Abdiel ( he, עֲבְדִּיאֵל "Servant of El") is a

biblical name Names play a variety of roles in the Bible. They sometimes relate to the nominee's role in a biblical narrative The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in C ...

which has been used as the name for a number of several notable people. The name has the same meaning as Obadiah and is cognate with the Arabic name Abdullah. Abdiel is mentioned a single time in the Bible, in 1 Chronicles 5:15: " Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers."

People

Notable people with the name include: * Abdiel Arroyo (born 1993), Panamanian footballer * Abdiel Ayarza (born 1992), Panamanian footballer * Abdiel Colberg (born 1957), Puerto Rican film director and television producer *

Abdiel Crossman Abdiel Daily Crossman (1804 – June 13, 1859) was Mayor of New Orleans from April 6, 1846 to March 26, 1854, having served four consecutive terms. He was the second and last Whig Party (United States), Whig mayor of the city, and notab ...

(1804–1859), mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 1846–1854 * Abdiel Vázquez (born 1984), Mexican pianist * Abdiel Villa (born 1983), Mexican footballer * Aperel (fl. c. 1350s BCE), ancient Egyptian courtier and administrator

Fictional characters

Paradise Lost

Chief among fictional characters bearing the name Abdiel is the seraph Abdiel appearing in Milton's ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

'' (1667), specifically in

Book V A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arra ...

and

Book VI A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

. Two passages from Book V serve to establish Abdiel's character: Abdiel denounces

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

after hearing him incite revolt among the angels, and abandons Lucifer to bring the news of his defection to God. However, when he arrives, he finds that preparations are already underway for battle. In the ensuing fight, Abdiel smites

, Ariel, Ramiel, and

Arioch Arioch ( ''’Aryōḵ'') appears in the Book of Genesis as the name of the "King of Ellasar", who participated in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim. The battle is described in Genesis as consisting of four kings, led by Chedorlaomer of Elam (A ...

, presumably among others. In ''

Asimov's Annotated Paradise Lost ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publication ...

'',

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

theorized that Abdiel was in fact a representation of Milton himself. Likewise, in ''Cyder'', Ambrose Philips refers to Milton as "that other bard" and contrasts Milton to his character Abdiel. In the film ''Paradise Lost'', which was to be released in 2012, Abdiel was set to be played by Djimon Hounsou. However, pre-production of the project was ceased not long after, citing budgetary concerns of the production company.

Other uses

The character name ''Abdiel'' has also been used: * by

Madeleine L'Engle Madeleine L'Engle DStJ (; November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including ''A Wrinkle in Time'' and its sequels: ''A Wind in the Door'', ''A Swiftly Tilting Plan ...

in '' Many Waters'' as one among the seraphim * by Margaret Weis in the ''

Star of the Guardians Star of the Guardians is a series of four science fiction/space opera novels written by Margaret Weis without assistance from usual co-author Tracy Hickman. The original trilogy, ''The Lost King'', '' King's Test'', and '' King's Sacrifice'', con ...

'' trilogy as a villain * by Anatole France in ''

The Revolt of the Angels ''The Revolt of the Angels'' () is a 1914 novel by Anatole France. Plot ''Revolt'' retells the classic Christian story of the war in heaven between angels led by the Archangel Michael against others led by Satan. The war ends with the defeat ...

'' as the "angelic name" of the character Arcade, the guardian angel bent on causing the revolt that gives the novel its title * by

Steven Brust Steven Karl Zoltán Brust (born November 23, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He is best known for his series of novels about the assassin Vlad Taltos, one of a disdained minority group of humans livi ...

in '' To Reign in Hell'' as the ambitious angel who catalyzes the dispute between Yaweh and Satan which would eventually result in the revolt in Heaven * by Kage Baker in '' The Graveyard Game'' as an immortal who maintains certain secret machinery * As a major character in

Shin Megami Tensei V is a 2021 role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus for the Nintendo Switch. It is part of the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series, the central series of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. Produced by '' Shin Megami Tensei IV'' ...

, as an archangel who is the main representative of the game's law route

References

{{given name Hebrew-language names Individual angels