Encyclopedia entry · Person
Abidan
Curator's research file
Subject · person
Abidan
Identity
- Name meaning
- father of judgment (Heb. av-din)
Family
- Parent(s)
- —
- Spouse
- —
- Children
- —
- Tribe / people
- —
Era & origin
- Era
- c. 1446 BC — wilderness period
- Region
- —
- Contemporary of
- —
Role
- Role
- Prince of the tribe of Benjamin · One of the twelve tribal heads under Moses
- Notable for
- Abidan son of Gideoni was the prince of the tribe of Benjamin during the wilderness wanderings — one of the twelve tribal leaders selected by Moses at Sinai to assist in the census and to represent their tribes in worship and march.
Network
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Abidan son of Gideoni was the prince of the tribe of Benjamin during the wilderness wanderings — one of the twelve tribal leaders selected by Moses at Sinai to assist in the census and to represent their tribes in worship and march. He helped number the men of Benjamin at the first census (Numbers 1:11), led the tribe in its station east of the tabernacle (2:22), presented the tribe's offering on the ninth day of the tabernacle's dedication (7:60–65), and stood under the Benjamite standard when Israel broke camp (10:24).
His Hebrew name means father of judgment. Nothing further is recorded of him; like most of the twelve princes, he is a name in the foundational rolls of the new nation — one of the men through whom the tribes first found their public order.
Key passages
Source · AI-drafted from biblical text and standard reference works (Smith's, Easton's, ISBE) — verify and refine against authoritative sources before publication.