Abihail
(father of, i.e. possessing, strength).
Father of Zuriel, chief of the Levitical father of Merari, a contemporary of Moses. (Numbers 3:35) (B.C. 1490.) Wife of Abishur. (1 Chronicles 2:29) Son of Huri, of the tribe of Gad. (1 Chronicles 5:14) Wife of Rehoboam. She is called the daughter, i.e. descendant, of Eliab, the elder brother of David. (2 Chronicles 11:18) (B.C. 972.) Father of Esther and uncle of Mordecai. (Esther 2:15; 9:29)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Abihail
Abihail ab'-i-hal ('abhichayil; in some manuscripts 'abhihayil, when feminine, but best reading is the former: "father, or cause, of strength"): Five persons in the Old Testament are called by this name: (1) A Levite and the father of Zuriel, who in the Wilderness was head of the house of Merari, Levi's youngest son (Nu 3:35); (2) The wife of Abishur, a man of the tribe of Judah, in the line of Hazron and Jerahmeel (1Ch 2:29); (3) One of the heads of the tribe of Gad, who dwelt in Gilead of Bashan (1Ch 5:14); (4) Either a wife of Rehoboam, king of Judah, or mother of his wife Mahalath, according to the interpretation of the text (2Ch 11:18); probably the latter view is correct, since there is no conjunction in the text, and since (2Ch 11:19) contemplates only one wife as already mentioned. This being true, she was the wife of Jerimath, a son of David, and daughter of Eliab, David's eldest brother. It is interesting to note this frequent intermarriage in the Davidic house; (5) Father of Queen Esther, who became wife of Xerxes (Biblical Ahasuerus) king of Persia, after the removal of t…
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Abihail
According to the Massora the name is re^ V.T3ii (with n, not n) in 1 Ch 2» 2 Ch 11"; but this u probably the result of a pre-Mossoretio tran- ABIHU ABILENE Bcriptional error. 1. Mentioned only in Nu 3" (P) in the phrase ' Ziiriel, son of Abihail ' (see ZUEIEL). 2. ' Wife ' of Abishur, 1 Ch 25». 3. Daughter of Eliab, eon of Jesse, and consequently a niece of David's. The onlv passage (2 Cn 11'*) where she is mentioned is slightly corrupt ; but, according to the most probable emendation, Abihail was the mother of Kuhoboam's wife Mahalath. According to another interpretation, Abihail was wife of Rehoboam ; but this is not the natural sense of the Ueb. text, and is out of harmony with the context ; vv."- ^" imply that only one wife has been mentioned. i. In this case the name occurs only in 1 Ch 5'* in a Gadite genealogy ; this Abihail was apparently a clan resident in Gilead. S. Father of Esther, and uncle of Mordecai (Est 2" 9^). For the curious variant of LXX, which gives the regular LXX equivalent of Abinadab, it is difficult to account. G. B. Gray. ABIHO (Ki.r;!< 'he is father'), se…
Fausset's Bible Dictionary on Abihail
("father of splendor".) 1. Wife of Rehoboam, king of Judah, daughter, i.e. descendant of Eliab, David's oldest brother. But Keil argues that 2Ch 11:19-20 shows that in 2Ch 11:18 only one wife is named; therefore the sense is "Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth son of David and of Abihail" (the daughter of Eliab, etc.) 2. Num 3:35. 3. 1Ch 2:23. 4. 1Ch 5:14. 5. Father of Queen Esther, and uncle of Mordecai (Est 2:15).
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia