STRONGS NUMBER H57

H57. abel

I. אָבֵל‎ adjective mourning — ׳א‎ Genesis 37:35; Esther 6:12; construct אֲבֶלֿ‎ Psalm 35:14; אֲבֵלִים‎ Job 29:25; Isaiah 61:2 etc.; — for dead Genesis 37:35, calamity Esther 6:12, compare figurative Lamentations 1:4 (predicate, inanimate subject), elsewhere as substantive mourner; singular Psalm 35:14 (construct) for dead ("" קדר‎); plural Job 29:25 absolute; for calamity Isaiah 57:18; 61:2-3,(where mourners for Zion, or of Zion, see Di).

II. אבל‎ (perhaps grow green, compare grass; Lag^{BN 45} proposes withstand, hence אָבֵל‎ as withstanding scorching sun (protected by trees, springs, etc.), hence also (Lag) camel). Etymologogical conjectures very dubious; connection (Lag.) of withstand, with herbage, forage (sometimes dry) improbable, and of latter with herd of camels obscure; √ meaning grow green unattested; Syriac , , Talmud יַבְלָא‎, Punic ιεβαλ, 'grass,' apparently = a specific kind of fodder, ἄγρωστις, see Löw^{No. 141} (GFM, privately).