Abdiel (Hebrew:עֲבְדִּיאֵל "Servant ofEl") is abiblical name which has been used as the name for a number of notable people. The name has the same meaning asObadiah and is cognate with the Arabic nameAbdullah. Abdiel is mentioned a single time in the Bible, in1 Chronicles 5:15: "Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son ofGuni, chief of the house of their fathers."[1]
Notable people with the name include:
Chief among characters bearing the name Abdiel is theseraph Abdiel appearing inMilton'sParadise Lost (1667), specifically inBook V andBook VI. Two passages from Book V serve to establish Abdiel's character:
Had audience; when among the Seraphim
Abdiel, than whom none with more zeal adored
The Deity, and divine commands obeyed
— Book V, lines 804-806
So spake the Seraph Abdiel, faithful found
Among the faithless, faithful only he
Among innumerable false. Unmoved,
Unshaken, unreduced, unterrified
His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal.
— Book V, lines 896-900
Abdiel denouncesSatan after hearing him incite revolt among theangels, and abandonsLucifer to bring the news of his defection toGod. However, when he arrives, he finds that preparations are already underway for battle. In the ensuing fight, Abdiel smitesSatan,Ariel,Ramiel, andArioch, presumably among others. InAsimov's Annotated Paradise Lost,Isaac Asimov theorized that Abdiel was in fact a representation of Milton himself. Likewise, inCyder,Ambrose Philips refers to Milton as "that other bard" and contrasts Milton to his character Abdiel.
The character nameAbdiel has also been used:
