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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadJames Hastings Dictionary of the Bible: Abihail
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ABIHAIL (‘father is might’).—1. As the name of a man it occurs (a) in 1Ch_5:14 as that of a Gadite who dwelt in the land of Bashan. (b) It was also the name of Esther’s father, the uncle of Mordecai (Est_2:15; Est_9:29).
2. As the name of a woman it occurs three times: (a) 1Ch_2:29, the wife of Abishur, of the tribe of Judah; this is its only occurrence in pre-exilic writings. (b) Num_3:35, a daughter of the sons of Merari, of the tribe of Levi, the mother of Zuriel, a ‘prince’ among the families of Merari. (c) 2Ch_11:18, the mother of Rehoboam’s wife, Mahalath, and daughter of Eliab, David’s eldest brother.
It is a woman’s name in Minæan (South Arabian) inscriptions, where it occurs in the form Ili-hail.
W. O. E. Oesterley.