Agabus appears in the New Testament book of Acts as one of the group of prophets who traveled between Jerusalem and Antioch (Acts 11:27–28) and later as the prophet who met Paul in Caesarea and foretold his capture (Acts 21:10–12). The name is given in Greek as Ἄγαβος (romanized Hágabos) and in Syriac as ܚܓܒ (romanized Ḥagabo); its etymology is traced to the Aramaic Ḥagab meaning ‘Grasshopper’, which may have been a nickname or pseudonym. Later ecclesiastical tradition places him among the Seventy Disciples and describes missionary journeys and a martyrdom (accounts of arrest, torture, and stoning), though those martyrdom details derive from later tradition rather than the Acts narrative.
The supplied sources do not preserve any contemporary physical description of Agabus. Biblical accounts in Acts record his prophetic words and a symbolic enacted gesture but give no details of his clothing, stature, or facial features. Later devotional or iconographic portrayals are not documented in the provided materials.
Primary attestations describe Agabus as a human prophet who received and announced divinely given knowledge. In Acts he predicted a severe famine (Acts 11:27–28) and later warned Paul of impending capture, physically binding himself with Paul's belt as a symbolic demonstration of what would happen (Acts 21:10–12). Tradition attributes missionary activity and eventual martyrdom to him; these are extrabiblical claims reported in later sources.
Abaddon
In Hebrew scripture Abaddon is primarily a noun meaning 'destruction' or a section/condition of the underworld paired with Sheol; in the New Testament Book of Revelation Abaddon is personified as an angelic figure (Greek Apollyon) described as the king of an army of locusts released from the abyss during the apocalypse.
Abadir
Abadir is a polysemous name attested in distinct cultural contexts: a legendary founding saint and clan ancestor in eastern Ethiopia (Sheikh Abadir Umar Al‑Rida / Aw Abadir), a term applied to cone‑shaped cult stones in Phoenician religious description, and a personal name of a martyr (Abadir/Apater) in the Coptic Synaxarium. The attestations are independent usages of the same name rather than a single supernatural being.
Abadiu of Antinoe
Abadiu of Antinoe was a fourth‑century bishop of Antinoe (Antinoopolis, in Roman Egypt) commemorated as a martyr and saint in the Coptic Orthodox Church, with a feast day on 26 December. Sources record that he was killed during a theological dispute with Arian opponents and reference him in collections of Egyptian martyrs.
Abagtha
Abagtha (Hebrew: אבגתא, ’Ǎḇaḡṯā) is a named human court official in the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Esther, listed among seven chamberlains who ministered before King Ahasuerus and were commanded to bring Queen Vashti before the king. He is attested only in Esther 1:10 and is presented as an institutional palace attendant rather than a supernatural being.
Abanoub
Abanoub is a 4th‑century Egyptian Christian child martyr venerated in the Coptic tradition. Remembered for his public confession of Christ, miraculous healings associated with his passion, and the translation and veneration of his relics, his feast is observed on July 31 (Epip 24) and his cult centers include Nehisa and Samanoud.
Abaskhiron the Soldier
A Coptic Orthodox martyr venerated for refusing imperial idolatry during the Diocletian persecution; reputedly healed by the Archangel Michael, preserved in monastery relics, and commemorated on 14 June (7 Paoni).
Abdel Messih El-Makari
Abdel Messih El-Makari (1892–1963) was a Coptic Orthodox monk and priest venerated as a 20th‑century Coptic saint. Associated with the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor and the Monastery of Saint Macarius (Scetes/Wadi El‑Natrun), he is remembered for humility, asceticism, charity, and reported spiritual gifts such as prescience, discerning of spirits, and healing.
Abel
Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve in the Genesis narrative, a shepherd whose accepted offering and subsequent murder by his brother Cain form the biblical account of the first death. Later interpretive traditions expand his role, treating him as an archetypal righteous victim, a postmortem avenging or adjudicating figure, and in some systems (notably Mandaean) identifying him with an angelic lightbeing.
Abib and Apollo
Abib and Apollo are Christian ascetics and hagiographic saints of Akhmim (Upper Egypt) attested in Coptic sources and the Historia Monachorum. Remembered for extreme asceticism, monastic leadership, angelic encounters, and inclusion in the Coptic Synaxarion (feast day November 4).
Abiel
Abiel is attested in the supplied sources only as a male given name — borne by several historical American individuals and listed as two minor biblical figures. The provided materials contain no evidence presenting Abiel as a supernatural, mythological, or folkloric entity.
Abijah of Judah
Abijah (also Abijam or Abiah) is presented in the biblical and later interpretive traditions as a short-reigning human king of Judah from the Davidic line. He is portrayed as a dynastic successor whose military actions (notably the battle at Mount Zemaraim) and moral evaluation in rabbinic literature are interpreted theologically in relation to the Davidic covenant.
Abimelech
Abimelech is a Hebrew personal name and occasionally a regnal title attested in the Hebrew Bible and later traditions. It appears as the name/title of Philistine rulers in the patriarchal narratives (the "king of Gerar" who interacts with Abraham and Isaac) and as the personal name of Abimelech son of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in Judges, a dynastic usurper whose brief rule ends in violent death.
Community Record
- [1]Agabus - Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 'Agabus' article (summarizing Acts episodes and later tradition).wiki
- [2]Agabus (Wikidata entry). Wikidata entry for Agabus (note: also lists homonymous biological genus usage).other
- [3]ICACA GHANA 2016 FIELDWORK-REC 069 AGABUS. Archive recording item titled with the name Agabus (catalog entry provided in research notes).other
- [4]Contrast between New Testament and Old Testament Prophetic Ministry. Archive item discussing prophetic ministry with reference to Acts 21 and community prophetic models (referenced in research notes).other
- [5]Pilisszántói Jézus Krisztus áldása: Ringató Álom - KoBZa Dia & PáLoS TReND (HoZSo MiX). Archive item listed in research notes (Hungarian item; no direct content on Agabus in supplied excerpts).other
