Meaning of the Name Abel
From the Hebrew name Hevel, meaning 'breath' or 'vapor'; the name is usually explained as 'breath' or 'what is fleeting'. Ecclesiastes uses the same word for the fleeting, breath-like nature of life, a fitting echo of Abel's short life. Some scholars have also linked the name with an Akkadian word for 'son'. Habil is the Turkish form of the name.
Origin
The name Abel is of Hebrew origin.
Who is Abel in the Bible?
Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve, a shepherd who keeps sheep. When God accepts his offering, his jealous older brother Cain kills him. The New Testament calls him righteous Abel and places him first among the examples of faith.
The story of Abel in the Bible
Abel appears in the Bible as the second child of the first family. While his older brother Cain works the soil, Abel keeps sheep. One day both brothers bring offerings to God: Cain from the fruit of the ground, Abel from the firstborn of his flock and their best portions. God looks with favor on Abel and his offering, but not on Cain's. The narrative does not explain the reason at length, yet God warns the angry Cain that sin is crouching at the door. Cain ignores the warning, invites his brother into the field and kills him there. God's question about where his brother is, and the image of Abel's blood crying out from the ground, form one of Scripture's most striking scenes. Abel never speaks a word in this short story, yet it echoes in the New Testament: Jesus speaks of the blood of righteous Abel, and the letter to the Hebrews says that Abel offered his sacrifice by faith and, though dead, still speaks through it. The same letter adds that the sprinkled blood of Jesus speaks better things than Abel's. His life, like his name, is a breath, but his witness endures.
Is Abel mentioned in the Quran?
The name Abel does not appear in the Quran; it tells the story of the two sons of Adam, their offerings and the murder, without naming them. The names Habil and Qabil became established in Islamic tradition and commentary, while the Bible gives the name Abel explicitly in Genesis.
Verses where Abel appears
- Genesis 4:2 —
Again she gave birth, to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
- Genesis 4:4 —
Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering,
- Matthew 23:35 —
that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.