Abdon
“Servile or service”
Summary
The name of a judge of Israel, a Levitical city in Asher, and several other men in Scripture.
☩Judge of Israel
Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite of the tribe of Ephraim, served as the twelfth judge of Israel for eight years. His administration was peaceful, with no record of foreign oppression during his time. The account notes that he had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on young donkeys, a mark of their wealth and social standing. He is possibly the same person as the Bedan mentioned in Samuel's farewell speech, though this identification is uncertain. Abdon was buried in Pirathon in the hill country of Ephraim, identified with the modern Fer'ata about six miles west of Shechem.
☩Messenger to Huldah
Another Abdon was the son of Micah, one of the officials sent by King Josiah to inquire of the prophetess Huldah concerning the book of the Law that had been found in the temple. In the parallel account in 2 Kings, he is called Achbor the son of Michaiah.
☩Other Individuals and the City
Scripture mentions two other men named Abdon: a son of Shashak and chief Benjamite in Jerusalem, and the firstborn son of Jehiel, father of Gibeon, who was an ancestor of King Saul. Additionally, Abdon was a Levitical city in the territory of Asher, given to the Gershonite Levites. It is identified with the modern site of Abdeh, about eight to ten miles northeast of Accho.
Related Verses8 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Abdon," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Abdon (1)," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Abdon," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Abdon (1)," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).