I. ABEL, (Heb. הבל) the second son of Adam and Eve. Cain and Abel having been instructed by their father Adam in the duty of worship to their Creator, each offered the first-fruits of his labors. Cain, as a husbandman, offered the fruits of the field,; Abel, as a shepherd, offered fadings of his flock. God was pleased to accept the offering of Abel, in preference to that of his brother, (Heb. xi. 4.) in consequence of which, Cain sank into melancholy, and giving himself up to envy, formed the design of killing Abel ; which he at length effected, having invited him to go into the field, Gen. iv. 8, 9. 1 John iii. 12. It should be remarked, that in our translation no mention is made of Cain inviting his brother into the field: — "Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." But in the Samaritan text, the words are express ; and in the Hebrew there is a kind of chasm, thus: "and Cain said unto Abel his brother," — "and it came to pass," &c. without inserting what he said to his brother.

The Jews had a tradition that Abel was murdered in the plain of Damascus; and accordingly, his tomb is still shown on a high hill, near the village of Sinie or Seneiah, a! unit twelve miles north-west of Damascus, on the road to Baalbek. The summit of the hill is still called Nebbi Abel ; but circumstances lead to the probable supposition, that this was the site, or in the vicinity of the site, of the ancient Ahelu or Abila. The legend, therefore, was most likely suggested by the ancient name of the place.

Paul, speaking in commendation of Abel, says, (Heb. xi. 4.) "By faith he offered unto God the more excellent sacrifice than Cain ; by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaks," even after his death. Our Savior places Abel at the head of those saints who had been persecuted for righteousness' sake, and distinguishes him by the title righteous, Matt, xxiii. 33.

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II. ABEL, (Heb. הבל) Abel-beth-Maacah, or Abel-maim, a city in the north of Palestine, of some considerable size and importance, since it is called "a mother in Israel," 2 Sam. xx. 19. For the identity of the city under these three different names, comp. 2 Sam. xx. 14, 15, 18 ; 1 Kings xv. 20 ; 2 Chron. xvi. 4. The addition of Maacah marks it as belonging to or near to the region Maacah, which lay eastward of the Jordan, under Anti-Lebanon. It is perhaps the Abela mentioned by Eusebius as lying between Paneas and Damascus.