Abihail

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Abihail (‘father is might’). 1 . As the name of a man it occurs ( a ) in   1 Chronicles 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 (  Esther 2:15;   Esther 9:29 ).

2 . As the name of a woman it occurs three times: ( a )   1 Chronicles 2:29 , the wife of Abishur, of the tribe of Judah; this is its only occurrence in pre-exilic writings. ( b )   Numbers 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 )   2 Chronicles 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.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

("father of splendor".)

1. Wife of Rehoboam, king of Judah, daughter, i.e. descendant of Eliab, David's oldest brother. But Keil argues that  2 Chronicles 11:19-20 shows that in  2 Chronicles 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.  Numbers 3:35.

3.  1 Chronicles 2:23.

4.  1 Chronicles 5:14.

5. Father of Queen Esther, and uncle of Mordecai ( Esther 2:15).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Abiha'il. (Father Of, that is, Possessing, Strength).

1. Father of Zuriel, chief of the Levitical father of Merari, a contemporary of Moses.  Numbers 3:35. (B.C. 1490).

2. Wife of Abishur.  1 Chronicles 2:29.

3. Son of Huri, of the tribe of Gad.  1 Chronicles 5:14.

4. Wife of Rehoboam. She is called the daughter, that is, descendant, of Eliab, the elder brother of David.  2 Chronicles 11:18. (B.C. 972).

5. Father of Esther and uncle of Mordecai.  Esther 2:15;  Esther 9:29.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 1 Chronicles 2:29 2 2 Chronicles 11:18 Numbers 3:35 4 Esther 2:15 5 1 Chronicles 5:14

Easton's Bible Dictionary

•  Numbers 3:35 .
• 1Chronicles 2:29.
• 1Chronicles 5:14.
• The second wife of King Rehoboam (2Chronicles 11:18), a descendant of Eliab, David's eldest brother.
• The father of Esther and uncle of Mordecai ( Esther 2:15 ).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The wife of Rehoboam, king of Judah,  2 Chronicles 11.18; the "daughter" - that is here, the descendant-of Eliab, David's brother.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Abicha'yil, אֲבַיחִיַל , Father Of [i.e. Endowed With ] might, or perhaps leader of the song), the name of three men and two women.

1. (Sept. ‘Αβιχαϊ v Λ . ) The father of Zuriel, which latter was the chief of the Levitical family of Merari at the exode ( Numbers 3:35). B.C. ante 1657.

2. (Sept. ‘Αβιγαία v. r . ‘Αβιχαία .) The wife of Abishur (of the family of Jerahmeel), and mother of Ahban and Molid ( 1 Chronicles 2:29, where the name in some MSS. is Abiha'Yil, אֲבַיהִיַל , apparently by error). B.C. considerably post 1612.

3. (Sept. ‘Αβιχαία .) The son of Huri, and one of the family chiefs of the tribe of Gad, who settled in Bashan ( 1 Chronicles 5:14), B.C. between 1093 and 782.

4. (Sept. ‘Αβιαϊάλ v. r. ‘Αβιαϊ v Α and ‘Αβιχαία .) The second wife of king Rehoboam, to whom she or the previous wife bore several sons ( 2 Chronicles 11:18). B.C. 972. She is there called the "daughter" of Eliab, the son of Jesse, which must mean descendant [ (See Father) ], since David, the youngest of his father's sons, was thirty years old when he began to reign, eighty years before her marriage.

5. (Sept. ‘Αμιναδάβ v. r. ‘Αβιχαϊ v Α .) The father of Esther, and uncle of Mordecai ( Esther 2:15;  Esther 9:29;' comp. 2:7). B.C. ante 479.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ab´i - hāl ( אביחיל , 'ăbhı̄ḥayil  ; 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 L evite and the father of Zuriel, who in the Wilderness was head of the house of Merari, Levi's youngest son ( Numbers 3:35 ); (2) The wife of Abishur, a man of the tribe of Judah, in the line of Hazron and Jerahmeel ( 1 Chronicles 2:29 ); (3) One of the heads of the tribe of Gad, who dwelt in Gilead of Bashan ( 1 Chronicles 5:14 ); (4) Either a wife of Rehoboam, king of Judah, or mother of his wife Mahalath, according to the interpretation of the text ( 2 Chronicles 11:18 ); probably the latter view is correct, since there is no conjunction in the text, and since ( 2 Chronicles 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 the former queen, Vashti, ( Esther 2:15;  Esther 9:29 ). He was uncle of Mordecai.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Abihail, 1

Abiha´il (Father of light or splendor), the wife of Rehoboam, king of Judah. She is called the daughter of Eliab, David's elder brother ( 2 Chronicles 11:18); but was doubtless only his descendant.

Abihail, 2

Abihail (Father of might, i.e. mighty). This name should be written Abichail. It was borne by several persons:

Abichail, the son of Huri, one of the family-chiefs of the tribe of Gad, who settled in Bashan ( 1 Chronicles 5:14).

Abichail, the father of Zuriel, who was the father of the Levitical tribes of Merari ( Numbers 3:35).

Abichail, the father of Queen Esther, and brother of Mordecai ( Esther 2:15).