Abdiel ( "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 Books of the Bible, biblical narrative, as in the case of Nabal, a foolish man whose name means "fool". Names in the Bible can represent human hopes, d ...

which has been used as the name for a number of notable people. The name has the same meaning as

Obadiah Obadiah (; – ''ʿŌḇaḏyā'' or – ''ʿŌḇaḏyāhū''; "servant/slave of Yah"), also known as Abdias, is a biblical prophet. The authorship of the Book of Obadiah is traditionally attributed to the prophet Obadiah. The ma ...

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."Authorised Version / King James Version

People

Notable people with the name include: * Abdiel Arroyo (born 1993), Panamanian footballer * Abdiel Ayarza (born 1992), Panamanian footballer *

Abdiel Colberg Abdiel Colberg (born December 20, 1957) is a Puerto Rican television producer and movie director. Among the movies which he directed and co-wrote is ''Los Díaz de Doris'' (1999), a drama starring Cordelia González, Braulio Castillo, Jr., Ra ...

(born 1957), Puerto Rican film director and television producer * Abdiel Crossman (1804–1859), mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana * Abdiel Vázquez (born 1984), Mexican pianist * Abdiel Villa (born 1983), Mexican footballer *

Aperel Aperel (sometimes written as Aperia) was a vizier of ancient Egypt, who served during the reigns of the 18th-dynasty kings Amenhotep III and Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'' ...

(fl. c. 1350s BCE), ancient Egyptian courtier and administrator

Other uses

Paradise Lost

Chief among characters bearing the name Abdiel is the

seraph A seraph ( ; pl.: ) is a celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and in the fif ...

Abdiel appearing in Milton's ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

'' (1667), specifically in Book V and Book VI. Two passages from Book V serve to establish Abdiel's character: Abdiel denounces

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

after hearing him incite revolt among the

angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

, and abandons

Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...

to bring the news of his defection to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. However, when he arrives, he finds that preparations are already underway for battle. In the ensuing fight, Abdiel smites

, Ariel,

Ramiel Ramiel (, ''Raʿamʾēl''; ) is a fallen Watcher angel. He is mentioned in Chapter 6 of the apocryphal Book of Enoch as one of the 20 Watchers that sinned and rebelled against God by mating with human women and creating offspring called Nephili ...

, and

Arioch Arioch () appears in Genesis 14 as the name of the King of Ellassr () who participated in the Battle of Siddim. Led by Chedorlaomer, the four kings Amraphel, Arioch, Chedorlaomer, and Tidal engaged in a punitive expedition against five kings ...

, presumably among others. In '' Asimov's Annotated Paradise Lost'',

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

theorized that Abdiel was in fact a representation of Milton himself. Likewise, in ''Cyder'',

Ambrose Philips Ambrose Philips (167418 June 1749) was an England, English poet and politician. He feuded with other poets of his time, resulting in Henry Carey (writer), Henry Carey bestowing the nickname "Namby-Pamby" upon him, which came to mean affected, wea ...

refers to Milton as "that other bard" and contrasts Milton to his character Abdiel.

Other uses

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

Madeleine L'Engle Madeleine L'Engle (; 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 Planet'' ...

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

Margaret Weis Margaret Edith Weis (; born March 16, 1948) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the ''Dragonlance'' role-playing game (RPG) world. She is f ...

in the '' Star of the Guardians'' trilogy as a villain * by

Anatole France (; born ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters.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 and others led by Satan. The war ends with the defeat and ca ...

'' 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 by Atlus, originally for Nintendo Switch. It is part of the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series, the central series in the ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. It was published by Atlus in Japan, Sega in North Ameri ...

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

References

{{given name Hebrew-language names Individual angels Theophoric names