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48.

Abd-ul-Mesih Abel-Cheiamim

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

in naniascus during the Miironito massacre Puad perpetratcil l)y the Druses and Mussidmans. Pasha dismissed th<se ehnr^'is, and eonipletely rehabilitated the Jews in pul]lie opinion. Besides the improvement in the jreneral condition of the Jews, this monareli's appreciation of Ins Jewish subjects is signalized l)y the appointment of Dr. Spitzer. a Jew. as liis private iihvsieian. and the allowance, in IS.IG. of a monthly pension to the famTins family, descended from the ily of Carmona celebrated Chelibi Heliar, who had been assassinated and whose fortune had been eonliseated under the preceding government, had. through the intervention of the JJoard of Deputies of British Jews of London, obtained a lirman to that elTect. Several Jews were decorated during Abd-ul-Mejid's reign.

ters

Fninrn, Ilixtoire Bini.ioi;R.piiv OltnitHin. pp. U;!-liil.

(!c.t



/.-TniViks

i(f

l'Emi)i7-c

A. D.

ABD-UL-MESIH.

ABEDNEGO

See AsiiKU

(Aramaic.

I5i.;x

Abod Nego

Lkvi.

133 nay. once NIJJ j;, iii. 2!)): The name given to Azariah, one of Danii'l's three comjianions at the court of Xebuchaduezzar. The name is evidently a corruption of Abed Nebo (133 nay). " Scrvan'tof [the Babylonian god] Nebo," a name found (written in both the cuneiform and the Aramaic characters) in an inscription of the seventh century I!. c. (Kawlinson. "Inscriptions of Western

Dan.

i.

T.

ii. 4'.l,

iii.



V2)t.ti(j.:

Asia." iii. 4(i. col. i. 81 ct scq.). and in certain early Syriac documents (see Payne-Smith, Thesaurus ") It is probable that the substitution of Nego (so also all the old versions) for Nebo was intentional, the purpose being to disfigure, or to get rid of, the name of the heathen deity (.see Kohler in "Zeitschrift fi'ir Ass_yriologie," iv. 40). Similarly, the name Barnabas appears to be a slisrhtlv disiruised form of Barnebo ' Son of Nebo " (see B.RN.BAS). T. (inj 13) '•

.

ABEL

(^3n) .—Biblical Data: The younger brother of Cain and the second son of Adam and Eve. He was the first sheiJierd, while Cain was a tiller of the soil. The writer of Gen. iv. tells us that when the l)rothers came as a matter of course to present their offerings to God, the sacrifice of Abel the firstlings of his flock was jireferrcd to that of Cain, who gave of the fruits fif the earth. The acceptance of Abel's offering aroused the jealousy of Cain, who, in spite of tlu^ warnings of God. wreaketl his vengeance upon the favorite bv murdering him. T. F. JIcC.

—

—

In Hellenistic and Rabbinical Literature Abel was regarilcd as the lirst iinioeent victim of the

power of

evil, rejiresented liy Cain; the first martyrwith the title the Just" In Enoch, x.xii. 7 the soul of Abel is the chief of the martyr-souls in Sheol. crying to God for vengeance until the seed of Cain shall be destroyed from the earth. In the vision of the bulls aiid lamlis (Enoch, l.xx.w. 3-0) Abel, wliose death is dcejily mourned by Eve. is the red bull pursued by Cain,"the black liul'l. In the Testa

saint,

nient of Al>raliam (recension

cension 7). chap, of the souls:

xi.)

Abel

is

chap. xiii.. and redescribed as the judge .1.

"an awful

niaii sittine upon tlic throne to lurtec all creatures. e.xainininir the riehteiius and Ihe .'sinners, lie hein).' ihe to die as niarlvr. (Jod lirouffht him hither [to the place of judFiiient in the nether world] to frivc judtrnient. while Enoch, the heavenl.v scribe, stands at his side writinfr down Ihe sin and the ritrliteousness of each. Forliod said: I shall not judpe .vou. hut eacli niaii shall he ludped bv man. Beinp descendants of Ihe llrst man. they sliall be judsred by his .son until the irreat and srlorious appcanince of the Lord, when they will he judged by the twelve tribes [judues] of Israel [compare .111(1

llrst

Slatt. xi.x. as J,

and Ihi'n the last .iudgment by the Lord Himself and imchanfjeable."

shall be perfect

48

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

and wholly intent ujion 'getting' |"i3p]." According to the Ethiopic Book of Adiun and Eve (ii. 1-1.")) and the Syrian Ciive of Treasures, l)ofh works of lialf-Jewisli. half-pagan (Egyptian) character (see Gclzer. "Julius Africanus." ii. 'i~i et the body of Abel the Just, after nniny days of mourning, was i)laeed in the Cave of Treasures, Before this cave, Adam and Eve and their de.scentlants fitTered their i)rayeis; and " by the blood of .bel the Just " Seth and his descendants adjured their children not to mingle with the seed of the unrighteous. It is. therefore, an awful curse hurled against the Pharisees when Jesus is re|)re.seiited as saying: "Upon you may all the righteous blood .shed upon the earth come, from the blood of the righteous .bel [eomjiare Epistle to the Hebrews, xi. 4, and I John. iii. f,'] unto the lilood of Zechariah, son of Bereehiah. whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar" (Matt, xxiii. 3.')). From Josephus ("B. J." iv. .5, § 4) it appears llmt this murder took place thirty-four years after the death of Jesus, Abel, according to Midnish. protested against Cain's denial of a divine judgment and of a future retribution, and declared for the existence of a divine judgment and a judge, a future world w ilh reward for the righteous and l>unisliiiient for the wicked. "With the first produce of the field the Lord bles.sed all the saints from Abel until now," says Issachar (Test, Patriarchs, p. ,)), According to Pirke de-R. Eliezer (chap, xxi,), Abel's dog watcheil by his corpse to keep ofl the beasts of prey and while Adam scf/.).



and Eve were sitting there, weeping and mourning, a raven came and liuried a bird in the sand. Thereujion Adam said. " Let us do the same " and he dug up the earth and buried liis son. Begarding the mourning over Abel, compare the

Book of

Jubilees, iv, 7, with the strange interpretation of Abel as "Jlourning " (as if the name were

written "las). Compare Philo, " Dc Jligrationc Abraham," xiii., and .losephus. " .Vnt." i. 2, § 1. K. God's favorable attitude toward Abel's sacrifice (Gen. iv. 4) is shown in the fact that it was con.>umed by fire from lieaven. Thisisa haggadic i<lea known to Theodotion. accepted by the Christians, and found in the works of many Cliuich Fathers, such as Cyril of Alexandria. Jerome. Ephraem Syrus. and Apliraates. In midrashic literature, however, it is found onlv in later works (Midrash Zutta. ji. lio, ed, Buber, Berlin, 1899). Woman was at the bottom of the strife between the first brothers. Each of the sons of .Vdam had a twin-sister whom lie was to marry. As Abel's twin-sister was the more beautiful. Cain wished to have lier for his wife, am] sought to .sret rid of Abel (Pirke K. Eliezer. xxi. Gen. R. xxii. 7. according to

Ginzbergs emendation



Epiphanius.

"De

ILeresi."

",Sehatzhohlc."cd, Bczold p. 34; compare, too, "The Book of the Bee." e, 27), Abel, stronger than Cain, overcame him in a struggle between them, but mercifully sjiared his life, Cain, however, tf)ok Abel unawares and, overpowering him, killed him with a slonefGen. 1{. xxii. 18) some .say with a cane, or even that he choked xl.

~),

—

liim with his fingers (compare Ginzberg, cited below, pp. 239, 230. 298, 299), The ]ilace where Abel was killed remained desolate forever, never producing vegetation (.Midrash Canticles, ed. Shechter; " Jew.Quait. Rev.." lsn4-9.'). vii. 160. Jerome, "Commentary on Ezckiel," xxvii.