Abdeel is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Abdeel is mentioned only once in the King James Bible, in Jeremiah 36:26, and only as the father of a man named Shelemiah. The verse reads: “But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.” Abdeel himself does not appear as an actor in the narrative; he is identified solely through his son, who was one of three men ordered by King Jehoiakim to arrest the prophet Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch.
The setting is the court of King Jehoiakim of Judah, near the end of the seventh century B.C. Jeremiah had dictated to Baruch a scroll of the LORD’s words concerning judgment against Judah, and Baruch had read it publicly in the temple. When the scroll was brought to the king and read before him, Jehoiakim cut it apart and burned it in the fire, showing his contempt for the word of God. It was in the wake of that defiance that the king issued the command to seize Baruch and Jeremiah.
Scripture records nothing else about Abdeel—no deeds, no words, no personal history. His only appearance in the biblical text is as the father of a man who was sent to arrest a prophet. The verse does not say whether Abdeel approved of his son’s errand, knew of it, or was even alive at the time. He remains a name in a genealogy of obedience and disobedience, remembered because his son was named among those who sought to silence God’s messenger.
The Name
The name Abdeel appears to be a Hebrew compound name, most likely meaning “servant of God” or “servant of El,” from the elements *ʿebed* (“servant”) and *ʾēl* (“God”). This general pattern is well attested in Hebrew personal names, such as Obadiah (“servant of the LORD”) and Abdiel. While the precise vocalization and derivation of this particular name are not beyond question, the meaning “servant of God” is the most natural and widely recognized understanding, and it is consistent with the naming conventions of the period. It should be noted that the meaning of a name in Scripture does not guarantee the character of the one who bears it.
A Closing Thought
There is a quiet irony worth noticing here: a man whose name likely means “servant of God” is remembered only because his son was sent to arrest God’s prophet. Yet Abdeel is not condemned in Scripture—he is simply named. His story is a reminder that we do not always see the full harvest of the choices made in our households, and that a name, however noble, is not the same as a life. What matters is not the label we carry but the allegiance we live out, and the God who hid Jeremiah is well able to hide and keep His own.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Jeremiah 36:26 — But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.