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Bible Lexicons
Old Testament Hebrew Lexical Dictionary Hebrew Lexicon
Strong's #59 - אָבֵל
- Brown-Driver-Briggs
- Strong
- city in northern Israel near Bethmaachah
- the place where the ark rested in the field of Joshua at Bethshemesh
- Book
- Word
did not use
this Strong's Number
אָבֵל Arab. أَبَلَ and أَبِلَ to be wet with moisture of grass, hence, Syr. ܝܺܒܶܠ grass. Cognate is the Hebrew בָּלַל, بَلَّ to moisten, to water. Hence is אָבֵל No. II.
I. אָבֵל adj., mourning (from the root אָבַל No. I), Genesis 37:35; Lamentations 1:4, דַּרְכֵי צִיּוֹן אֲבֵלוֹת “the ways to Zion mourn.” Const. state אֲבֶל, Psalms 35:14. P1. const. אֲבֵלֵי, Isaiah 61:3, with Tzere impure; compare Arab. أَبِيلُ.
II. אָבֵל (from אָבַל No. II), apparently a grassy place, a pasture, meadow; Arabic أَبَلُ fresh and long hay, sea weed. Used as an appellative, 1 Samuel 6:18, unless for אָבֵל הַגְּדֹלָה we should read אֶבֶן הַגְּדֹלָה, which is almost demanded by verses 14 1 Samuel 6:14, 15 1 Samuel 6:15, and is given by the LXX. and Syriac. It is of frequent use in geographical names
(a) אָבֵל בֵּית ־ מַעֲכָה [Abel Beth-Maachah], i.e. situated near Beth Maachah (which see); a town of Manasseh to the east of Jordan, at the foot of Mount Lebanon, 2 Samuel 20:14, 15 2 Samuel 20:15; 1 Kings 15:20; 2 Kings 15:29 elsewhere called אָבֵל־מַיִם, 2 Chronicles 16:4 compare 1 Kings 15:20, and simply אָבֵל, 2 Samuel 20:18.
(b) אָבֵל הַשִּׁטִּים (“the meadow of acacias”), [Abel-shittim], Numbers 33:49, a place situated in the plains of Moab; the same apparently, Numbers 25:1, Micah 6:5, is simply, called שִׁטִּים.
(c) אָבֵל כְּרָמִים (“meadow of the vineyards”), Judges 11:33, a village of the Ammonites, which is stated by Eusebius to have abounded in vines even in his time.
(d) אָבֵלּ מְחוֹלָה (“the meadow of dancing”), [Abel-meholah], a village of the tribe of Issachar, between Scythopolis and Neapolis, the birth-place of Elisha the prophet, Judges 7:22; 1 Kings 4:12, 19:16.
(e) אָבֵל מִצְרַיִם Genesis 50:11 (“meadow of the Egyptians”), [Abel-mizraim], the name of a threshing-floor situated near Jordan, which is so explained in the context, that the sacred writer appears to have read without the points, and pronounced it אֵבֶל מִצְרַיִם (mourning of the Egyptians). [But why may not אָבֵל be here taken in the sense of mourning;-mourner of Egypt?]
