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).