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Abdon

Although the name Abdon is only used eight times in the Bible, it is used as the name of four men and one city.

  1. The twelfth judge of Israel ruling for eight years after Elon the Zebulonite and before Samson (Judges 12:13-15). He is identified as the son of Hillel and from the city of Pirathon of the tribe of Ephraim. He had forty sons and thirty nephews who rode on seventy asses as a sign of their significance. He is probably the Bedan mentioned as one of the judges in 1Samuel 12:11. Since no problems are mentioned, it is likely that his rule was a peaceful one. It is likely that he was chosen as an elderly but wealthy man to rule over Israel; a position he took until his death.
  2. One of the sons of Shashak of the tribe of Benjamin who was a chief ruler in Jerusalem (1Chronicles 8:22-25).
  3. The firstborn son of Jehiel and his wife Maachah of the tribe of Benjamin (1Chronicles 9:35-36; 8:28-30). He lived in Jerusalem.
  4. One of the men sent by King Josiah to inquire of the prophetess Huldah the meaning of the recently discovered book of the law (2Chronicles 34:20-22). He is the son of Micah and is identified in the parallel passage of 2Kings 22:12-14 as Achbor the son of Michaiah.

A town in the territory of the tribe of Asher that was one of the forty-eight cities given to the Levites (Numbers 35:7) and one of four out of the tribe of Asher (1Chronicles 6:74-75). Abdon was given to the Levitical family of Gershon (Joshua 21:27, 30). It is probably the same as the Hebron of Joshua 19:28 and is probably identical to the ruined city of Abdeh about nine miles northeast of Accho. It lies a few miles inland from the Mediterranean and commands one of the entries into the hills.