Hebrew word · H1893
הֶ֫בֶל
hevel
Abel
As a common noun (H1892), 'breath, vapour, a puff of wind', and figuratively something brief, insubstantial or futile (Ecclesiastes' key word, 'vanity'; Ps 39:5–6; 144:4). As a proper name (H1893) it is 'Abel'.
Appears 8 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
A man living at the time before the Flood, first mentioned at Gen.4.2;
son of: Adam (H0121) and Eve (H2332);
brother of: Cain (H7014B) and Seth (H8352)
Also named: Abel (Ἄβελ "Abel" G0006)
§ Abel = "breath"
second son of Adam and Eve, killed by his brother Cain
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
As a common noun (H1892), 'breath, vapour, a puff of wind', and figuratively something brief, insubstantial or futile (Ecclesiastes' key word, 'vanity'; Ps 39:5–6; 144:4). As a proper name (H1893) it is 'Abel'.
- Against the English
The English 'Abel' hides the connection completely. A Hebrew hearer would hear 'Breath' or 'Vapour'.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Ps 144:4 ('Man is like a breath [hevel]; his days are like a passing shadow'); Eccl 1:2. Unlike Cain (4:1) and Seth (4:25), Abel is given no explanation for his name in the story.
- Range of meaning
As a name, Abel. It sounds the same as the common noun hevel (Strong's H1892), "breath, vapor, something fleeting or insubstantial," the word behind Ecclesiastes' "vanity." A separate proposal connects the name with Akkadian aplu, "son, heir," a word from ancient Mesopotamia.
- Against the English
"Abel" gives English readers no hint of the sound. The name is a transliteration, so there is no mistranslation, only a lost echo.
- Used elsewhere in the period
- Ecclesiastes 1:2: hevel as the book's keyword.
- Psalm 144:4: "Man is like a breath (hevel)."
- Genesis 4:1–2: Eve explains Cain's name, but the text gives no explanation for Abel's. See R. Hess on personal names in Genesis 1–11 for the Akkadian proposal.
- Range of meaning
As a common word: breath, vapor, something with no substance, futility (Ps 39:5–6; Eccl 1:2). As a name: Abel.
- Against the English
“Abel” looks like a name with no meaning. Hebrew hearers would have heard “Breath.”
- How it drifted
Names stay as sounds in translation, so the meaning is lost.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The narrator gives no explanation for the name, which is unusual, since Cain’s name is explained in 4:1. The Ecclesiastes refrain “hevel of hevels” uses the same word.
Where it appears
Genesis · 8
-
Genesis 4:2 הָ֑בֶל הֶ֙בֶל֙ Abel
Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
-
Genesis 4:4 וְהֶ֨בֶל הֶ֖בֶל and Abel, Abel
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
Here: The name is spelled exactly like the common word hevel, 'breath, vapour, a passing puff' (the 'vanity' of Ecclesiastes). Putting the name first in the clause sets Abel up as a contrast to Cain in verse 3: 'As for Abel…'.
-
Genesis 4:8 הֶ֣בֶל הֶ֥בֶל Abel
Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
Here: The name is the same as the common word hevel, “breath, vapor,” the word Ecclesiastes uses for what is fleeting. Abel never speaks in the story, and his life passes like a breath.
-
Genesis 4:9 הֶ֣בֶל [is] Abel
And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Here: The victim's name. It sounds identical to the common word for "breath" or "vapor," the word Ecclesiastes uses for what cannot be held, though this passage never comments on the sound.
-
Genesis 4:25 הֶ֔בֶל Abel
And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.