Bible Word Study
עַבְדְּאֵל
ʻAbdᵉʼêl · Abdeel, an Israelite
עַבְדְּאֵל
Abdeel, an Israelite
Definition
Abdeel is a proper name meaning 'servant of God' or 'worshipper of God.' It is the name of an Israelite mentioned only once in the Old Testament. The name is a theophoric name, combining the Hebrew word for 'servant' with the divine name 'El' (God). This name is similar to other Hebrew names like Obadiah (servant of Yahweh) and reflects a common naming practice that expressed devotion to God.
Biblical Usage
The name Abdeel appears only in Jeremiah 36:26. In this context, Abdeel is the father of Shelemiah, who was commanded by King Jehoiakim to arrest the prophet Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch after the king burned the scroll containing Jeremiah's prophecies. This single usage places the name within a narrative of political and religious conflict during the reign of a king who opposed God's word.
Etymology
The name derives from the Hebrew root עָבַד (ʿāḇaḏ, H5647), meaning 'to serve, work, or worship,' and אֵל (ʾēl, H410), a primary name for God. It is a compound name literally meaning 'servant of El (God).' It is a cognate of the name עַבְדִיאֵל (ʿAḇdîʾēl, H5661), which has the same meaning but uses the full divine name.
Semantic Range
As a theophoric name meaning 'servant of God,' it embodies a key biblical identity for God's people. While the individual is not a major figure, the name itself is a theological statement, reflecting the ideal relationship between a person and the divine. Understanding such names enriches reading by highlighting how faith and identity were woven into the fabric of daily life in ancient Israel. In ancient Israelite culture, names often carried significant meaning and were not merely labels. A name like Abdeel publicly identified an individual or family with the worship and service of God. This practice differs from many modern naming conventions where names are often chosen for sound or family tradition rather than explicit semantic meaning. עַבְדִיאֵל (ʿAḇdîʾēl, H5661) — A variant name with identical meaning ('servant of God'). עֹבַדְיָה (ʿŌḇaḏyâ, H5662) — Means 'servant of Yahweh,' using the covenant name of God.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]