Abdiel

Abdiel (Hebrew עֲבְדִּיאֵל "Servant of God") is a biblical name which has been used as the name for a number of fictional characters and as a given name for several notable people. Abdiel is cognate to the Arabic language name ‘Abdullah, which shares the same meaning.

In the King James Bible, Abdiel is mentioned a single time, in :

Fictional characters

Chief among fictional characters bearing the name Abdiel is the seraph Abdiel appearing in Milton's "Paradise Lost" (1667), specifically in and . Two passages from Book V serve to establish Abdiel's character:

Abdiel denounces Satan 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 Satan, Ariel, Ramiel, and Arioch, presumably among others. In "Asimov's Annotated Paradise Lost", Isaac Asimov 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.

The character name "Abdiel" has also been used:
* by Madeleine L'Engle in "Many Waters" as one among the seraphim
* by Margaret Weis in the "Star of the Guardians" trilogy as a villain
* by Anatole France in "Revolt of the Angels" 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 in "To Reign in Hell" as the angel who catalyzes the dispute between Yaweh and Satan which would eventually result in the revolt in Heaven

Given name

Abdiel has also been used as a human given name. Two Puerto Ricans share the name "Abdiel Colberg", one a professional rollerblader born in 1983, the other a film director and television producer. Abdiel Crossman of the United States was a 19^th Century mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana.

The name is very common in Panama