ABIHAIL (‘father is might’). 1 . As the name of a man it occurs ( a ) in 1 Chronicles 5:14 as that of a Gadite who dwelt in the land of Bashan. ( b ) It was also the name of Esther’s father, the uncle of Mordecai ( Esther 2:15; Esther 9:29 ).

2 . As the name of a woman it occurs three times: ( a ) 1 Chronicles 2:29 , the wife of Abishur, of the tribe of Judah; this is its only occurrence in pre-exilic writings. ( b ) Numbers 3:35 , a daughter of the sons of Merari, of the tribe of Levi, the mother of Zuriel, a ‘prince’ among the families of Merari. ( c ) 2 Chronicles 11:18 , the mother of Rehoboam’s wife, Mahalath, and daughter of Eliab, David’s eldest brother.

It is a woman’s name in Minæan (South Arabian) inscriptions, where it occurs in the form Ili-hail .

W. O. E. Oesterley.