your hand with power.’ . . . And Aaron and his sons proceeded to do all the things that Jehovah had commanded by means of Moses.”​—Le 8:1-3, 13-36.

On the eighth day Aaron began to officiate, with Abihu and his brothers assisting. (Le 9:1-24) They witnessed the glorious manifestation of God’s presence. But, evidently before the day was over, the account says that “Nadab and Abihu took up and brought each one his fire holder and put fire in them and placed incense upon it, and they began offering before Jehovah illegitimate fire, which he had not prescribed for them. At this a fire came out from before Jehovah and consumed them, so that they died before Jehovah.” (Le 10:1, 2) Their corpses were carried outside the camp by Aaron’s cousins at Moses’ instruction. Their father and remaining brothers were instructed by God to refrain from any display of grief over their being thus cut off from the congregation.​—Le 10:4-7.

Immediately thereafter God gave Aaron a warning against the use of intoxicating liquor by him or his sons at the time of serving at the tabernacle, “that you may not die.” Commenting on verse 9, The Pentateuch and Haftorahs says: “The Rabbis connected the incident of Nadab and Abihu with this injunction against intoxicating liquors before officiating in the Sanctuary.” (Edited by J. H. Hertz, London, 1972, p. 446) So, the matter of intoxication may have been involved in their grave sin, but the actual cause of their death was the violation of God’s requirement for pure worship by their offering “illegitimate fire, which he had not prescribed for them.”

Abihu enjoyed great honor from God and outstanding prominence before all the nation for a short while; but, whether from ambition, an inflated ego, or due to a trifling attitude toward God’s instructions, his privileges were short-lived, and he died childless.​—Nu 3:2-4; 26:60, 61; 1Ch 24:1, 2.

(A·biʹhud) [possibly, Father Is Dignity].

A descendant of Benjamin through his firstborn, Bela.​—1Ch 8:1-3.

(A·biʹjah) [My Father Is Jehovah].

In 2 Kings 18:2 Abi occurs as an abbreviation of this name. Abijam is another variant found in the Masoretic text at 1 Kings 14:31; 15:1, 7, 8. However, in 1 Kings 14:31 about 12 Hebrew manuscripts and the Bomberg edition of the Hebrew Bible of Jacob ben Chayyim (1524-1525) read “Abijah.”

1. A grandson of Benjamin, listed in seventh position among Becher’s nine sons.​—1Ch 7:8.

2. According to the Masoretic text, the wife of Hezron, a grandson of Judah by his daughter-in-law Tamar. This Abijah may have been the mother of Ashhur the father of Tekoa.​—1Ch 2:4, 5, 24; see HEZRON No. 2.

3. The prophet Samuel’s second son, who, together with his elder brother Joel, was appointed by his aging father to be a judge of Israel at Beer-sheba. Because they perverted judgment, accepted bribes, and extorted unjust profits, the older men of Israel demanded that Samuel appoint a king to rule over them.​—1Sa 8:1-5; 1Ch 6:28.

4. A priestly descendant of Aaron, who in King David’s day was recognized as head of one of the paternal houses of Israel. David divided the priesthood into 24 divisions, each to serve at the sanctuary for a one-week period every six months. The paternal house of Abijah was chosen by lot to head the eighth division and thereafter it was known as “the division of Abijah.” (1Ch 24:3-10; Lu 1:5) So it is said that priest Zechariah, the father of John the Baptizer, belonged to “the division of Abijah.”

5. One of Rehoboam’s 28 sons, also called Abijam, who became the second king of the two-tribe kingdom of Judah and reigned from 980 to 978 B.C.E. (1Ki 14:31–15:8) He was a regal descendant of David on both his father’s and his mother’s side, the 16th generation from Abraham in the royal lineage of Jesus Christ. (1Ch 3:10; Mt 1:7) Of Rehoboam’s 18 wives and 60 concubines, Maacah (called Micaiah in 2 Chronicles 13:2), the granddaughter of Absalom, was his most beloved and was favored above the others by having her son Abijah chosen as successor to the throne, although he was not Rehoboam’s firstborn son.​—2Ch 11:20-22.

With the ascension of Abijah to the throne in the 18th year of King Jeroboam I of Israel, the hostilities between the northern and southern kingdoms resumed, and war ensued. Drawn up in battle formation against Judah’s chosen army of 400,000 mighty men of war were Jeroboam’s 800,000 warriors. Undaunted by such odds, Abijah, in an impassioned speech, addressed himself to Jeroboam’s crowd, condemning their idolatrous calf worship and reminding them that Jehovah’s covenant with David was for a never-ending kingdom. “With us there is at the head the true God,” declared Abijah, therefore “do not fight against Jehovah . . . for you will not prove successful.”​—2Ch 12:16–13:12.

In the violent battle that ensued, Jeroboam’s ambush was providentially thwarted and half a million of his men were destroyed, thus breaking Jeroboam’s military power. Even the city of Bethel, where one of the detestable golden calves together with an apostate priesthood had been installed, was captured. And all of this, because Abijah had “leaned upon Jehovah.” (2Ch 13:13-20) Nevertheless, Abijah went on walking in the sins of his father Rehoboam by allowing the high places, sacred pillars, and even the male temple prostitutes to continue in the land. “His heart did not prove to be complete with Jehovah his God.” (1Ki 14:22-24; 15:3) During his lifetime he had 14 wives and 38 children, and upon his death his son Asa succeeded him upon the throne.​—2Ch 13:21; 14:1.

6. The son of King Jeroboam I of Israel who died in his youth as a judgment from Jehovah. With Jeroboam’s apostasy, adversity began plaguing his house, including the desperate sickness of young Abijah. Thereupon Jeroboam disguised the identity of his queen and sent her to consult the aged and blind prophet Ahijah at Shiloh. But Jehovah cannot be deceived. Through his prophet Ahijah, Jehovah declared that He would exterminate the male heirs of Jeroboam “just as one clears away the dung until it is disposed of.” (1Ki 14:10; 15:25-30) Abijah, however, was the only descendant of Jeroboam who was honorably buried “for the reason that something good toward Jehovah” had been found in him.​—1Ki 14:1-18.

7. The wife of King Ahaz of Judah and the mother of King Hezekiah. She was the daughter of Zechariah. At 2 Kings 18:2 her name is abbreviated as Abi.​—2Ch 29:1.

8. One of the family heads of priests in the days of Zerubbabel and Jeshua following the Babylonian exile. Abijah is listed among more than 20 “heads of the priests and their brothers” who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel. (Ne 12:1-7) Quite likely he was on hand at the laying of the temple foundation in the second year when the priestly services were reorganized. (Ezr 3:8-10) A generation later, in the days of Joiakim and Nehemiah, Abijah’s priestly family was represented by Zichri.​—Ne 12:12, 17, 26.

9. A priest, or the forefather of one, who, in the days of Nehemiah, participated in the sealing of the “trustworthy arrangement” or resolution to Jehovah. (Ne 9:38–10:8) If this was the same Abijah listed as No. 8, as suggested by some, then he would have been more than 100 years old.

See ABIJAH No. 5.

(Ab·i·leʹne).

A Roman district, or tetrarchy, in the region of the Anti-Lebanon mountains N of Mount Hermon. It was named after its capital, Abila, a city situated in a picturesque gorge by the bank of the river Abanah (modern Barada).

At Luke 3:1 we are told that in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar (28/29 C.E.) the district was ruled by Lysanias. This fact is confirmed by an inscription found at Abila in connection with a temple dedication dating from the reign of Tiberius. This inscription bears the name “Lysanias the tetrarch.” Previously, Abilene had formed part of the kingdom of Herod the Great, but following his death, about the year 1 B.C.E., it was included in the province of Syria. Josephus records that the tetrarchy of Lysanias was joined to Palestine, in 37 C.E., under Herod Agrippa I, and that it was thereafter bestowed upon Herod Agrippa II by Claudius, in 53 C.E.

(A·bimʹa·el).

A descendant of Shem through Arpachshad. His father was Joktan, whose brother, Peleg, was an ancestor of Abraham. (Ge 10:28; 1Ch 1:17-27) It is likely that Abimael and his 12 brothers were the progenitors of 13 different Arabian tribes that settled in the Arabian Peninsula.

(A·bimʹe·lech) [My Father Is King].

Either a personal name or an official title of several Philistine kings, perhaps similar to the title Pharaoh among the Egyptians and Caesar among the Romans.

1. The king of the city of Gerar, where Abraham and Sarah took up temporary residence in about 1919 B.C.E. Thinking the couple were brother and sister, he took Sarah to become his wife but, providentially, did not touch her. Warned by Jehovah in a dream, the king returned Sarah to Abraham together with compensation consisting of livestock and slaves and, in addition, a thousand shekels of silver (c. $2,200) as a guarantee of Sarah’s chastity. Sometime later this king concluded a covenant of peace and mutual confidence with Abraham at Beer-sheba.​—Ge 20:1-18; 21:22-34.

2. Possibly another king of Gerar at the time Isaac went there because of a famine. This was after the death of Abraham in 1843 B.C.E. Isaac, like his father Abraham, attempted to pass Rebekah off as his sister, but when the king, by accident, discovered she was Isaac’s wife, he issued a public decree granting them protection. Isaac’s God-given prosperity, however, became the object of envy, and so the king requested Isaac to move out. Sometime later this king of Gerar concluded a covenant of peace with Isaac similar to the one his predecessor had made with Abraham.​—Ge 26:1-31.

3. The Philistine king of the city of Gath in David’s day.​—Ps 34:Sup; see ACHISH.

4. A son of Judge Gideon born to his concubine at Shechem. After his father’s death, Abimelech with presumptuous impudence sought to make himself king. Cunningly, he appealed to the landowners of Shechem through his mother’s influential family. Upon obtaining their financial support he hired some ruffians, went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and there massacred his half brothers upon a single stone. Of the 70 half brothers, only the youngest, Jotham, escaped the slaughter.

Abimelech was then proclaimed king, but Jehovah allowed a bad spirit to develop between the Shechemites and their new “king,” in order to avenge the bloodguilt of all those connected with the conspiracy. A revolt was organized by Gaal. Abimelech quickly crushed it, captured and destroyed the city of Shechem, and sowed it with salt. Then he attacked the vault of the house, or sanctuary, of El-berith and set it afire, and in the conflagration about a thousand of his previous collaborators, the landowners of the tower of Shechem who had taken refuge there, were burned to death. Immediately Abimelech followed up this success by attacking Thebez to the N, only to have a woman on the city tower hurl an upper millstone down upon his head. Abimelech’s three-year “reign” came to an end when his armor-bearer, in compliance with his dying request, ran him through with the sword, so that it could not be said that a woman had killed him.​—Jg 8:30, 31; 9:1-57; 2Sa 11:21.

5. The Masoretic text, followed by the King James Version, reads “Abimelech” in 1 Chronicles 18:16. The Greek Septuagint, Latin Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta, and 12 Hebrew manuscripts read “Ahimelech,” which is in agreement with 2 Samuel 8:17.

(A·binʹa·dab) [Father Is Willing (Noble; Generous)].

1. An inhabitant of the city of Kiriath-jearim in the territory of Judah about 14 km (8.5 mi) WNW of Jerusalem, in whose home the ark of the covenant was kept for a time.

When the sacred Ark was brought up from Beth-shemesh after its disastrous seven-month sojourn among the Philistines, it was deposited in the home of Abinadab, and his son Eleazar was sanctified to guard it. Here in this home the Ark remained for some 70 years, until David arranged to transfer it to Jerusalem. During the transfer another of Abinadab’s sons, Uzzah, dropped dead in his tracks when Jehovah’s anger blazed against him, because of his touching the Ark in disregard of the command at Numbers 4:15.​—1Sa 6:20–7:1; 2Sa 6:1-7; 1Ch 13:6-10.

2. The second son of Jesse, and one of David’s three older brothers who went to war with Saul against the Philistines.​—1Sa 16:8; 17:13.

3. One of the sons of King Saul who was slain by the Philistines at Mount Gilboa.​—1Sa 31:2; 1Ch 9:39.

4. The father of one of King Solomon’s 12 food-supply deputies. This deputized “son of Abinadab,” who is also called Ben-abinadab, married Solomon’s daughter Taphath, and was assigned to provide food for Solomon’s household one month out of the year from all the mountain ridge of Dor.​—1Ki 4:7, 11.

(A·binʹo·am) [Father Is Pleasantness].

The father of Judge Barak, and a descendant of Naphtali. He was evidently a resident of the refuge city of Kedesh in the territory of Naphtali.​—Jg 4:6, 12; 5:1, 12.

(A·biʹram) [Father Is High (Exalted)].

1. A Reubenite, the son of Eliab and brother of Dathan and Nemuel. He was a family head and one of the principal men in Israel at the time of the Exodus from Egypt.​—Nu 26:5-9.

Abiram and his brother Dathan supported Korah the Levite in his rebellion against the authority of Moses and Aaron. A third Reubenite, named On, is also included in the initial stage of the rebellion but thereafter receives no mention. (Nu 16:1) Having gathered a group of 250 chieftains, who were “men of fame,” these men accused Moses and Aaron of arbitrarily elevating themselves over the rest of the congregation. (Nu 16:1-3) From Moses’ words to Korah it is clear that Korah and his followers among the Levites sought the priesthood that had been conferred on Aaron (Nu 16:4-11); but this was evidently not the case with Abiram and Dathan, who were Reubenites. Moses dealt separately with them, and their rejection of his call for them to appear before him contains accusations directed solely against Moses, with no mention made of Aaron. They decried Moses’ leadership of the nation and said that he was ‘trying to play the prince over them to the limit,’ and that he had failed in making good the promise of leading them into any land flowing with milk and honey. Moses’ prayer to Jehovah in answer to these accusations likewise contains a defense of his own actions, not those of Aaron.​—Nu 16:12-15.

From this it would appear that the rebellion was two-pronged and aimed not only at the Aaronic priesthood but also at Moses’ position as administrator of God’s instructions. (Ps 106:16) The situation may have seemed opportune for organizing popular sentiment toward a change, since shortly before this the people had severely complained against Moses, had talked of appointing a new head to lead the nation back to Egypt, and had even talked of stoning Joshua and Caleb for upholding Moses and Aaron. (Nu 14:1-10) Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn son but lost his right to the inheritance as such because of wrong action. (1Ch 5:1) Thus, Dathan and Abiram may have been expressing resentment at Moses the Levite’s exercise of authority over them, because of desiring to regain the lost primacy of their forefather. Numbers 26:9, however, shows that their struggle was not only against Moses and Aaron but also “against Jehovah,” who had divinely commissioned Moses and Aaron to occupy positions of authority.

Since the family of the Kohathites (in which Korah’s family was included) encamped on the S side of the tabernacle, the same side as did the Reubenites, it is possible that Korah’s tent was nearby those of Dathan and Abiram. (Nu 2:10; 3:29) At the time of God’s expression of judgment, Dathan and Abiram stood at the entrances of their tents, while Korah and 250 rebel supporters were gathered at the entrance of the tent of meeting with their incense holders in their hands. Then, following Moses’ call to the rest of the people to withdraw from around the tents of the three ringleaders of the rebellion, God manifested his condemnation of their disrespectful course by causing the ground to open up beneath the tents of these men, swallowing up Dathan and Abiram, and their households. (Nu 16:16-35; De 11:6; Ps 106:17) Korah’s household, with the exception of his sons, likewise perished. Korah himself died with the 250 rebels, destroyed by fire before the tabernacle. (Nu 16:35; 26:10, 11) Thus the rebellion against divinely assigned authority came to a swift termination, and for his share in it, Abiram’s name was wiped out of Israel.

2. The firstborn son of Hiel the Bethelite. At Joshua 6:26 Joshua’s oath is recorded concerning the destroyed city of Jericho, foretelling that whoever should rebuild it would do so at the loss of his firstborn son. Abiram’s father, Hiel, ignored this oath and, during the reign of King Ahab (c. 940-920 B.C.E.) some five centuries after Joshua’s time, he laid Jericho’s foundations. Abiram, his son, died, evidently prematurely as a historically recorded fulfillment of the prophecy.​—1Ki 16:34.

(Abʹi·shag).

A young virgin from the town of Shunem, N of Jezreel and Mount Gilboa, in the territory of Issachar. (Jos 19:17-23) She was “beautiful in the extreme” and was chosen by David’s servants to become the nurse and companion of the king during his final days.​—1Ki 1:1-4.

David was now about 70 years of age (2Sa 5:4, 5), and as a result of debilitation he had little body heat. Abishag waited on him during the day, doubtless brightening the surroundings with her youthful freshness and beauty, and at night she ‘lay in the king’s bosom’ to give him warmth, but “the king himself had no intercourse with her.” Nevertheless, the attitude later manifested by Solomon regarding her indicates that Abishag was viewed as being in the position of wife or concubine of David. As such, by a rule in the ancient East, she would become the property of David’s heir at the time of his death.

The account concerning Abishag directly precedes the account of the attempt at gaining the crown by the one who was probably David’s oldest surviving son, Adonijah, and would seem to be so placed to give understanding to Adonijah’s subsequent action during Solomon’s reign. Solomon, after ascending the throne, had placed Adonijah on conditional pardon. Now Adonijah persuaded Solomon’s mother, Bath-sheba, to ask Solomon to give him Abishag as his wife. Solomon, convinced that Adonijah’s request was not due alone to Abishag’s beauty but, rather, indicated a subtle effort to strengthen Adonijah’s claim to the throne, reacted angrily, revoked Adonijah’s pardon, and ordered his death. (1Ki 2:13-25) No further mention is made of Abishag, but it is probable that she continued as one of Solomon’s wives or concubines.​—See ADONIJAH No. 1.

(A·bishʹai) [possibly, Father Is (Exists)].

The son of David’s sister or half sister Zeruiah and brother of Joab and Asahel.​—2Sa 2:18; 1Ch 2:15, 16.

Abishai came to be more distinguished for his prowess than the 30 mighty warriors over whom he served as chief, his reputation even rivaling those of David’s three most mighty men, for he once struck down 300 of the enemy single-handed, but “to the rank of the first three he did not come.”​—2Sa 23:18, 19.

Abishai loyally supported his uncle David in all his military campaigns but tended to be impulsive and ruthless and on occasion had to be restrained. For example, when he and David stole into Saul’s military camp by night he would have pinned sleeping Saul, “the anointed of Jehovah,” to the earth with Saul’s own spear had not David restrained him. (1Sa 26:6-9) When Absalom rebelled, Abishai had to be held back twice from executing king-cursing Shimei. However, David was not able to prevent Abishai from collaborating in the death of Abner.​—2Sa 3:30; 16:9-11; 19:21-23.

Abishai was noted for his taking the lead in striking down 18,000 Edomites and, again, in leading in the rout of the Ammonites. He also cooperated in putting down the rebellion of Sheba, a good-for-nothing Benjaminite. In David’s last recorded battle had it not been for Abishai, he would have lost his life at the hand of a Philistine of great stature.​—1Ch 18:12; 19:11-15; 2Sa 20:1, 6; 21:15-17.

See ABSALOM.

(Ab·i·shuʹa) [possibly, Father Is Help].

1. A Benjamite of the family of Bela. (1Ch 8:1-4) Though he appears to be a son of Bela, the variance between the accounts at Numbers 26:40, 1 Chronicles 7:7, and 1 Chronicles 8:1-4 causes some to believe the word “sons” may mean, rather, “descendants.”

2. The son of Phinehas and a great-grandson of Aaron. He was the father of Bukki. (1Ch 6:4, 5, 50, 51) At Ezra 7:1-5 he is shown to have been one of Ezra’s forefathers. Josephus (Jewish Antiquities, V, 361, 362 [xi, 5]; VIII, 12 [i, 3]) refers to Abishua (called Abiezer in Book V) as the high priest, which, if accepted, would make him the fourth high priest of Israel. This would harmonize with Jehovah’s promise made to Abishua’s father, Phinehas, that the priesthood would remain in his family.​—Nu 25:11-13.

(A·biʹshur) [Father Is a [Protective] Wall].

A descendant of Judah through the family line of Hezron, of the house of Jerahmeel. He was evidently the second son of Shammai and became the father of two sons by his wife Abihail.​—1Ch 2:28, 29.

(A·biʹtal) [Father Is Dew].

One of six wives through whom David had sons during the seven and a half years he reigned in Hebron (1077-1070 B.C.E.). Her son was named Shephatiah.​—2Sa 3:4; 1Ch 3:3.

(A·biʹtub) [Father Is Goodness].

A Benjamite, evidently the son of Shaharaim by his wife Hushim.​—1Ch 8:8, 11.

(A·biʹud) [possibly, Father Is Dignity].

The Grecized or Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Abihud. A descendant of Zerubbabel and an ancestor of Christ Jesus. (Mt 1:13) The term “father” as used by Matthew may have the meaning of “forefather.” Some scholars suggest that he may be the same as “Joda” at Luke 3:26. However, it is not necessary to relate these persons as being the same individual, since the genealogical lines given by Matthew and Luke are only parallel, not identical, while those at First Chronicles are more comprehensive. Abiud’s son, Eliakim, is also included in the line of descent of the Messiah.​—Mt 1:13.

(Abʹner) [Father Is a Lamp].

Son of Ner, of the tribe of Benjamin. First Samuel 14:50, 51 evidently refers to Abner as “the uncle of Saul,” though this phrase in the Hebrew can be applied either to Abner or to Ner, his father. Josephus speaks of Abner as Saul’s cousin, and of their fathers, Ner and Kish, as brothers. (Jewish Antiquities, VI, 129, 130 [vi, 6]) However, the inspired history at 1 Chronicles 8:33 and 9:39 seems to weigh heavily in favor of Kish as being the son of Ner and, hence, the brother of Abner. This would make Abner the uncle of Saul.​—See also the chart under ABIEL No. 1.

Abner served as chief of the army for Saul, and his fighting force sometimes assumed major proportions, upwards of 200,000 men. (1Sa 15:4) On special occasions he sat next to the king at the banquet table. (1Sa 20:25) Though Abner was undoubtedly a powerful and valiant man, Abner was chided by David, when the latter was a fugitive in the Wilderness of Ziph, for having failed to guard Saul’s person properly as his lord and “the anointed of Jehovah.”​—1Sa 26:14-16.

Following Saul’s death in the crushing defeat administered by the Philistines, Abner withdrew across the Jordan to Mahanaim in Gilead, taking Saul’s son Ish-bosheth with him. Though David had been proclaimed king in Hebron by the tribe of Judah, Abner set up Ish-bosheth as a rival king in Mahanaim. Abner was clearly the power behind the throne and in time obtained the support of all the tribes except Judah on behalf of Ish-bosheth.​—2Sa 2:8-10.

Eventually, the armies of the two opposing kings met in a test of strength at the Pool of Gibeon in the territory of Benjamin, about a third of the way from Hebron to Mahanaim. After the two armies had sized each other up, Abner proposed a contest between a dozen young warriors from each side. The sides were so evenly matched that a mutual slaughter resulted, provoking a full-scale combat between the two armies. Abner’s forces lost 18 men for every one of Joab’s soldiers and retreated toward the wilderness.​—2Sa 2:12-17, 30, 31.

Abner, pursued by Joab’s fleet-footed brother Asahel, urged him repeatedly to turn his attention elsewhere and avoid a deadly encounter with him. When Asahel kept refusing, Abner finally made a powerful backstroke and killed Asahel with the butt end of his spear, running him through in the abdomen. (2Sa 2:18-23) At Abner’s appeal, Joab finally called a halt to the pursuit at sundown, and the two armies began marches back to their respective capitals. Their stamina can be seen from the 80 km (50 mi) or more that Abner’s forces marched, down into the basin of the Jordan, fording the river, then up the Jordan Valley to the hills of Gilead, where they made their way to Mahanaim. After burying Asahel in Bethlehem (perhaps on the following day), Joab’s men had a night-long march of over 22 km (14 mi) through the mountains to Hebron.​—2Sa 2:29-32.

Abner supported Ish-bosheth’s declining regime but also strengthened his own position, perhaps with an eye on the kingship, since he was, after all, the brother of Saul’s father. When taken to task by Ish-bosheth for having relations with one of Saul’s concubines (an act allowable only to the dead king’s heir), Abner angrily announced the transfer of his support to David’s side. (2Sa 3:6-11) He made overtures to David, stressing his own position as virtual ruler of the rest of Israel outside Judah. Satisfying David’s requirement of the return of his wife Michal, Abner now privately approached the heads of the 11 tribes separated from Judah to build up their favor toward Jehovah’s appointed king, David. (2Sa 3:12-19) Thereafter he was warmly received by David at his capital in Hebron, and that same day set out to persuade all the tribes to make a covenant with David. But Joab, absent on a raid, returned and, after denouncing Abner as a conniving spy, personally called him back and tricked Abner into a position where he could kill him.​—2Sa 3:20-27.

With Abner’s death, any hoped-for support for Ish-bosheth collapsed and Ish-bosheth was soon assassinated by traitorous men. With this the rule of the house of Saul came to a complete end.​—2Sa 4:1-3, 5-12.

Many years later, while nearing the time of his own death, David remembered Abner’s death (as well as Amasa’s) and charged Solomon with the responsibility of removing the stain of bloodguilt that Joab had brought on David’s house. (1Ki 2:1, 5, 6) Shortly thereafter, Abner’s slayer, Joab, was executed at Solomon’s order.​—1Ki 2:31-34.

Only one son of Abner is listed, Jaasiel, who was a leader in the tribe of Benjamin during David’s reign. (1Ch 27:21) First Chronicles 26:28 also mentions Abner’s contributions toward the tabernacle from spoils won as chief of the army.

See DISGUSTING THING, LOATHSOME THING.

The expulsion of an embryo or fetus before it can live on its own. Common use often distinguishes between abortion and miscarriage, the former being defined as the deliberate and induced emptying of a pregnant uterus, the latter being considered as the accidental and unavoidable interruption of pregnancy. The distinction between abortion and miscarriage is not made in the Bible; there the terms are used in a broader and interchangeable sense. The Hebrew sha·khalʹ, meaning “suffer an abortion” (Ex 23:26), is also rendered “bereave” (De 32:25), ‘bereave of children’ (Le 26:22), ‘miscarry’ (Ho 9:14), and “prove fruitless” (Mal 3:11). The Hebrew word yoh·tseʼthʹ, rendered “abortion” in Psalm 144:14, is from a root meaning “come out.” (Compare Ge 27:30.) The expressions “miscarriage” and “one prematurely born” (Ps 58:8; Ec 6:3) render the Hebrew word neʹphel, which comes from the root na·phalʹ, meaning “fall.”​—Compare Isa 26:18.

Unavoidable abortion or miscarriage may be caused by accident, infectious disease, mental or physical stress and strain, or because of a general organic weakness on the part of the mother. The waters near Jericho were death dealing, causing miscarriages, until Jehovah’s prophet Elisha healed them.​—2Ki 2:19-22.

Deliberately to induce abortion or miscarriage by artificial means, by the use of drugs, or by medical operation, the sole purpose of which is to avoid the birth of an unwanted child, is an act of high crime in the sight of God. Life as a precious gift from God is sacred. Hence God’s law to Moses protected the life of an unborn baby against more than criminal abortion, for if in a fracas between men a pregnant woman suffered an accident fatal to her or the child, “then you must give soul for soul.” (Ex 21:22-25) Of course, before applying that penalty, the circumstances and degree of deliberateness were taken into consideration by the judges. (Compare Nu 35:22-24, 31.) But emphasizing the seriousness of any deliberate attempt to cause injury, Dr. J. Glenn comments: “The viable embryo in the uterus IS a human individual, and therefore destroying it, is a violation of the sixth commandment.”​—The Bible and Modern Medicine, 1963, p. 176.

Properly viewed, the fruitage of the womb is a blessing of Jehovah. (Le 26:9; Ps 127:3) Hence, in promising to prosper Israel, God gave assurance of successful culmination of pregnancy and the bringing forth of children, saying: “Neither a woman suffering an abortion nor a barren woman will exist in your land.” (Ex 23:26) As indicated in the prayer of the righteous, on the other hand, evidence of God’s disfavor to his enemies would be their having miscarrying wombs and their becoming like miscarriages that never see the sun.​—Ps 58:8; Ho 9:14.

Job in his misery contemplated that it would have been better had he been “a hidden miscarriage.” “Why from the womb did I not proceed to die?” this tormented man cried out. (Job 3:11-16) Solomon, too, reasoned that a prematurely expelled fetus is better off than the person who lives a long time but who never comes to enjoy life.​—Ec 6:3.

Contagious abortion, a disease characterized by premature birth, may occur among animals such as cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. Accidental abortion due to neglect or disease of domestic animals has also been known since the days of the patriarchs Jacob and Job.​—Ge 31:38; Job 21:10.

(Aʹbra·ham) [Father of a Crowd (Multitude)].

The name given by Jehovah to Abram (meaning “Father Is High (Exalted)”) when he was 99 years old, and when God was reaffirming His promise that Abraham’s offspring would become many.​—Ge 17:5.

Family Origin and Early History. Abraham was the tenth generation from Noah through Shem and was born 352 years after the Deluge, in 2018 B.C.E. Although listed first among the three sons of Terah, at Genesis 11:26, Abraham was not the firstborn. The Scriptures show that Terah was 70 years old when his first son was born, and that Abraham was born 60 years later when his father Terah was 130 years old. (Ge 11:32; 12:4) Evidently Abraham is listed first among his father’s sons because of his outstanding faithfulness and prominence in the Scriptures, a practice that is followed in the case of several other outstanding men of faith such as Shem and Isaac.​—Ge 5:32; 11:10; 1Ch 1:28.

Abraham was a native of the Chaldean city of Ur, a thriving metropolis located in the land of Shinar, near the present junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. It was about 240 km (150 mi) SE of Nimrod’s onetime royal city of Babel, or Babylon, so notorious for its unfinished Tower of Babel.

In Abraham’s time, the city of Ur was steeped in Babylonish idolatry and the worship of its patron moon-god Sin. (Jos 24:2, 14, 15) Nevertheless, Abraham proved to be a man of faith in Jehovah God, even as his forefathers Shem and Noah; and as a consequence, he earned the reputation “the father of all those having faith while in uncircumcision.” (Ro 4:11) Since true faith is based on accurate knowledge, Abraham may have received his understanding by personal association with Shem (their lives overlapped by 150 years). Abraham knew and used the name of Jehovah; to quote him: “Jehovah the Most High God, Producer of heaven and earth,” “Jehovah, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth.”​—Ge 14:22; 24:3.

While Abraham was still living in Ur, “before he took up residence in Haran,” Jehovah commanded him to move out to a strange land, leaving behind friends and relatives. (Ac 7:2-4; Ge 15:7; Ne 9:7) There in that country that He would show Abraham, God said he would make out of him a great nation. At the time, Abraham was married to his half sister Sarah, but they were childless and both were old. So it would take great faith to obey, but obey he did.

Terah, now around 200 years old and still the family’s patriarchal head, agreed to accompany Abraham and Sarah on this long journey, and it is for this reason that Terah as father is credited with making the move toward Canaan. (Ge 11:31) It appears that fatherless Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was adopted by his childless uncle and aunt and so accompanied them. Northwestward the caravan moved, some 960 km (600 mi), until they reached Haran, which was an important junction on the E-W trade routes. Haran is located where two wadis join to form a stream that reaches the Balikh River in the winter, about 110 km (68 mi) above where the Balikh empties into the Euphrates River. Here Abraham remained until the death of his father Terah.​—MAP, Vol. 1, p. 330.

Sojourn in Canaan. Now 75 years old, Abraham began to move his household out of Haran to the land of Canaan, where he lived out the remaining hundred years of his life in tents as an alien and migratory resident. (Ge 12:4) It was following the death of his father Terah that Abraham went out from Haran in 1943 B.C.E. and crossed the Euphrates River, evidently on the 14th day of the month that later became known as Nisan. (Ge 11:32; Ex 12:40-43, LXX) It was at that time that the covenant between Jehovah and Abraham went into effect, and the 430-year period of temporary residence until the making of the Law covenant with Israel began.​—Ex 12:40-42; Ga 3:17.

Evidently Abraham, with his flocks and herds, traveled down through Damascus and on to Shechem (located 48 km [30 mi] N of Jerusalem), near the big trees of Moreh. (Ge 12:6) Here Jehovah appeared again to Abraham, confirming and enlarging His covenant promise by declaring: “To your seed I am going to give this land.” (Ge 12:7) Abraham not only built an altar to Jehovah there but, as he moved southward through the land, he built other altars along the way; and he called on the name of Jehovah. (Ge 12:8, 9) In time a severe famine compelled Abraham to move temporarily to Egypt, and to protect his life, he represented Sarah as his sister. This resulted in Pharaoh’s taking beautiful Sarah into his household to be his wife, but before he could violate her, Jehovah had Pharaoh give her back. Abraham then returned to Canaan to the campsite between Bethel and Ai and again called “on the name of Jehovah.”​—Ge 12:10–13:4.

It now became necessary, because of the increasing size of their flocks and herds, for Abraham and Lot to separate. Lot selected the basin of the lower Jordan, a well-watered region “like the garden of Jehovah,” and later established his camp near Sodom. (Ge 13:5-13) Abraham, for his part, after being told to travel about through the length and breadth of the land, came to dwell among the big trees of Mamre in Hebron, 30 km (19 mi) SSW of Jerusalem.​—Ge 13:14-18.

When four allied kings, headed by the Elamite king Chedorlaomer, were successful in crushing a revolt of five Canaanite kings, Sodom and Gomorrah were sacked, and Lot was taken captive together with all of his property. Abraham, upon learning of this, quickly mustered 318 of his trained household servants. With his confederates Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, he made a forced march in hot pursuit perhaps as much as 300 km (190 mi) northward to beyond Damascus and, with Jehovah’s help, defeated a far superior force. Lot was thus rescued, and the stolen property was recovered. (Ge 14:1-16, 23, 24) As Abraham was returning from this great victory a “priest of the Most High God,” Melchizedek, who was also the king of Salem, came out and blessed him, and Abraham, in turn, “gave him a tenth of everything.”​—Ge 14:17-20.

Appearance of the Promised Seed. Since Sarah continued to be barren, it appeared that Eliezer the faithful house steward from Damascus would receive Abraham’s inheritance. Nevertheless, Jehovah again reassured Abraham that his own offspring would become uncountable, as the stars of heaven, and so Abraham “put faith in Jehovah; and he proceeded to count it to him as righteousness,” even though this occurred years before Abraham was circumcised. (Ge 15:1-6; Ro 4:9, 10) Jehovah then concluded a formal covenant over animal sacrifices with Abraham, and at the same time, he revealed that Abraham’s offspring would be afflicted for a period of 400 years, even being taken into slavery.​—Ge 15:7-21; see COVENANT.

Time passed. They had now been in Canaan for about ten years, yet Sarah continued barren. She therefore proposed to substitute her Egyptian maidservant Hagar so that she might have a child by her. Abraham consented. And so in 1932 B.C.E., when Abraham was 86 years old, Ishmael was born. (Ge 16:3, 15, 16) More time passed. In 1919 B.C.E., when Abraham was 99 years old, as a sign or seal to testify to the special covenant relationship existing between himself and Abraham, Jehovah commanded that all the males of Abraham’s household be circumcised. At the same time Jehovah changed his name from Abram to Abraham, “because a father of a crowd of nations I will make you.” (Ge 17:5, 9-27; Ro 4:11) Soon after, three materialized angels, whom Abraham received hospitably in the name of Jehovah, promised that Sarah herself would conceive and give birth to a son, yes, within the coming year!​—Ge 18:1-15.

And what an eventful year it proved to be! Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Abraham’s nephew and his two daughters barely escaped. Abraham along with Sarah moved to Gerar, only to have the king of that Philistine city take Sarah for his harem. Jehovah intervened; Sarah was released; and at the appointed time, 1918 B.C.E., Isaac, the long-promised heir, was born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90. (Ge 18:16–21:7) Five years later, when Isaac’s 19-year-old half brother Ishmael poked fun at him, Abraham was compelled to dismiss Ishmael and his mother Hagar. It was then, in 1913 B.C.E., that the 400 years of affliction upon Abraham’s offspring began.​—Ge 21:8-21; 15:13; Ga 4:29.

The supreme test of Abraham’s faith came about 20 years later. According to Jewish tradition, Isaac was now 25 years old. (Jewish Antiquities, by F. Josephus, I, 227 [xiii, 2]) In obedience to Jehovah’s instructions Abraham took Isaac and traveled N from Beer-sheba at the Negeb to Mount Moriah, situated directly N of Salem. There he built an altar and prepared to offer up Isaac, the promised seed, as a burnt sacrifice. And indeed Abraham “as good as offered up Isaac,” for “he reckoned that God was able to raise him up even from the dead.” Only at the last moment did Jehovah intervene and provide a ram as a substitute for Isaac on the sacrificial altar. It was, therefore, this implicit faith backed up by complete obedience that moved Jehovah to reinforce his covenant with Abraham with a sworn oath, a special legal guarantee.​—Ge 22:1-18; Heb 6:13-18; 11:17-19.

When Sarah died at Hebron in 1881 B.C.E. at the age of 127, it was necessary for Abraham to purchase a burial plot, for indeed he was only an alien resident owning no land in Canaan. So he bought a field with its cave at Machpelah near Mamre from the sons of Heth. (Ge 23:1-20; see PURCHASE.) Three years later, when Isaac reached the age of 40, Abraham sent his oldest servant, likely Eliezer, back to Mesopotamia in order to find a suitable wife, one who was also a true worshiper of Jehovah, for his son. Rebekah, who was the grandniece of Abraham, proved to be Jehovah’s choice.​—Ge 24:1-67.

“Furthermore, Abraham again took a wife,” Keturah, and thereafter fathered six additional sons, so that from Abraham sprang not only the Israelites, Ishmaelites, and Edomites but also Medanites, Midianites, and others. (Ge 25:1, 2; 1Ch 1:28, 32, 34) Thus it was that Jehovah’s prophetic utterance was fulfilled in Abraham: “A father of a crowd of nations I will make you.” (Ge 17:5) Finally, at the good old age of 175, Abraham died, in 1843 B.C.E., and was buried by his sons Isaac and Ishmael in the cave of Machpelah. (Ge 25:7-10) Prior to his death Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his secondary wives and sent them away, so that Isaac would be the sole heir of “everything he had.”​—Ge 25:5, 6.

Patriarchal Head and Prophet. Abraham was a very wealthy man with great flocks and herds, much silver and gold, and a very large household numbering many hundreds of servants. (Ge 12:5, 16; 13:2, 6, 7; 17:23, 27; 20:14; 24:35) For this reason the kings of Canaan considered him a powerful “chieftain” and one with whom covenants of peace should be made. (Ge 23:6; 14:13; 21:22, 23) Yet at no time did Abraham allow materialism to blind his vision of Jehovah and His promises or cause him to become proud, high-minded, or selfish.​—Ge 13:9; 14:21-23.

The first occurrence of the word “prophet” in the Hebrew Scriptures refers to Abraham, though others like Enoch prophesied before him. (Ge 20:7; Jude 14) The first identified in the Scriptures as a “Hebrew” is Abraham. (Ge 14:13) Abraham, like Abel, Enoch, and Noah, was a man of faith. (Heb 11:4-9) But the first occurrence of the expression “put faith in Jehovah” is in reference to Abraham.​—Ge 15:6.

Indeed, this man of unusual faith walked with God, received communications from him by means of visions and dreams, and entertained his angelic messengers. (Ge 12:1-3, 7; 15:1-8, 12-21; 18:1-15; 22:11, 12, 15-18) He was well acquainted with the name of God even though Jehovah had not at that time revealed the full significance of His name. (Ex 6:2, 3) Time after time Abraham built altars and offered up sacrifices in the name of and to the praise and glory of his God Jehovah.​—Ge 12:8; 13:4, 18; 21:33; 24:40; 48:15.

As patriarchal head, Abraham allowed no idolatry or ungodliness in his household but constantly taught all his sons and servants to “keep Jehovah’s way to do righteousness and judgment.” (Ge 18:19) Every male member of Abraham’s household was bound by Jehovah’s law to submit to circumcision. The Egyptian slave girl Hagar called on Jehovah’s name in prayer. And Abraham’s oldest servant in a very heart-touching prayer to Jehovah demonstrated his own faith in Abraham’s God. Isaac too, in his early manhood, proved his faith and his obedience to Jehovah by allowing himself to be bound hand and foot and placed atop the altar for sacrifice.​—Ge 17:10-14, 23-27; 16:13; 24:2-56.

Historicity. Jesus and his disciples referred to Abraham more than 70 times in their conversations and writings. In his illustration of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus referred to Abraham in a symbolic sense. (Lu 16:19-31) When his opponents boasted that they were the offspring of Abraham, Jesus was quick to point out their hypocrisy, saying: “If you are Abraham’s children, do the works of Abraham.” (Joh 8:31-58; Mt 3:9, 10) No, as the apostle Paul said, it is not fleshly descent that counts, but, rather, faith like that of Abraham that enables one to be declared righteous. (Ro 9:6-8; 4:1-12) Paul also identified the true seed of Abraham as Christ, along with those who belong to Christ as “heirs with reference to a promise.” (Ga 3:16, 29) He also speaks of Abraham’s kindness and hospitality to strangers, and in his long list in Hebrews chapter 11 of illustrious witnesses of Jehovah, Paul does not overlook Abraham. It is Paul who points out that Abraham’s two women, Sarah and Hagar, figured in a symbolic drama that involved Jehovah’s two covenants. (Ga 4:22-31; Heb 11:8) The Bible writer James adds that Abraham backed up his faith by righteous works and, therefore, was known as “Jehovah’s friend.”​—Jas 2:21-23.

Archaeological discoveries have also confirmed matters related in the Biblical history of Abraham: The geographic locations of many places and customs of that period of time, such as the purchase of the field from the Hittites, the choice of Eliezer as heir, and the treatment of Hagar.

See ABRAHAM.

(A·broʹnah).

The site of one of the encampments of the Israelites on their wilderness trek from Egypt. It is listed between Jotbathah and Ezion-geber and has been identified with the oasis ʽAin Defiyeh (ʽEn ʽAvrona), which lies 14.5 km (9 mi) NNE of Ezion-geber.​—Nu 33:34, 35.

(Abʹsa·lom) [Father [that is, God] Is Peace].

The third of six sons born to David at Hebron. His mother was Maacah the daughter of Talmai the king of Geshur. (2Sa 3:3-5) Absalom fathered three sons and one daughter. (2Sa 14:27) He is evidently called Abishalom at 1 Kings 15:2, 10.​—See 2Ch 11:20, 21.

Physical beauty ran strong in Absalom’s family. He was nationally praised for his outstanding beauty; his luxuriant growth of hair, doubtless made heavier by the use of oil or ointments, weighed some 200 shekels (2.3 kg; 5 lb) when annually cut. His sister Tamar was also beautiful, and his daughter, named for her aunt, was “most beautiful in appearance.” (2Sa 14:25-27; 13:1) Rather than being of benefit, however, this beauty contributed to some ugly events that caused immense grief to Absalom’s father, David, as well as to others, and produced great turmoil for the nation.

Murder of Amnon. The beauty of Absalom’s sister Tamar caused his older half brother Amnon to become infatuated with her. Feigning illness, Amnon contrived to have Tamar sent to his quarters to cook for him, and then he forcibly violated her. Amnon’s erotic love turned to contemptuous hate and he had Tamar put out into the street. Ripping apart her striped gown that had distinguished her as a virgin daughter of the king, and with ashes on her head, Tamar was met by Absalom. He quickly sized up the situation and voiced immediate suspicion of Amnon, indicating a prior alertness to his half brother’s passionate desire. Absalom instructed his sister to raise no accusation, however, and took her into his home to reside.​—2Sa 13:1-20.

According to John Kitto, Absalom’s taking charge of Tamar, rather than her father’s doing so, was in harmony with the Eastern custom, whereby, in a polygamous family, children of the same mother are the more closely knit together and the daughters “come under the special care and protection of their brother, who, . . . in all that affects their safety and honor, is more looked to than the father himself.” (Daily Bible Illustrations, Samuel, Saul, and David, 1857, p. 384) Much earlier, it was Levi and Simeon, two of Dinah’s full brothers, who took it upon themselves to avenge their sister’s dishonor.​—Ge 34:25.

Hearing of his daughter’s humiliation, David reacted with great anger but, perhaps due to the fact that no direct or formal accusation was made with the support of evidence or witnesses, took no judicial action against the offender. (De 19:15) Absalom may have preferred not to have an issue made of Amnon’s violation of the Levitical law (Le 18:9; 20:17), to avoid unsavory publicity for his family and name, but he, nevertheless, nursed a murderous hatred for Amnon while outwardly controlling himself until the propitious moment for exacting vengeance in his own way. (Compare Pr 26:24-26; Le 19:17.) From this point forward his life is a study in perfidy, occupying the major part of six chapters of Second Samuel.​—2Sa 13:21, 22.

Two years passed. Sheepshearing time came, a festive occasion, and Absalom arranged a feast at Baal-hazor about 22 km (14 mi) NNE of Jerusalem, inviting the king’s sons and David himself. When his father begged off from attending, Absalom pressed him to agree to send Amnon, his firstborn, in his stead. (Pr 10:18) At the feast, when Amnon was in “a merry mood with wine,” Absalom ordered his servants to slay him. The other sons headed back to Jerusalem, and Absalom went into exile with his Syrian grandfather in the kingdom of Geshur to the E of the Sea of Galilee. (2Sa 13:23-38) The “sword” foretold by the prophet Nathan had now entered David’s “house” and would continue there for the rest of his life.​—2Sa 12:10.

Restoration to Favor. When three years’ time had eased the pain of the loss of his firstborn, David felt paternal longing for Absalom. Joab, reading his royal uncle’s thoughts, by means of stratagem opened the way for David to extend a probationary pardon allowing Absalom to be repatriated but without the right to appear in his father’s court. (2Sa 13:39; 14:1-24) Absalom endured this ostracized status for two years and then began maneuvering for full pardon. When Joab, as an official of the king’s court, refused to visit him, Absalom peremptorily had Joab’s barley field burned and, when the indignant Joab came, told him he wanted a final decision by the king and said, “If there is any error in me, he must then put me to death.” When Joab relayed the message, David received his son, who thereupon fell on the ground in symbol of complete submission, and the king gave him the kiss of full pardon.​—2Sa 14:28-33.

Treasonous Activity. Any natural or filial affection that Absalom had for David, however, had apparently vanished during the five years of separation from his father. Three years of association with pagan royalty may have cultivated the corroding influence of ambition. Absalom might have viewed himself as destined for the throne because of being descended from royalty on both sides of the family. Since Chileab (Daniel), who was second in line of David’s sons, is not mentioned after the account of his birth, it is also possible that he had died, thereby leaving Absalom as David’s oldest surviving son. (2Sa 3:3; 1Ch 3:1) Nevertheless, God’s promise to David of a future “seed” to inherit the throne was given after Absalom’s birth, and hence he should have known that he was not Jehovah’s choice for the kingship. (2Sa 7:12) At any rate, once restored to royal rank, Absalom began an underhanded political campaign. With consummate skill he feigned great concern for the public welfare and presented himself as a man of the people. He carefully insinuated to the people, particularly those of the tribes outside Judah, that the king’s court was lacking in interest in their problems and was greatly in need of a warmhearted man like Absalom.​—2Sa 15:1-6.

The phrase “at the end of forty years” is found at 2 Samuel 15:7 in the Masoretic text and some manuscripts of the Greek Septuagint. This could not be forty years from David gaining the kingship, nor could it be the age of Absalom. If this reading is accepted, it could refer to David’s first anointing by Samuel, considerably prior to the start of David’s 40-year reign. This would then allow for Absalom’s being still a “young man” at this point (2Sa 18:5), since he was born sometime between 1077 and 1070 B.C.E. But “four years” appears at 2 Samuel 15:7 in the Lucianic recension of the Septuagint, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Latin Vulgate. It agrees with Josephus’ explanation, “four years having now passed since his father’s reconciliation with him.” (Jewish Antiquities, VII, 196 [ix, 1]) Both readings present some difficulties, but most modern versions of the Bible prefer the reading “four.”

Absalom, feeling satisfied that he had built up a strong following throughout the realm, obtained permission from his father by means of a pretext to go to Hebron, the original capital of Judah. From there he quickly organized a full-scale conspiracy for the throne, including a nationwide web of spies to proclaim his kingship. After having invoked God’s blessing on his rule by offering sacrifices, he obtained the support of his father’s most respected counselor, Ahithophel. Many now swung to Absalom’s side.​—2Sa 15:7-12.

Faced with a major crisis and anticipating a large-scale attack, David chose to evacuate the palace along with all his household, although he had the loyal support of a large body of faithful men, including the principal priests, Abiathar and Zadok. These two he sent back to Jerusalem to serve as liaison agents. While ascending the Mount of Olives, barefoot, head covered, and weeping, David was met by Hushai, the king’s “companion,” whom he likewise dispatched to Jerusalem to frustrate Ahithophel’s counsel. (2Sa 15:13-37) Beset by opportunists, one seeking favor, another filled with partisan spirit and venting stored-up hatred, David stands in sharp contrast to Absalom by his quiet submission and refusal to render evil for evil. Rejecting his nephew Abishai’s plea for permission to cross over and ‘take off the head’ of the stone-throwing, cursing Shimei, David reasoned: “Here my own son, who has come forth out of my own inward parts, is looking for my soul; and how much more now a Benjaminite! Let him alone that he may call down evil, for Jehovah has said so to him! Perhaps Jehovah will see with his eye, and Jehovah will actually restore to me goodness instead of his malediction this day.”​—2Sa 16:1-14.

Occupying Jerusalem and the palace, Absalom accepted Hushai’s apparent defection to his side after first making a sarcastic reference to Hushai’s being the faithful “companion” of David. Then, acting on Ahithophel’s counsel, Absalom publicly had relations with his father’s concubines as proof of the complete break between himself and David and of his unrelenting determination to maintain control of the throne. (2Sa 16:15-23) In this way the latter part of Nathan’s inspired prophecy saw fulfillment.​—2Sa 12:11.

Ahithophel now urged Absalom to charge him with authority to lead a force against David that very night so as to administer the deathblow before David’s forces could get organized. Pleased, Absalom still thought it wise to hear Hushai’s opinion. Realizing David’s need for time, Hushai painted a vivid picture, possibly designed to play on any lack of genuine courage in Absalom (who, till now, had displayed more arrogance and craftiness than manly valor), as well as to appeal to Absalom’s vanity. Hushai recommended the taking of time first to build up an overwhelming force of men to be then commanded by Absalom himself. By Jehovah’s direction, Hushai’s counsel was accepted. Ahithophel, evidently realizing that Absalom’s revolt would fail, committed suicide.​—2Sa 17:1-14, 23.

As a precautionary measure, Hushai sent word to David of Ahithophel’s counsel, and despite Absalom’s efforts to catch the clandestine couriers, David received the warning and crossed over the Jordan and went up into the hills of Gilead to Mahanaim (where Ish-bosheth had had his capital). Here he was received with expressions of generosity and kindness. Preparing for the conflict, David organized his expanding forces into three divisions under Joab, Abishai, and Ittai the Gittite. Urged to remain in the city, as his presence would be of more value there, David submitted and again displayed an amazing lack of rancor toward Absalom by publicly requesting his three captains to “deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.”​—2Sa 17:15–18:5.

Decisive Battle and Death. Absalom’s newly formed forces were administered a crushing defeat by David’s experienced fighters. The battle reached into the forest of Ephraim. Absalom, riding away on his royal mule, passed under the low branches of a large tree and apparently got his head enmeshed in the fork of a branch so that he was left suspended in the air. The man who reported to Joab that he had seen him said he would not have disobeyed David’s request by slaying Absalom for “a thousand pieces of silver [if shekels, c. $2,200],” but Joab felt no such restraint and drove three shafts into Absalom’s heart, after which ten of his men joined their captain in sharing the responsibility for Absalom’s death. Absalom’s body was thereafter thrown into a hollow and covered with a mound of stones as unworthy of burial.​—2Sa 18:6-17; compare Jos 7:26; 8:29.

When messengers reached David in Mahanaim, his first concern was for his son. Learning of Absalom’s death, David paced the floor of the roof chamber, crying: “My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! O that I might have died, I myself, instead of you, Absalom my son, my son!” (2Sa 18:24-33) Only Joab’s blunt, straightforward speech and reasoning brought David out of his great grief due to the tragic course and end of this physically attractive and resourceful young man, whose driving ambition led him to fight against God’s anointed, thus bringing himself to ruin.​—2Sa 19:1-8; compare Pr 24:21, 22.

Psalm 3 was written by David at the time of Absalom’s revolt, according to the superscription that heads the psalm.

Absalom’s Monument. A pillar had been erected by Absalom in “the Low Plain of the King,” also called “the Low Plain of Shaveh,” near Jerusalem. (2Sa 18:18; Ge 14:17) He had erected it because of having no sons to keep his name alive after his death. It thus appears that his three sons mentioned at 2 Samuel 14:27 had died when young. Absalom was not buried at the place of his monument but was left in a hollow in the forest of Ephraim.​—2Sa 18:6, 17.

There is a pillar cut out of the rock in the Kidron Valley that has been called the Tomb of Absalom, but its architecture indicates it is from the Greco-Roman period, perhaps of the time of Herod. So there is no basis for associating the name of Absalom with it.

The original Greek word bla·sphe·miʹa and the verb bla·sphe·meʹo basically indicate defamatory, calumnious, abusive language. As noted under the heading BLASPHEMY, the Greek word bla·sphe·miʹa has a broader meaning than the present English word “blasphemy.” In English, only when such speech is directed against God, not against his creatures, is it properly termed “blasphemy.” (Mt 12:31) Concerning this, The Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopædia and Scriptural Dictionary says: “Our English translators [that is, primarily those of the KJ] have not adhered to the right use of the term. They employ it with the same latitude as the Greek; but it is generally easy to perceive, from the connection and subject of a passage, whether blasphemy, properly so called, be meant, or only defamation.”​—Edited by S. Fallows, 1912, Vol. I, p. 291.

Thus, while the King James Version uses “blasphemy” and “blasphemed” in Acts 18:6, Colossians 3:8, 1 Timothy 6:1, and Titus 2:5, later translations say “slander,” “abusive talk [or “speech”],” “reviled,” “defamed,” “abused,” “spoken of abusively,” and similar expressions. (See RS, AT, NW, and others.) However, the King James Version does recognize this distinction elsewhere in the Greek Scriptures.

As the following texts and surrounding verses show, at the time of his impalement abusive speech was directed against Christ by passersby, who said, “Bah! You would-be thrower-down of the temple and builder of it in three days’ time, save yourself by coming down off the torture stake.” Similar words came from one of the evildoers alongside. (Mr 15:29, 30; Mt 27:39, 40; Lu 23:39) Paul and his fellow Christians were objects of such speech by those who falsely construed their purpose, message, and Christian conscience (Ac 18:6; Ro 3:8; 14:16; 1Co 10:30; 1Pe 4:4), yet they themselves were to “speak injuriously of no one,” and by their conduct gave no true grounds for their work or message to be spoken of abusively. (Eph 4:31; Col 3:8; 1Ti 6:1; Tit 2:5; 3:2; compare 2Pe 2:2.) Even the angels “do not bring . . . an accusation in abusive terms, not doing so out of respect for Jehovah.” (2Pe 2:11) But such talk can be expected from those who indulge in loose conduct, those who are proud and mentally diseased over questionings and debates, and those who disregard or disrespect God’s appointments.​—1Ti 6:4; 2Pe 2:10-12; Jude 8-10.

The word ga·dhaphʹ is used in a corresponding way in the Hebrew Scriptures. Evidently originally referring to inflicting violent physical injury, it is used figuratively to mean “speak abusively,” that is, harm with reproachful words. (Nu 15:30; 2Ki 19:6; Eze 20:27) The Hebrew word na·qavʹ, basically meaning “pierce; bore” (2Ki 12:9; 18:21), has the sense of blaspheming in the account where the son of an Israelite woman was said to have ‘abused’ Jehovah’s name. (Le 24:11, 16) In these cases harsh or coarse speech is indicated, directed against either Jehovah God himself or his people. A study of the context makes clear the nature of such “abusive speech.”​—See EXECRATION; MALEDICTION; REVILING.

According to Parkhurst’s Greek and English Lexicon to the New Testament (London, 1845, p. 2), the Greek aʹbys·sos means “very or exceedingly deep.” According to Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford, 1968, p. 4), it means “unfathomable, boundless.” The Greek Septuagint uses it regularly to translate the Hebrew tehohmʹ (watery deep), as at Genesis 1:2; 7:11.

Aʹbys·sos occurs nine times in the Christian Greek Scriptures, seven of them being in the book of Revelation. It is from “the abyss” that the symbolic locusts come forth under the headship of their king, Abaddon or Apollyon, “the angel of the abyss.” (Re 9:1-3, 11) “The wild beast” that makes war against the “two witnesses” of God and kills them is also spoken of as coming “out of the abyss.” (Re 11:3, 7) Revelation 20:1-3 describes the future casting of Satan into the abyss for a thousand years; something that a legion of demons urged Jesus not to do to them on a certain occasion.​—Lu 8:31.

Scriptural Significance. It is noteworthy that the Greek Septuagint does not use aʹbys·sos to translate the Hebrew sheʼohlʹ, and in view of the fact that spirit creatures are cast into it, it cannot properly be limited in meaning to Sheol or Hades, inasmuch as these two words clearly refer to the common earthly grave of mankind. (Job 17:13-16; see HADES; SHEOL.) It does not refer to “the lake of fire,” since it is after Satan’s release from the abyss that he is thereupon hurled into the lake of fire. (Re 20:1-3, 7-10) Paul’s statement at Romans 10:7, in which he speaks of Christ as being in the abyss, also precludes such possibility and shows as well that the abyss is not the same as Tartarus.​—See TARTARUS.

Romans 10:6, 7 aids in clearing up the meaning of “the abyss” in stating: “But the righteousness resulting from faith speaks in this manner: ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” that is, to bring Christ down; or, “Who will descend into the abyss?” that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.’” (Compare De 30:11-13.) It is evident that “the abyss” here refers to the place in which Christ Jesus spent part of three days and from which place his Father resurrected him. (Compare Ps 71:19, 20; Mt 12:40.) Revelation 20:7 refers to the abyss as a “prison,” and the confinement of absolute restraint resulting from death in the case of Jesus certainly harmonizes with this.​—Compare Ac 2:24; 2Sa 22:5, 6; Job 38:16, 17; Ps 9:13; 107:18; 116:3.

Concerning the root meaning “unfathomable” as characteristic of “the abyss,” it is of interest to note the statement in Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics (1913, Vol. I, p. 54), which, in commenting on Romans 10:6, 7, says: “The impression conveyed by St. Paul’s language is of the vastness of that realm, as of one that we should vainly attempt to explore.” Paul contrasts the inaccessibility of “heaven” and of the “abyss” with the accessibility of righteousness by faith. The use of the related word baʹthos made by Paul at Romans 11:33 illustrates this: “O the depth [baʹthos] of God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable his judgments are and past tracing out his ways are!” (See also 1Co 2:10; Eph 3:18, 19.) So, in harmony with Romans 10:6, 7, the place that is represented by “the abyss” would also evidently imply being out of the reach of anyone but God or his appointed angel with “the key of the abyss.” (Re 20:1) Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon (p. 4) gives as one of the meanings of the word aʹbys·sos “the infinite void.”

The plural form of the Hebrew word metsoh·lahʹ (or metsu·lahʹ) is translated “large abyss” in Psalm 88:6 and literally means “abysses,” or “depths.” (Compare Zec 10:11.) It is related to tsu·lahʹ, meaning “watery deep.”​—Isa 44:27.

[Heb., shit·tahʹ].

A tree that grew well in the wilderness, where the Israelites sojourned. It was capable of providing rather large boards (nearly 4.5 m; 15 ft long, according to Ex 36:20, 21), which the Israelites used in constructing the portable tabernacle. Since this tree practically disappears from the Bible record after the entry into the Promised Land, this may also indicate a tree not commonly found throughout Palestine. Such description fits the acacia types known as Acacia seyal and Acacia tortilis far better than any other plant life in the area. These acacia trees are still common in the Negeb and the Sinai area and some are found along the Jordan Valley S of the Sea of Galilee, but not in northern Palestine.

It is interesting to note that the word seyal is Arabic for “torrent,” and the habitat of the acacia is in the torrent valleys, or wadis, down which water rushes during the rainy season and which are found in the otherwise arid, desert regions around the Dead Sea area and southward into the Arabian Desert and the Sinai Peninsula. Thus Joel’s prophecy (3:18) says: “Out of the house of Jehovah there will go forth a spring, and it must irrigate the torrent valley of the Acacia Trees,” which is clearly a place that would otherwise usually be dry. (See SHITTIM No. 2.) At Isaiah 41:19 Jehovah says: “In the wilderness I shall set the cedar tree, the acacia and the myrtle and the oil tree.” Here three trees that normally grow in rich and fertile soils are prophesied to become the companions of the desert-loving acacia, as a result of divine provision for irrigation.​—Isa 41:17, 18.

The acacia has many long thorns extending out from the widely spreading branches. These branches usually interlace with those of the neighboring acacias to form tangled thickets; this fact doubtless explains why the plural form shit·timʹ is almost always used in the Bible record. The acacia may grow to heights of 6 to 8 m (20 to 26 ft), but often is bushlike in appearance. It has soft, feathery leaves and is covered with pleasingly fragrant yellow blossoms, producing curved tapering pods as its fruit. The rough, black bark covers a very hard, fine-grained, heavy wood that is immune to insect attack. These characteristics and its availability in the desert made the acacia especially well suited as a building material for the tabernacle and its furnishings. It was employed to construct the ark of the covenant (Ex 25:10; 37:1), the table of showbread (Ex 25:23; 37:10), altars (Ex 27:1; 37:25; 38:1), poles for carrying these items (Ex 25:13, 28; 27:6; 30:5; 37:4, 15, 28; 38:6), pillars for the curtain and screen (Ex 26:32, 37; 36:36), and the panel frames (Ex 26:15; 36:20) and their connecting bars (Ex 26:26; 36:31).

Acacia is still prized for cabinetwork because of its fine grain, rich orange-brown color, and durability. The ancient Egyptians clamped their mummy coffins shut with acacia tenons and used it in the construction of their boats. Certain types of the tree also produce the gum arabic of commerce.

(Acʹcad).

One of the four cities founded by Nimrod that formed “the beginning of his kingdom.” (Ge 10:10) Accad (Akkad) has been identified with the ancient city of Agade. The precise location is uncertain.

The name Akkad is also applied to the whole northern region of what later was called Babylonia. Akkad appears to have received prominence as the principal or royal city of that region under Sargon I (not the Sargon of Isa 20:1). The southern region of Mesopotamia was known as Sumer. Babylonia grew out of these two areas, and in Babylonian texts her rulers were still called “king of Akkad” down to the time of Babylon’s fall in 539 B.C.E. On the Cyrus Cylinder, Babylon’s conqueror takes over the title “King of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad.”

The Akkadians appear to have surpassed the Sumerians in fine sculpture and intricate seal cutting. The name Akkadian (Accadian) today is used to describe the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian languages.

At 2 Corinthians 6:2 the apostle Paul quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah 49:8, which says: “This is what Jehovah has said: ‘In a time of goodwill I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you; and I kept safeguarding you that I might give you as a covenant for the people, to rehabilitate the land, to bring about the repossessing of the desolated hereditary possessions.’” In its original setting this statement was evidently made to Isaiah as representing or personifying the nation of Israel. (Isa 49:3) It was clearly a restoration prophecy and, hence, had its first fulfillment at the time of the liberation of Israel from Babylon when the call went to the Israelite prisoners, “Come out!” They thereafter returned to their homeland and rehabilitated the desolated land.​—Isa 49:9.

However, the words “that I might give you as a covenant for the people” in verse 8 of this chapter and the preceding statement in verse 6 that this “servant” of Jehovah would be given as “a light of the nations, that [God’s] salvation may come to be to the extremity of the earth,” definitely mark the prophecy as Messianic and as therefore applying to Christ Jesus as God’s “servant.” (Compare Isa 42:1-4, 6, 7 with Mt 12:18-21.) Since the “time of goodwill” was a time when Jehovah would ‘answer’ and ‘help’ his servant, it must apply to Jesus’ earthly life when he “offered up supplications and also petitions to the One who was able to save him out of death, with strong outcries and tears, and he was favorably heard for his godly fear.” (Heb 5:7-9; compare Joh 12:27, 28; 17:1-5; Lu 22:41-44; 23:46.) It was, therefore, “a day of salvation” for God’s own Son, during which period of opportunity he demonstrated perfection of integrity and, as a result, “became responsible for everlasting salvation to all those obeying him.”​—Heb 5:9.

Additionally, Paul’s quotation from this prophecy indicates a still further application to those Christians whom Paul urges “not to accept the undeserved kindness of God and miss its purpose,” and to whom he says (after quoting Isa 49:8): “Look! Now is the especially acceptable time. Look! Now is the day of salvation.” (2Co 6:1, 2) Such Christians had become the spiritual “Israel of God” from Pentecost of 33 C.E. forward (Ga 6:16), but there was a need for them to prove worthy of God’s undeserved kindness, so that the “acceptable time” might indeed prove to be “a day of salvation” for them.

The fact that the prophecy in its original application was one of restoration would likewise indicate an application to a time of release from spiritual captivity and of restoration to full favor with God.​—Compare Ps 69:13-18.

To natural Jews who failed to appreciate the favorableness of the time and the opportunity that was theirs for entry into ‘spiritual Israel,’ Paul announced that he was turning to the non-Jewish nations, and he quoted Isaiah 49:6 in support, saying: “In fact, Jehovah has laid commandment upon us in these words, ‘I have appointed you as a light of nations, for you to be a salvation to the extremity of the earth.’” (Ac 13:47) Since “time” and “day” are terms indicating temporariness, they imply urgency and the need to use wisely an opportune period or season of favor before its end comes bringing the withdrawal of divine mercy and offer of salvation.​—Ro 13:11-13; 1Th 5:6-11; Eph 5:15-20.

Unforeseen occurrences that result from ignorance, carelessness, or unavoidable events and that cause loss or injury are commonly called accidents. The Hebrew word ʼa·sohnʹ evidently literally means “a healing” and is used as a euphemism for “a fatal accident.” (Compare Ge 42:4, ftn.) The Hebrew miq·rehʹ, which is derived from a root that means “meet; befall” (Ge 44:29; De 25:18), is rendered not only “accident” (1Sa 6:9) but also “eventuality” (Ec 2:14, 15; 3:19) and “by chance.”​—Ru 2:3.

Jacob feared that a fatal accident might befall his beloved son Benjamin if allowed to go to Egypt with his brothers. (Ge 42:4, 38) The Philistines returned the ark of Jehovah to prove whether the plague of piles they suffered really was from Jehovah or was just “an accident.” (1Sa 6:9) Solomon recognized that anyone may become a victim of unforeseen occurrence.​—Ec 9:11.

The Mosaic Law differentiated between an accident that proved fatal and one that was not. (Ex 21:22-25) It also distinguished between killing intentionally and unintentionally. For deliberate murder, capital punishment was mandatory; for those guilty of accidental homicide, cities of refuge were set up. (Nu 35:11-25, 31; see CITIES OF REFUGE.) The law applied equally to native Israelite and alien resident, and instructions for the necessary sacrifices to atone for accidental or unintentional sins were provided.​—Le 4:1-35; 5:14-19; Nu 15:22-29.

(Acʹco).

A seaport city also known as Accho, Acre, and Ptolemais. It is located at the northern point of the yawning crescent-shaped Bay of Acco (or Bay of Haifa [Mifraz Hefa]). This bay is formed by the cape of Mount Carmel jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea about 13 km (8 mi) to the S.

In the period of the Judges, the Canaanite city was situated on a mound identified with Tell el-Fukhkhar (Tel ʽAkko), about 1 km (0.6 mi) from the bay and 1.8 km (1 mi) E of the present-day Old City walls. During the Persian period, from the sixth century B.C.E., the city spread westward to include the peninsula that forms the N end of the Bay of Haifa. The port of the city was located there from the Persian period onward. By the time of the Christian Era, the location of Acco had come to include the peninsula and is included in the area of modern ʽAkko.

Situated about 39 km (24 mi) S of Tyre, Acco was the most important seaport on the harbor-shy Palestinian coast until Herod the Great ran seawalls out from the shore to produce an artificial port at Caesarea. Acco was inferior to the Phoenician ports to the N and provided but poor shelter from the sea winds. However, it was strategically located close to the approach to the rich Plain of Jezreel (Esdraelon), and several commercial trade routes connected the port with Galilee, the Jordan Valley, and other points to the east. Timber, artistic commodities, and grain were exported through Acco.

Acco pertained to the territorial division assigned to Asher in the Promised Land, but Asher failed to drive out the Canaanites who were then living there. (Jg 1:31, 32) Mentioned only once in the Hebrew Scriptures, the city is more frequently referred to in non-Biblical records. Its name occurs several times in the Amarna Tablets. Other records show that it was subjugated by the Assyrian kings Sennacherib and Ashurbanipal. The city is mentioned in the Apocrypha as a center of opposition during the rule of the Maccabees. (1 Maccabees 5:15, 22, 55; 12:45-48; 13:12) By then its name had been changed to Ptolemais, a name originated by Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt.

Under Emperor Claudius, the city of Ptolemais (Acco) became a Roman colony, and in apostolic times there was a group of Christians there. When returning from his third missionary tour, Paul put in at Acco (then known as Ptolemais) and spent the day visiting the brothers there before traveling on to Caesarea and Jerusalem.​—Ac 21:7.

Today ʽAkko is eclipsed in importance by the modern city of Haifa, located directly across the bay.

A charge of wrongdoing. The one accused is called to account.

One Hebrew word rendered “accusation” (sit·nahʹ) comes from the root verb sa·tanʹ, meaning “resist.” (Ezr 4:6; compare Zec 3:1.) The most common Greek word for “accuse” is ka·te·go·reʹo, carrying the idea of ‘speaking against’ someone, usually in a judicial or legal sense. (Mr 3:2; Lu 6:7) At Luke 16:1 the Greek word di·a·balʹlo, rendered ‘accuse,’ may also be translated ‘slander.’ (Int) It is related to di·aʹbo·los (slanderer), root of the word “Devil.”

The Greek term translated ‘accuse falsely’ in Luke 3:14 (sy·ko·phan·teʹo) is rendered ‘extort by false accusation’ in Luke 19:8. It literally means “take by fig-showing.” Of the various explanations of the origin of this word, one is that in ancient Athens the exporting of figs from the province was prohibited. One who denounced others, accusing them of attempting to export figs, was termed a “fig-shower.” The term came to designate a malignant informer, a person who accused others out of a love of gain, a false accuser, a blackmailer.

One might be called to account and charged with wrong, yet be entirely innocent, blameless, the victim of a false accuser. Hebrew law, therefore, set forth the responsibility each one in the nation had to bring to account wrongdoers, and at the same time it adequately provided protection for the accused. A few examples from the Mosaic Law will serve to illustrate these principles. If a person had any knowledge respecting a crime, he had to bring the accusation before the proper authorities. (Le 5:1; 24:11-14) The authorities, in turn, were to “search and investigate and inquire thoroughly” into the accusations to determine their validity before administering punishment. (De 13:12-14) An observer was not to hide wrongdoing or fail to bring an accusation against a guilty one, even if the person was a close relative like a brother, son, daughter, or marriage mate. (De 13:6-8; 21:18-20; Zec 13:3) The testimony of two or three witnesses was required, and not just the word of a single accuser.​—Nu 35:30; De 17:6; 19:15; Joh 8:17; Heb 10:28.

The Law of Moses also gave the accused the right to face his accuser before a court of justice in order that the truth of the charges might be fully established. (De 19:16-19; 25:1) A classic instance of this was the case of the two prostitutes who, with a baby, appeared before wise King Solomon for him to decide which one was its mother.​—1Ki 3:16-27.

Roman law likewise required the accusers to appear in court. So, when the Roman citizen Paul stood trial before governors Felix and Festus, his accusers were ordered to appear also. (Ac 22:30; 23:30, 35; 24:2, 8, 13, 19; 25:5, 11, 16, 18) Paul’s appearance before Caesar in Rome, however, was on his own appeal that he might win an acquittal, and not that he might accuse his own nation. (Ac 28:19) Not Paul, not even Jesus, but Moses, by his conduct and by what he wrote, accused the Jewish nation of wrongdoing.​—Joh 5:45.

Three Hebrews were accused of not worshiping Nebuchadnezzar’s gold image and were pitched into the furnace. The accusation was true, though based on a bad law. However, they were innocent of wrongdoing, and upon appeal to the Supreme Court of Heaven they were cleared of any guilt by Jehovah. (Da 3:8-25) Similarly, Daniel was delivered from death, and the accusers who hatched the plot against him were thrown to the lions. (Da 6:24) The word “accused” in these two accounts translates an Aramaic phrase literally meaning “had eaten the pieces [of flesh torn from the body],” and it may also be rendered “slandered.” (Da 3:8; 6:24; ftns) Opposers of the reconstruction of the temple in Jerusalem wrote a letter accusing the builders of wrongdoing, and a ban against the work based on the false accusation was imposed, a ban that was later proved unlawful. (Ezr 4:6–6:12) In like manner the religious leaders sought out ways of accusing Jesus as a lawbreaker. (Mt 12:10; Lu 6:7) They finally succeeded in having the innocent man arrested, and at the trial they were most vehement in their false accusation of the Righteous One, Jesus. (Mt 27:12; Mr 15:3; Lu 23:2, 10; Joh 18:29) These examples show how wrong it is to accuse others falsely, especially if the accusers are in positions of authority.​—Lu 3:14; 19:8.

In the Christian congregation, overseers and ministerial servants not only should be innocent of bearing false witness against others but must be free from accusation themselves. (1Ti 3:10; Tit 1:6) Hence, if accusations are brought against an older man, there should be two or three witnesses to back them up. (Mt 18:16; 2Co 13:1; 1Ti 5:19) The whole congregation must be free from accusation (1Co 1:8; Col 1:22), though this does not mean they will be free from false accusations, for, indeed, the great Adversary, Satan the Devil, is “the accuser of our brothers . . . who accuses them day and night before our God!”​—Re 12:10.

(A·chaʹia).

Prior to the Roman conquest in 146 B.C.E., Achaia properly referred only to a small region in the Peloponnesus, stretching across the southern coast of the Gulf of Corinth, in a position somewhat similar to that occupied today by the section of the same name.

In Homeric poetry Greeks in general are spoken of under the name of Achaians. Due to the prominence of the Achaean League, a confederacy of cities, as the most powerful political body in Greece at the time of its conquest, the Romans thereafter generally spoke of all Greece as Achaia.

In 27 B.C.E., when Caesar Augustus reorganized the two provinces of Greece, Macedonia and Achaia, the name Achaia then applied to all the Peloponnesus and to part of continental Greece. The province of Achaia was under the administration of the Roman Senate and was ruled through a proconsul from its capital, Corinth. (2Co 1:1) Other cities of the province of Achaia mentioned in the Christian Greek Scriptures were Athens and Cenchreae. Achaia and its neighboring province to the N, Macedonia, were often linked together in common usage.​—Ac 18:1, 18; 19:21; Ro 15:26; 16:1; 1Th 1:7, 8.

In the year 15 C.E., in response to complaints over the severity of taxation, Tiberius placed Achaia and Macedonia under imperial control, to be governed from the province of Moesia. This continued until 44 C.E. when Emperor Claudius restored these provinces to senatorial control, thereby causing a proconsul again to take up governing powers in Corinth. Due to ignorance of these facts, in the past some critics objected to the Bible’s reference to Gallio as the “proconsul of Achaia,” before whom Paul was brought. (Ac 18:12) However, the discovery of an inscription at Delphi made it evident that there was indeed a proconsul at Achaia named Gallio at the time described by the historian Luke, writer of Acts.​—See GALLIO.

At Romans 15:26 the apostle Paul speaks of the generosity of the Christians in the province of Achaia in providing help for their needy brothers in Jerusalem. During Paul’s second and third missionary journeys a considerable part of his time was spent in Achaia, and he expressed strong love for the brothers of that region.​—2Co 11:10.

(A·chaʹi·cus) [Of (Belonging to) Achaia].

One of the mature associates of the Corinthian congregation, who, together with Stephanas and Fortunatus, visited Paul while he was at Ephesus.​—1Co 16:17, 18.

(Aʹchan) [related through a play on words to Achar, meaning “Bringer of Ostracism (Trouble)”].

The son of Carmi of the household of Zabdi of the family of Zerah of the tribe of Judah; also called Achar.​—1Ch 2:7.

When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, Jehovah explicitly commanded that the firstfruits of the conquest, the city of Jericho, “must become a thing devoted to destruction; . . . it belongs to Jehovah.” Its silver and gold were to be given to the treasury of Jehovah. (Jos 6:17, 19) Achan, however, upon finding a costly garment from Shinar and a 50-shekel gold bar (worth some $6,400) and 200 silver shekels ($440), secretly buried them beneath his tent. (Jos 7:21) Actually he had robbed God! Because of this violation of Jehovah’s explicit instructions, when the next city, Ai, was attacked Jehovah withheld his blessing, and Israel was put to flight. Who was guilty? No one confessed. All Israel was then put on trial. Tribe by tribe, then family by family of the tribe of Judah, and finally, man by man of the house of Zabdi, they passed before Jehovah until Achan “got to be picked.” (Jos 7:4-18) Only then did he admit his sin. Execution quickly followed. Achan, his family (who could hardly have been ignorant of what he had done), and his livestock were first stoned to death, and then burned with fire, together with all his possessions, in the Valley of Achor, meaning “Ostracism; Trouble.”​—Jos 7:19-26.

See ACHAN.

(Achʹbor) [Jerboa; Jumping Rodent].

1. The father of Baal-hanan, who is listed as the seventh king of Edom.​—Ge 36:38, 39; 1Ch 1:49.

2. The son of Micaiah and a trusted official of King Josiah’s court. (2Ki 22:12) He is called “Abdon the son of Micah” at 2 Chronicles 34:20. Upon learning of Jehovah’s burning rage expressed in the ancient book of the Law, only recently discovered, Josiah sent Achbor as one of a committee of five to the prophetess Huldah to learn what should be done. (2Ki 22:8-14) Achbor was the father of Elnathan, a prince of the court of King Jehoiakim, and very likely the great-grandfather of King Jehoiachin.​—Jer 26:22; 36:12; 2Ki 24:8.

(Aʹchim) [possibly from Heb., meaning “May [Jehovah] Firmly Establish”].

A royal descendant of David through Solomon and an ancestor of Joseph the adoptive father of Jesus.​—Mt 1:14.

(Aʹchish).

A Philistine king of Gath who reigned during the time of David and Solomon. He was the son of Maoch or Maacah, and in the superscription of Psalm 34 is called Abimelech, perhaps a title similar to Pharaoh or Czar.​—1Sa 27:2; 1Ki 2:39.

Twice when David was in flight from Saul he found refuge in the domain of King Achish. On the first occasion, when suspected of being an enemy, David feigned insanity, and Achish let him go as a harmless idiot. (1Sa 21:10-15; Ps 34:Sup; 56:Sup) On the second visit David was accompanied by 600 warriors and their families, and so Achish assigned them to live in Ziklag. During the year and four months that they were there Achish believed that David’s band was making raids on Judean towns, whereas David was actually pillaging the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites. (1Sa 27:1-12) So successful was the deception that Achish actually made David his personal bodyguard when the Philistines were organizing an attack on King Saul, and only at the last moment, upon the insistence of the other “axis lords” of the Philistines, were David and his men sent back to Ziklag. (1Sa 28:2; 29:1-11) When David became king and warred against Gath, Achish apparently was not killed. He lived into Solomon’s reign.​—1Ki 2:39-41; see GATH.

(Aʹchor) [Ostracism; Trouble].

A valley or low plain forming part of the NE boundary of the tribal territory of Judah. (Jos 15:7) The valley’s name, meaning “Ostracism; Trouble,” resulted from its being the place where Achan and his household were stoned to death. Achan, by his stealing and hiding some booty from the capture of Jericho, had brought ostracism on the nation of Israel, including defeat at the first attack on Ai.​—Jos 7:5-26.

Some have identified the Valley of Achor with the Wadi el Qilt, a ravinelike torrent valley that passes near Jericho. However, the description of its position as given at Joshua 15:7 appears to place it more to the S, and the statement at Isaiah 65:10 would indicate a broader, more spacious area. In view of this it is tentatively identified with el Buqeiʽa (Biqʽat Hureqanya), a barren, low-lying plateau or basin, that stretches N and S across the Wadi Qumran (Nahal Qumeran) near the NW corner of the Dead Sea. Archaeological investigation there has revealed sites of ancient towns or forts as well as systems of dams.

At Hosea 2:15 Jehovah recalls Israel’s youth at the time of the Exodus, and in a prophecy of restoration from future captivity, he promises that “the low plain of Achor,” once a place of ostracism, will then become “as an entrance to hope.” And, although the area is one of wilderness, in a similar restoration prophecy God foretells that the low plain of Achor will become “a resting-place for cattle.”​—Isa 65:10.

(Achʹsah) [Anklet; Bangle].

The daughter of the Judean spy Caleb whom he offered in marriage as a prize to whoever captured the stronghold of Debir in Judah’s newly acquired territory. Caleb’s nephew Othniel, who evidently became the first judge after Joshua (Jg 3:9, 10), captured it and, as a reward, married his cousin Achsah.​—See OTHNIEL.

When Achsah left for her new home, she requested and received from her father an additional choice gift, a section containing the Upper and Lower Gulloth. (Jos 15:15-19; Jg 1:12-15) Achsah may have been the mother of Hathath.​—1Ch 4:13.

(Achʹshaph) [Place of Practicing Sorcery].

A royal city of Canaan whose king responded to the call of Jabin, king of Hazor, and joined the encampment of kings at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. (Jos 11:1, 5) He was killed in the battle that followed. (Jos 12:7, 20) The city of Achshaph was later included in the territory assigned as an inheritance to the tribe of Asher.​—Jos 19:25.

Some scholars propose identifying Achshaph with Tell Kisan (Tel Kison), a site about 10 km (6 mi) SE of Acco (Acre). However, others favor Khirbet el-Harbaj (Tel Regev) about 11 km (7 mi) SE of Haifa.

(Achʹzib) [Deceitful Place].

The name of two cities.

1. A city in the southern part of the Promised Land, in the territory of Judah. (Jos 15:44) It is understood to be the same as “Chezib” (Ge 38:5, KJ), the birthplace of Judah’s son Shelah. Joshua 15:33 shows it to be in the hilly country of the Shephelah, and it is tentatively identified with Tell el-Beida (Horvat Lavnin) 5 km (3 mi) WSW of Adullam. Lachish, Moresheth-gath, and Mareshah (mentioned along with Achzib in Mic 1:13-15) are all in that area. Cozeba, in 1 Chronicles 4:22, is generally considered to be the same as Achzib.

2. A Phoenician coastal city in the territory of the tribe of Asher. (Jos 19:29) Asher, however, never succeeded in conquering it, nor the more important city of Acco (Acre) to the S, perhaps due to hindering action on the part of the Phoenician fleet. (Jg 1:31, 32) Sennacherib of Assyria overran it in King Hezekiah’s time and mentions it in his annals under the name Akzibi. In Greek and Roman times it was called Ecdippa. It has been identified with ez-Zib (Tel Akhziv), some 14 km (9 mi) N of Acco at the mouth of the Wadi Qarn (Nahal Keziv).

As used in the Scriptures, “acre” is understood to denote the measure of land that a span of bulls can plow in a day. The Hebrew word thus rendered (tseʹmedh) literally means “span” (1Sa 14:14, ftn; 1Ki 19:19) and is also rendered “couple” (Jg 19:3), “pair” (1Sa 11:7), and ‘team’ (2Ki 9:25). Likely the measure of land referred to was somewhat less than 0.4 ha (1 acre). The word iugerum, found in the Latin Vulgate, refers to an area of 0.25 ha (0.62 acre).

This is the title by which one of the Bible books has been called since the second century C.E. It covers primarily the activity of Peter and Paul, rather than that of all the apostles in general; and it provides us with a most reliable and comprehensive history of the spectacular beginning and rapid development of the Christian organization, first among the Jews and then among the Samaritans and the Gentile nations.

The overriding theme of the entire Bible, Jehovah’s Kingdom, dominates the book (Ac 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:31), and we are constantly reminded of how the apostles bore “thorough witness” concerning Christ and that Kingdom and fully accomplished their ministry. (2:40; 5:42; 8:25; 10:42; 20:21, 24; 23:11; 26:22; 28:23) The book also provides a superb historical background against which to view the inspired letters of the Christian Greek Scriptures.

The Writer. The opening words of Acts refer to the Gospel of Luke as “the first account.” And since both accounts are addressed to the same individual, Theophilus, we know that Luke, though not signing his name, was the writer of Acts. (Lu 1:3; Ac 1:1) Both accounts have a similar style and wording. The Muratorian Fragment of the late second century C.E. also attributes the writership to Luke. Ecclesiastical writings of the second century C.E. by Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian of Carthage, when quoting from Acts, cite Luke as the writer.

When and Where Written. The book covers a period of approximately 28 years, from Jesus’ ascension in 33 C.E. to the end of the second year of Paul’s imprisonment in Rome about 61 C.E. During this period four Roman emperors ruled in succession: Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. Since it relates events through the second year of Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, it could not have been completed earlier. Had the account been written later, it is reasonable to expect that Luke would have provided more information about Paul; if written after the year 64 C.E., mention surely would have been made of Nero’s violent persecution that began then; and if written after 70 C.E., as some contend, we would expect to find Jerusalem’s destruction recorded.

The writer Luke accompanied Paul much of the time during his travels, including the perilous voyage to Rome, which is apparent from his use of the first-person plural pronouns “we,” “our,” and “us” in Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-37; 28:1-16. Paul, in his letters written from Rome, mentions that Luke was also there. (Col 4:14; Phm 24) It was, therefore, in Rome that the writing of the book of Acts was completed.

As already observed, Luke himself was an eyewitness to much of what he wrote, and in his travels he contacted fellow Christians who either participated in or observed certain events described. For example, John Mark could tell him of Peter’s miraculous prison release (Ac 12:12), while the events described in chapters 6 and 8 could have been learned from the missionary Philip. And Paul, of course, as an eyewitness, was able to supply many details of events that happened when Luke was not with him.

Authenticity. The accuracy of the book of Acts has been verified over the years by a number of archaeological discoveries. For example, Acts 13:7 says that Sergius Paulus was the proconsul of Cyprus. Now it is known that shortly before Paul visited Cyprus it was ruled by a propraetor, or legate, but an inscription found in Cyprus proves that the island did come under the direct rule of the Roman Senate in the person of a provincial governor called a proconsul. Similarly in Greece, during the rule of Augustus Caesar, Achaia was a province under the direct rule of the Roman Senate, but when Tiberius was emperor it was ruled directly by him. Later, under Emperor Claudius, it again became a senatorial province, according to Tacitus. A fragment of a rescript from Claudius to the Delphians of Greece has been discovered, which refers to Gallio’s proconsulship. Therefore, Acts 18:12 is correct in speaking of Gallio as the “proconsul” when Paul was there in Corinth, the capital of Achaia. (See GALLIO.) Also, an inscription on an archway in Thessalonica (fragments of which are preserved in the British Museum) shows that Acts 17:8 is correct in speaking of “the city rulers” (“politarchs,” governors of the citizens), even though this title is not found in classical literature.

To this day in Athens the Areopagus, or Mars’ Hill, where Paul preached, stands as a silent witness to the truthfulness of Acts. (Ac 17:19) Medical terms and expressions found in Acts are in agreement with the Greek medical writers of that time. Modes of travel used in the Middle East in the first century were essentially as described in Acts: overland, by walking, horseback, or horse-drawn chariots (23:24, 31, 32; 8:27-38); overseas, by cargo ships. (21:1-3; 27:1-5) Those ancient vessels did not have a single rudder but were controlled by two large oars, hence accurately spoken of in the plural number. (27:40) The description of Paul’s voyage by ship to Rome (27:1-44) as to the time taken, the distance traveled, and the places visited is acknowledged by modern seamen familiar with the region as completely reliable and trustworthy.

Acts of Apostles was accepted without question as inspired Scripture and canonical by Scripture catalogers from the second through the fourth centuries C.E. Portions of the book, along with fragments of the four Gospels, are found in the Chester Beatty No. 1 papyrus manuscript (P⁠⁴⁵) of the third century C.E. The Michigan No. 1571 manuscript (P⁠³⁸) of the third or fourth century contains portions of chapters 18 and 19, and a fourth-century manuscript, Aegyptus No. 8683 (P⁠⁸), contains parts of chapters 4 through 6. The book of Acts was quoted from by Polycarp of Smyrna about 115 C.E., by Ignatius of Antioch about 110 C.E., and by Clement of Rome perhaps as early as 95 C.E. Athanasius, Jerome, and Augustine of the fourth century all confirm the earlier listings that included Acts.

[Box on page 43]

HIGHLIGHTS OF ACTS

The beginning of the Christian congregation and a record of its zealous public witnessing in the face of fierce opposition

Time covered: 33 to c. 61 C.E.

Before ascending to heaven, Jesus commissions followers to be witnesses of him as Jehovah’s Messiah (1:1-26)

After receiving holy spirit, disciples boldly witness in many languages (2:1–5:42)

Jews in Jerusalem from many lands are given witness in their own languages; about 3,000 baptized

Peter and John are arrested and taken before Sanhedrin; fearlessly declare they will not stop witnessing

Filled with holy spirit, all the disciples speak the word of God boldly; multitudes become believers

Apostles are arrested; an angel releases them; brought before the Sanhedrin, they declare: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men”

Persecution results in expansion of the witness (6:1–9:43)

Stephen is seized, gives fearless witness, dies a martyr

Persecution scatters all but apostles; witness given in Samaria; Ethiopian eunuch baptized

Jesus appears to the persecutor Saul; Saul is converted, baptized, begins zealous ministry

Under divine direction the witness reaches uncircumcised Gentiles (10:1–12:25)

Peter preaches to Cornelius, his family, and his friends; these believe, receive holy spirit, and are baptized

Apostle’s report of this prompts further expansion among nations

Paul’s evangelizing tours (13:1–21:26)

First tour: To Cyprus, Asia Minor. Paul and Barnabas boldly witness publicly and in synagogues; thrown out of Antioch; mobbed in Iconium; first treated like gods in Lystra, then Paul is stoned

Circumcision issue decided by governing body at Jerusalem; Paul and Barnabas assigned to inform brothers that circumcision is not required but that believers must abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, and from fornication

Second tour: Back through Asia Minor, into Macedonia and Greece. Imprisoned in Philippi, but jailer and his family get baptized; Jews stir up trouble in Thessalonica and Beroea; in Athens, Paul preaches in synagogue, in the marketplace, then on the Areopagus; 18-month ministry in Corinth

Third tour: Asia Minor, Greece. Fruitful Ephesian ministry, then uproar by silversmiths; apostle admonishes elders

Paul is arrested, witnesses to officials, is taken to Rome (21:27–28:31)

After mobbing in Jerusalem, Paul before Sanhedrin

As prisoner, Paul gives fearless witness before Felix, Festus, and King Herod Agrippa II, also on boat en route to Rome

A prisoner in Rome, Paul continues to find ways to preach about Christ and the Kingdom

(A·daʹdah).

One of the cities in the southern part of the territory originally assigned to Judah, lying toward the border of Edom. (Jos 15:22) The Vatican Manuscript No. 1209 of the Greek Septuagint here reads A·rou·el. On this basis, as well as 1 Samuel 30:28, some scholars favor identifying it with Aroer in Judah.​—See AROER No. 3.

(Aʹdah) [shortened form of Eleadah or Adaiah].

1. The first of Lamech’s two living wives. She was the mother of Jabal and Jubal, the founders of nomadic herdsmen and musicians respectively.​—Ge 4:19-23.

2. A Canaanite daughter of Elon the Hittite, and one of Esau’s wives. As such she was “a source of bitterness of spirit to Isaac and Rebekah.” Her son’s name was Eliphaz, the father of Amalek. She may be the one called Basemath in Genesis 26:34.​—Ge 26:35; 36:2, 4, 10, 12.

(A·daiʹah) [Jehovah Has Decked [the nameholder]].

1. A descendant of Levi’s son Gershom and an ancestor of Asaph.​—1Ch 6:39-43.

2. A Benjaminite, son of Shimei.​—1Ch 8:1, 21.

3. The father of Maaseiah, who was one of “the chiefs of hundreds” that helped Jehoiada the priest overthrow wicked Athaliah’s rule and set Jehoash upon the throne of Judah.​—2Ch 23:1.

4. The father of Jedidah, who was the mother of King Josiah. (2Ki 22:1) He was a native of Bozkath, located in the Shephelah in the territory of Judah.​—Jos 15:21, 33, 39.

5. A son of Joiarib of the tribe of Judah.​—Ne 11:4, 5.

6. A priest dwelling in Jerusalem after the return from Babylonian exile, the son of Jeroham.​—1Ch 9:10-12; Ne 11:12.

7. An Israelite, one of the descendants of Bani who divorced their foreign wives and sent away their sons after the Babylonian exile.​—Ezr 10:29, 44.

8. Another of the Israelites who sent away their foreign wives and sons, his ancestral head being Binnui.​—Ezr 10:38, 39, 44.

(A·daʹli·a).

One of Haman’s ten sons.​—Es 9:7-10; see HAMAN.

(Adʹam) [Earthling Man; Mankind; Humankind; from a root meaning “red”].

The Hebrew word for this proper name occurs over 560 times in the Scriptures, most often as a generic term for individuals and mankind in general, such as “man,” “mankind,” or “human.”

1. God said: “Let us make man in our image.” (Ge 1:26) What a historic pronouncement! And what a singular position in history Adam, the “son of God,” holds​—the first human creature! (Lu 3:38) Adam was the crowning glory of Jehovah’s earthly creative works, not only because of the timing near the close of six creative epochs but, more importantly, because “in God’s image he created him.” (Ge 1:27) This is why the perfect man Adam, and his degenerate offspring to a much lesser degree, possessed mental powers and abilities far superior to all other earthly creatures.

In what way was Adam made in the likeness of God?

Made in the likeness of his Grand Creator, Adam had the divine attributes of love, wisdom, justice, and power; hence he possessed a sense of morality involving a conscience, something altogether new in the sphere of earthly life. In the image of God, Adam was to be a global administrator and have in subjection the sea and land creatures and the fowl of the air.

It was not necessary for Adam to be a spirit creature, in whole or in part, to possess Godlike qualities. Jehovah formed man out of the dust particles of the ground, put in him the force of life so that he became a living soul, and gave him the ability to reflect the image and likeness of his Creator. “The first man is out of the earth and made of dust.” “The first man Adam became a living soul.” (Ge 2:7; 1Co 15:45, 47) That was in the year 4026 B.C.E. It was likely in the fall of the year, for mankind’s most ancient calendars began counting time in the autumn around October 1, or at the first new moon of the lunar civil year.​—See YEAR.

Adam’s home was a very special paradise, a veritable garden of pleasure called Eden (see EDEN No. 1), providing him with all the necessary physical things of life, for “every tree desirable to one’s sight and good for food” for his perpetual sustenance was there. (Ge 2:9) All around Adam were peaceful animals of every kind and description. But Adam was alone. There was no other creature ‘according to his kind’ with which to talk. Jehovah recognized that “it is not good for the man to continue by himself.” So by divine surgery, the first and only case of its kind, Jehovah took a rib from Adam and fashioned it into a female counterpart to be his wife and the mother of his children. Overjoyed with such a beautiful helper and constant companion, Adam burst forth in the first recorded poetry, “This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” and she was called woman “because from man this one was taken.” Later Adam called his wife Eve. (Ge 2:18-23; 3:20) The truthfulness of this account is attested to by Jesus and the apostles.​—Mt 19:4-6; Mr 10:6-9; Eph 5:31; 1Ti 2:13.

Furthermore, Jehovah blessed these newlyweds with plenty of enjoyable work. (Compare Ec 3:13; 5:18.) They were not cursed with idleness. They were to keep busy and active dressing and taking care of their garden home, and as they multiplied and filled the earth with billions of their kind, they were to expand this Paradise to earth’s limits. This was a divine mandate.​—Ge 1:28.

“God saw everything he had made and, look! it was very good.” (Ge 1:31) Indeed, from the very beginning Adam was perfect in every respect. He was equipped with the power of speech and with a highly developed vocabulary. He was able to give meaningful names to the living creatures all around him. He was capable of carrying on a two-way conversation with his God and with his wife.

For all these reasons and many more, Adam was under obligation to love, worship, and strictly obey his Grand Creator. More than that, the Universal Lawgiver spelled out for him the simple law of obedience and fully informed him of the just and reasonable penalty for disobedience: “As for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.” (Ge 2:16, 17; 3:2, 3) Notwithstanding this explicit law carrying a severe penalty for disobedience, he did disobey.

Results of Sin. Eve was thoroughly deceived by Satan the Devil, but “Adam was not deceived,” says the apostle Paul. (1Ti 2:14) With full knowledge Adam willfully and deliberately chose to disobey and then as a criminal he tried to hide. When brought to trial, instead of showing sorrow or regret or asking for forgiveness, Adam attempted to justify himself and pass the responsibility off on others, even blaming Jehovah for his own willful sin. “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree and so I ate.” (Ge 3:7-12) So Adam was cast out of Eden into an unsubdued earth that was cursed to produce thorns and thistles, there to sweat out an existence, harvesting the bitter fruits of his sin. Outside the garden, awaiting death, Adam fathered sons and daughters, the names of only three being preserved​—Cain, Abel, and Seth. To all of his children Adam passed on hereditary sin and death, since he himself was sinful.​—Ge 3:23; 4:1, 2, 25.

This was the tragic start Adam gave the human race. Paradise, happiness, and everlasting life were forfeited, and in their place sin, suffering, and death were acquired through disobedience. “Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.” “Death ruled as king from Adam down.” (Ro 5:12, 14) But Jehovah in his wisdom and love provided a “second man,” “the last Adam,” who is the Lord Jesus Christ. By means of this obedient “Son of God” the way was opened up whereby descendants of the disobedient “first man Adam” could regain Paradise and everlasting life, the church or congregation of Christ even gaining heavenly life. “For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive.”​—Joh 3:16, 18; Ro 6:23; 1Co 15:22, 45, 47.

After sinner Adam’s expulsion from Eden he lived to see the murder of his own son, banishment of his killer-son, abuse of the marriage arrangement, and profanation of Jehovah’s sacred name. He witnessed the building of a city, the development of musical instruments, and the forging of tools out of iron and copper. He watched and was condemned by the example of Enoch, “the seventh one in line from Adam,” one who “kept walking with the true God.” He even lived to see Noah’s father Lamech of the ninth generation. Finally, after 930 years, most of which was spent in the slow process of dying, Adam returned to the ground from which he was taken, in the year 3096 B.C.E., just as Jehovah had said.​—Ge 4:8-26; 5:5-24; Jude 14; see LAMECH No. 2.

2. A city mentioned at Joshua 3:16 as being at the side of Zarethan. It is generally identified with Tell ed-Damiyeh (Tel Damiya’), a site E of the Jordan River about 1 km (0.6 mi) S of the confluence of the Jordan and the torrent valley of Jabbok; it is about 28 km (17 mi) NNE of Jericho. The name of the city may be derived from the color of the alluvial clay, which is abundant in that region.​—1Ki 7:46.

The Bible record indicates that the damming up of the Jordan’s waters at the time of Israel’s crossing the river took place at Adam. The Jordan Valley narrows considerably, beginning at the site of Tell ed-Damiyeh (Tel Damiya’) northward, and history records that in the year 1267 a blockage of the river occurred at this very point due to the falling of a lofty mound across the river, stopping the flow of water for some 16 hours. In modern times, earth tremors in the summer of 1927 again caused landslides that dammed up the Jordan so that the flow of water was cut off for 21 1⁄2 hours. (The Foundations of Bible History: Joshua, Judges, by J. Garstang, London, 1931, pp. 136, 137) If this was the means God saw fit to employ, then such a damming of the river in the days of Joshua was miraculously timed and effected so as to synchronize with the crossing of the Jordan on the day previously announced by Jehovah through Joshua.​—Jos 3:5-13.

(Adʹa·mah) [Ground].

One of the fortified cities in the territory assigned to the tribe of Naphtali. Its location is not definitely known.​—Jos 19:32, 36.

(Adʹa·mi-neʹkeb) [Ground of Piercing (Boring)].

A place in the southern part of Naphtali. (Jos 19:33) Its site is generally identified as Khirbet et-Tell (Tel Adami), above and W of Khirbet ed-Damiyeh, about 16 km (10 mi) ENE of Nazareth and approximately midway between Tiberias and Mount Tabor. Its position commanded a pass on an old caravan route between Gilead and the Plain of Acco.

(Aʹdar).

The postexilic name of the 12th Jewish lunar month of the sacred calendar, but the 6th of the secular calendar. (Es 3:7) It corresponds to part of February and part of March. It is after the month Adar that the intercalary month, called Veadar, or the second Adar, is added in certain years.

During this month, which came at the close of the winter season and led into spring, the carob trees began to blossom in parts of Palestine, and in the warm lowlands the orange and lemon trees were ready for harvesting.

By a royal decree of King Ahasuerus of Persia the 13th day of Adar was to mark the destruction of all the Jews in the jurisdictional districts of his domain, this at the instigation of his prime minister, Haman. A new decree, issued through Queen Esther’s mediation, enabled the Jews to gain a victory over their would-be assassins, and thereafter Mordecai ordered the 14th and 15th days of Adar to be celebrated in commemoration of their deliverance. (Es 3:13; 8:11, 12; 9:1, 15, 20, 21, 27, 28) This Jewish festival is known as Purim, a name derived from “Pur, that is, the Lot.”​—Es 9:24-26; see PURIM.

Adar is also the month in which Governor Zerubbabel finished the reconstruction of the temple in Jerusalem. (Ezr 6:15) Elsewhere in the Bible it is mentioned only as “the twelfth month.”​—2Ki 25:27; 1Ch 27:15; Jer 52:31; Eze 32:1.

(Adʹbe·el).

A grandson of Abraham, listed third among the 12 sons of Ishmael, his mother being an Egyptian. He was the chieftain of a tribal clan bearing his name.​—Ge 21:21; 25:13-16; 1Ch 1:29.

(Adʹdar).

1. A son of Bela, a Benjaminite.​—1Ch 8:1, 3.

2. A southern border town of Judah located near Kadesh-barnea. (Jos 15:3) In Joshua’s account it is listed as lying between Hezron and Karka, but at Numbers 34:4 it appears that the name Hezron (meaning “Courtyard; Settlement”) is combined with Addar to form Hazar-addar, since the accounts are parallel. The book Biblical Archaeology (by G. E. Wright, 1962, p. 71) suggests as a possible location that of ʽAin el-Qudeirat, where a perennial spring waters a small but fertile valley. It lies about 8 km (5 mi) NNW of ʽAin Qedeis, the possible location of Kadesh-barnea.

(Adʹdi).

The son of Cosam and father of Melchi. As a descendant of David through Nathan, Addi was an ancestor of Jesus.​—Lu 3:28, 31.

(Adʹdon).

Apparently an unidentified location in Babylonia, from which some returning to Jerusalem in 537 B.C.E., at the end of the 70-year desolation of Judah, were unable to establish their genealogy from the public records. As a consequence, they were disqualified from serving in the priesthood. Some scholars think Addon was an individual who was unable to prove his ancestry.​—Ezr 2:59-62; Ne 7:61-64.

(Adʹi·el) [God Is an Ornament].

1. The father of Azmaveth, whom King David appointed to be over his royal treasure house.​—1Ch 27:25, 31.

2. One of the chieftains of the tribe of Simeon, who, in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah in the eighth century B.C.E., shared in the dispossession of the Hamites from the region near Gedor.​—1Ch 4:36, 38-41.

3. An Aaronic priest of the paternal house of Immer whose father was Jahzerah. His son Maasai served at Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile.​—1Ch 9:12.

(Aʹdin) [Pleasure-Given].

One of the paternal heads of Israel, several hundred of whose descendants returned from Babylonian exile with Zerubbabel. (Ezr 2:15; Ne 7:20) Later, 51 more of his lineage returned with Ezra in 468 B.C.E. (Ezr 8:6) A princely representative of Adin’s paternal house was among those who attested to the “trustworthy arrangement” drawn up in the days of Nehemiah.​—Ne 9:38; 10:1, 16.

(Adʹi·na) [from a root meaning “luxuriate” [that is, get pleasure]].

The son of Shiza, and an officer over 30 other Reubenites in David’s army.​—1Ch 11:26, 42.

See JOSHEB-BASSHEBETH.

(Ad·i·thaʹim).

One of the cities of Judah located in the Shephelah, or lowland. (Jos 15:33, 36) The exact site is uncertain.

The Hebrew word sha·lishʹ (third man, referring to the third warrior in a war chariot) has been translated in various Bible versions as “captain,” “chariot-leader,” “lord,” “warrior,” “adjutant.”

Some monumental inscriptions illustrating “Hittite” and Assyrian war chariots show three men: one, the driver; another, the fighter with the sword, lance, or bow; and a third, the carrier of the shield. Though Egyptian monuments usually do not show three-manned chariots, the term is used at Exodus 14:7 with respect to Pharaoh’s charioteers. The third chariot warrior, usually the one carrying the shield, was an assistant commander in the war chariot, an adjutant. The English word “adjutant” literally means “one that helps; assistant.”

After mentioning that none of the sons of Israel were constituted slaves by Solomon, 1 Kings 9:22 states: “For they were the warriors and his servants and his princes and his adjutants and chiefs of his charioteers and of his horsemen.” Commenting on this text, C. F. Keil states that the term sha·li·shimʹ (plural), used in this passage, could be understood as “royal adjutants.”​—Commentary on the Old Testament, 1973, Vol. III, 1 Kings, p. 146.

In the days of King Jehoram of Israel, the Syrians put Samaria under siege, which in time caused famine conditions within the city. When Elisha prophesied that there would be plenty of food, Jehoram’s special adjutant ridiculed the prophecy. As Elisha had foretold, the adjutant saw the fulfillment of the prophecy but did not get to eat any of the food, being trampled to death in the gateway.​—2Ki 7:2, 16-20.

At Jehu’s command, his runners and adjutants, likely including Bidkar, struck down the Baal worshipers. (2Ki 9:25; 10:25) Pekah, another adjutant referred to in the Scriptures, assassinated Pekahiah the king of Israel and succeeded him to the throne.​—2Ki 15:25; see Eze 23:15, ftn.

(Adʹlai).

Father of Shaphat, who served as overseer of the herds of David in the low plains.​—1Ch 27:29.

(Adʹmah) [Ground].

One of the five cities in the region of “the Low Plain of Siddim” inhabited by Canaanites. (Ge 10:19; 14:1-3) This low plain, or vale, was probably near the southern end of the Salt Sea.

Along with the neighboring cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboiim, and Bela (Zoar), Admah and its king, Shinab, suffered defeat at the time of the invasion by four eastern kings. (Ge 14:8-11) Deuteronomy 29:23 shows that Admah was later destroyed along with Sodom, Gomorrah, and Zeboiim when Jehovah caused a rain of fire and sulfur to descend upon the entire basin. (Ge 19:25) At Hosea 11:8 it is referred to, along with Zeboiim, as a warning example.

Many scholars believe that the original sites of Admah and the other “cities of the District” now lie submerged beneath the waters of the Salt Sea, though some others recently have claimed that the ruins of the cities may be identified with sites along wadis to the E and SE of the Dead Sea.​—Ge 13:12.

(Ad·maʹtha) [from Persian, meaning “Unconquered”].

One of the seven princes in the kingdom of Persia and Media who had access to King Ahasuerus. These princes concurred in the judgment against Queen Vashti, and apparently such a committee of seven regularly served the Persian kings as counselors.​—Es 1:14; Ezr 7:14.

A managerial procedure or an arrangement for supervision in the fulfilling of a responsibility or the attaining of a goal.

The Hebrew word translated “administration” in 1 Chronicles 26:30 (pequd·dahʹ) comes from the root pa·qadhʹ, meaning “visit; turn attention to.” (Ru 1:6, ftn) It is also rendered “care; oversight.”​—2Ch 24:11; Nu 3:32; compare 2Ki 11:18, ftn; see OVERSEER.

From the start of human history God authorized perfect man to care for the earth and have in subjection its creatures. (Ge 1:26-28) After man’s rebellion, particularly from the Flood forward, a patriarchal system of administration developed and became prominent. It managed family affairs and property and enforced standards of conduct.

The handling of Israel’s national affairs by Moses according to the divine will during the 40-year wilderness trek provides a brilliant example of administration, including the delegation of authority to reliable subordinates. (Ex 18:19-26) Within the priesthood the prime responsibility for administration rested on the high priest (Nu 3:5-10); however, others were given the responsibility of the oversight and supervision of certain departments of service. (Nu 3:25, 26, 30-32, 36, 37; 4:16) Following Israel’s entry into the Promised Land, judges acted as administrators of the nation, with divine backing.​—Jg 2:16, 18; Ru 1:1.

Upon the establishment of the kingdom in Israel, a more complete system of administration developed. Under King David the administrative structure was quite detailed, with officials directly under the king and with divisional administrators serving throughout the country. (1Ch 26:29-32; 27:1, 16-22, 25-34) The priesthood was also thoroughly organized during David’s reign, with supervisors for the tabernacle work, officers and judges, gatekeepers, singers and musicians, and the setting up of 24 priestly divisions for handling the service at the tabernacle. (1Ch 23:1-5; 24:1-19) Solomon’s administration was even more extensive and provides an outstanding example of capable administration in the construction of the temple.​—1Ki 4:1-7, 26, 27; 5:13-18.

Other nations also developed complex systems of administration, as indicated by the classes of officials assembled by King Nebuchadnezzar at the time of inaugurating his golden image. (Da 3:2, 3) Daniel himself was ‘made ruler’ (from Aramaic, sheletʹ) over the jurisdictional district of Babylon and under him civil “administration” (Aramaic, ʽavi·dhahʹ) was given to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.​—Da 2:48, 49.

In the Christian Greek Scriptures, proper use of the delegated authority and responsibility resting upon those charged with overseeing the application and execution of God’s expressed will among his people is often discussed; and this is done by references to stewardship and oversight. (Lu 16:2-4; 1Co 9:17; Eph 3:2; Col 1:25; Tit 1:7) While responsibility to God is shown to be of paramount importance (Ps 109:8; Ac 1:20), the interests of those who serve under such administration are also stressed.​—1Pe 4:10; see STEWARD.

What is the “administration” that God has put into operation since 33 C.E.?

In his undeserved kindness God has purposed to have “an administration [Gr., oi·ko·no·miʹan, literally, “household management”] at the full limit of the appointed times, namely, to gather all things together again in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth.” (Eph 1:10; compare Lu 12:42, ftn.) This “administration,” or managerial procedure, which God has been carrying on since the day of Pentecost of 33 C.E., has as its objective the unification of all his intelligent creatures. The first stage of God’s “administration” is the gathering together again of “the things in the heavens,” preparing the congregation of Kingdom heirs who are to live in the heavens under Jesus Christ as the spiritual Head. (Ro 8:16, 17; Eph 1:11; 1Pe 1:4) The second stage of this “administration” is the gathering together again of “the things on the earth,” preparing those who are to live in an earthly paradise.​—Joh 10:16; Re 7:9, 10; 21:3, 4.

(Adʹna) [Pleasure].

1. An Israelite, descendant of the paternal house of Pahath-moab, among those who agreed to send their non-Israelite wives away during the cleansing that took place following the counsel of Ezra the priest.​—Ezr 10:30, 44.

2. A priest belonging to the paternal house of Harim, during the days of High Priest Joiakim and of Nehemiah and of Ezra the priest.​—Ne 12:12-15, 26.

(Adʹnah) [Pleasure].

1. A valiant military officer of Manasseh who deserted from Saul to David’s army at Ziklag. He fought at David’s side in the pursuit of the marauding band of Amalekites that ravaged David’s camp at Ziklag, and he came to be a chief in David’s army.​—1Ch 12:20, 21; 1Sa 30:1, 2, 17-19.

2. A Judean general of the armies during the reign of King Jehoshaphat, commanding 300,000 valiant, mighty warriors, and exercising control over an additional 480,000 troops under the command of generals Jehohanan and Amasiah, all of whom ministered to the king at Jerusalem.​—2Ch 17:13-16, 19.

(A·doʹni-beʹzek) [Lord of Bezek].

A powerful ruler who, prior to the Israelite attack at Bezek, had humbled 70 pagan kings by cutting off their thumbs and great toes.

A similar practice was employed at one time by the ancient Athenians, who decreed that prisoners of war should lose their thumbs. Thereafter they could row but were unfit to handle a sword or spear. Soon after Joshua’s death the combined forces of Judah and Simeon clashed with 10,000 troops of the Canaanites and Perizzites at Bezek, causing Adoni-bezek to flee from the defeat. Upon being captured, his thumbs and great toes were also severed, at which time he declared: “Just the way I have done, so God has repaid me.” He was transported to Jerusalem, where he died.​—Jg 1:4-7.