ABIMAEL (a-bĭm'ā-ĕl, Heb. ’ăvîmā’ēl, God is father). The ninth of the thirteen sons or descendants of Joktan, who was descended from Shem (Gen.10.28; 1Chr.1.22).

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ABIMAEL ə bĭm’ əl (אֲבִֽימָאֵ֖ל, Etymology unknown; “father of the mother of God” is to be rejected since there are no clear instances of אֵם, H562, “mother” in names. The ninth descendant of Joktan, descendant of Shem (Gen 10:28; 1 Chron 1:22).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

a-bim’-a-el, ab-i-ma’-el (’abhima’el, "my father is God," or "God is father"): The ninth of the thirteen sons of Joktan, who was descendant of Shem, and son of Eber, and brother of Peleg in whose days the earth was divided (Ge 10:25-29; 1Ch 1:19-23). Like some of the other names in this list, the name is linguistically south Arabian, and the tribes indicated are south Arabians. On the Arabic elements in Hebrew proper names see Halevy, Melanges d’epigraphie et d’archeologie semitiques; ZDMG, especially early in 1883; D. H. Muller, Epigraphie Denkmaler aus Arabien; Glaser, Skizze der Gesch. und Geog. Arabiens; and by index Hommel, Ancient Hebrew Tradition; and Gray, Hebrew Proper Names; and F. Giesebrecht, Die alttestamentliche Schatzung des Gottesnamens.

Willis J. Beecher