In the Hebrew biblical narrative Eleazar is the son of Aaron who is vested with priestly responsibilities and ultimately succeeds Aaron as high priest. Moses clothes Eleazar with the sacred vestments on Mount Hor before Aaron's death; Eleazar then serves as high priest during the wilderness period and into the early settlement of Canaan. His family line maintains the high‑priesthood for generations, and later tradition identifies his burial at Gibeah (linked in Jewish tradition with Awarta).
The provided sources do not supply a physical description of Eleazar beyond his role as a priest and recipient of the high‑priestly vestments (the specific moment on Mount Hor where Moses clothes him with sacred vestments is attested). Descriptions are functional and ritualized rather than detailed personal portraiture.
Rather than supernatural powers, Eleazar's recorded functions are priestly duties and institutional responsibilities: custody and transport oversight of sacred objects (including the Ark of the Covenant, table for showbread, altar, and tabernacle fittings carried by the Kohathites), care of cultic supplies (oil for the lampstand, incense, daily grain offering, anointing oil), performance and supervision of rites (including the ritual of the red heifer and handling of materials repurposed from Korah's censers), participation in community administration (assisting in the numbering of the people, taking part in Joshua's inauguration, and the distribution of the land), and hereditary transmission of the high priesthood to his son Phinehas.
Aaron
Aaron is a central human figure in Israelite sacred literature: the elder brother of Moses, the first high priest (progenitor of the Aaronide priesthood), and a spokesman/prophet who mediates between Israel and God in Exodus–Deuteronomy narratives. His role in the texts establishes hereditary priestly authority, ritual functions (sacrifices, blessing, use of Urim and Thummim), and institutional norms for Israelite cultic life.
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.
Abdiel
Abdiel (Hebrew עֲבְדִּיאֵל) is primarily a theophoric Hebrew personal name meaning "servant of El/servant of God," attested once in the Hebrew Bible (1 Chronicles 5:15). In later literature—most notably John Milton's Paradise Lost—Abdiel is reimagined as a faithful seraph who opposes Satan's revolt. The provided sources do not treat Abdiel as an autonomous folkloric spirit type or record rituals or wards associated with the name.
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.
Abiathar
Abiathar (Hebrew: אֶבְיָתָר, ʾEḇyāṯār) is a named human priestly figure in the Hebrew Bible. He is presented as a survivor of the Nob massacre who fled to David with priestly regalia, served as a priest and counselor in David's court, and was later deposed and sent to Anathoth by Solomon for supporting Adonijah.
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).
Community Record
- [1]Eleazar. Wikipedia: Eleazar (biblical high priest) — article summarizing biblical accounts and later traditionwiki
- [2]Eleazar (2) - Biblical Cyclopedia. Biblical Cyclopedia entry on various figures named Eleazarother
- [3]Eleazar - in ancient sources @ attalus.org. Onomastic compilation of occurrences of the name Eleazar in ancient sourcesother
- [4]Eleazar ben Shammua. Wikipedia entry for a later rabbinic figure bearing the name Eleazar (name‑sharing context)wiki
- [5]Archäologie des Judentums • Eleazar 2021 (Archive). Archived material referencing Eleazar in scholarly/archaeological contextother