Abel
(Heb. Hebhel), a breath, or vanity, the second son of Adam and Eve. He was put to death by his brother Cain ( Gen. 4:1-16 ). Guided by the instruction of their father, the two brothers were trained in the duty of worshipping God. “And in process of time” (marg. “at the end of days”, i.e., on the Sabbath) each of them offered up to God of the first-fruits of his labours. Cain, as a husbandman, offered the fruits of the field; Abel, as a shepherd, of the firstlings of his flock. “The Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering; but unto Cain and his offering he had not respect” ( Gen. 4:3-5 ). On this account Cain was angry with his brother, and formed the design of putting him to death; a design which he at length found an opportunity of carrying into effect ( Gen. 4:8 , 9 . Comp. 1 John 3:12 ). There are several references to Abel in the New Testament. Our Saviour speaks of him as “righteous” ( Matt. 23:35 ). “The blood of sprinkling” is said to speak “better things than that of Abel” ( Heb. 12:24 ); i.e., the blood of Jesus is the reality of which the blood of the offering made by Abel was only the type. The comparison here is between the sacrifice offered by Christ and that offered by Abel, and not between the blood of Christ calling for mercy and the blood of the murdered Abel calling for vengeance, as has sometimes been supposed. It is also said ( Heb. 11:4 ) that “Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” This sacrifice was made “by faith;” this faith rested in God, not only as the Creator and the God of providence, but especially in God as the great Redeemer, whose sacrifice was typified by the sacrifices which, no doubt by the divine institution, were offered from the days of Adam downward. On account of that “faith” which looked forward to the great atoning sacrifice, Abel’s offering was accepted of God. Cain’s offering had no such reference, and therefore was rejected. Abel was the first martyr, as he was the first of our race to die. Abel (Heb. ‘abhel), lamentation ( 1 Sam. 6:18 ), the name given to the great stone in Joshua’s field whereon the ark was “set down.” The Revised Version, however, following the Targum and the LXX., reads in the Hebrew text ’ebhen (= a stone), and accordingly translates “unto the great stone, whereon they set down the ark.” This reading is to be preferred. Abel (Heb. ‘abhel), a grassy place, a meadow. This word enters into the composition of the following words:
Adam
Red, a Babylonian word, the generic name for man, having the same meaning in the Hebrew and the Assyrian languages. It was the name given to the first man, whose creation, fall, and subsequent history and that of his descendants are detailed in the first book of Moses ( Gen. 1:27 -ch. 5). “God created man [Heb., Adam] in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Adam was absolutely the first man whom God created. He was formed out of the dust of the earth (and hence his name), and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and gave him dominion over all the lower creatures ( Gen. 1:26 ; 2:7 ). He was placed after his creation in the Garden of Eden, to cultivate it, and to enjoy its fruits under this one prohibition: “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” The first recorded act of Adam was his giving names to the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, which God brought to him for this end. Thereafter the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, and while in an unconscious state took one of his ribs, and closed up his flesh again; and of this rib he made a woman, whom he presented to him when he awoke. Adam received her as his wife, and said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” He called her Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Being induced by the tempter in the form of a serpent to eat the forbidden fruit, Eve persuaded Adam, and he also did eat. Thus man fell, and brought upon himself and his posterity all the sad consequences of his transgression. The narrative of the Fall comprehends in it the great promise of a Deliverer ( Gen. 3:15 ), the “first gospel” message to man. They were expelled from Eden, and at the east of the garden God placed a flame, which turned every way, to prevent access to the tree of life ( Gen. 3 ). How long they were in Paradise is matter of mere conjecture. Shortly after their expulsion Eve brought forth her first-born, and called him Cain. Although we have the names of only three of Adam’s sons, viz., Cain, Abel, and Seth, yet it is obvious that he had several sons and daughters ( Gen. 5:4 ). He died aged 930 years. Adam and Eve were the progenitors of the whole human race. Evidences of varied kinds are abundant in proving the unity of the human race. The investigations of science, altogether independent of historical evidence, lead to the conclusion that God “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth” ( Acts 17:26 . Comp. Rom. 5:12-12 ; 1 Cor. 15:22-49 ).
Adamah
Red earth, a fortified city of Naphtali, probably the modern Damieh, on the west side of the sea of Tiberias ( Josh. 19:33 , 36 ).
Adamant
(Heb. shamir), Ezek. 3:9 . The Greek word adamas means diamond. This stone is not referred to, but corundum or some kind of hard steel. It is an emblem of firmness in resisting adversaries of the truth ( Zech. 7:12 ), and of hard-heartedness against the truth ( Jer. 17:1 ).
Adam, a type
The apostle Paul speaks of Adam as “the figure of him who was to come.” On this account our Lord is sometimes called the second Adam. This typical relation is described in Rom. 5:14-19 .
Adam, the city of
Is referred to in Josh. 3:16 . It stood “beside Zarethan,” on the west bank of Jordan ( 1 Kings 4:12 ). At this city the flow of the water was arrested and rose up “upon an heap” at the time of the Israelites’ passing over ( Josh. 3:16 ).
Admah
Earth, one of the five cities of the vale of Siddim ( Gen. 10:19 ). It was destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah (19:24; Deut. 29:23 ). It is supposed by some to be the same as the Adam of Josh. 3:16 , the name of which still lingers in Damieh, the ford of Jordan. (See ZEBOIM .)