Who was Abdeel in the Bible?

Abdeel was the father of Shelemiah, an official under King Jehoiakim of Judah. His son was one of the men sent to arrest the prophet Jeremiah and his scribe, Baruch, as recorded in Jeremiah 36:26.

Why is Abdeel mentioned in the Bible?

Abdeel is mentioned only to identify his son, Shelemiah, who played a minor role in a key event. This event shows the king's opposition to God's word after Jeremiah's scroll was read, highlighting the conflict between the prophet and the royal court.

What happened to Abdeel's son in the Bible?

Abdeel's son, Shelemiah, was commanded by King Jehoiakim to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet after the king burned the scroll containing Jeremiah's prophecies. However, the verse states 'the Lord hid them,' so the arrest was unsuccessful (Jeremiah 36:26).

Abdeel

Old TestamentDivided MonarchyMaleKingFather

Abdeel was the father of Shelemiah, an official sent by King Jehoiakim to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah.

Abdeel

Biography

Abdeel was the father of Shelemiah, an official of King Jehoiakim of Judah who was ordered to arrest the prophet Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch after the public reading of Jeremiah's scroll in the temple courts (Jeremiah 36:26). When word reached the palace that Baruch had read the scroll aloud, the princes summoned Baruch and then reported its contents to King Jehoiakim, who responded with contempt, cutting the scroll apart and burning it section by section (Jeremiah 36:22–23). Jehoiakim then commanded Shelemiah son of Abdeel, along with Jerahmeel the king's son and Seraiah son of Azriel, to seize both Jeremiah and Baruch, but Scripture notes that "the LORD hid them" (Jeremiah 36:26). Abdeel's family thus appears at the precise moment when royal power attempted to silence prophetic testimony.

Significance

Abdeel is remembered solely as the father of a man who was sent to arrest God's prophet, and failed. The episode in Jeremiah 36 is a dramatic illustration of the conflict between royal authority and prophetic truth in the final decades of the Judean monarchy. Jehoiakim's burning of the scroll did not silence Jeremiah; God commanded the prophet to dictate the words again, this time with additional judgment pronounced against the king (Jeremiah 36:27–32). Shelemiah's failed arrest mission underscores the futility of opposing divine purposes. His father Abdeel, by giving a name to a line that served royal opposition to prophecy, is preserved in Scripture as part of the resistance God overcame in preserving his word.

Verse Appearances (1)

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 36:26

References

Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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