Abel

Abel (Hebrew Hebhel, meaning breath or vanity) was the second son of Adam and Eve and the first martyr of Scripture. A keeper of flocks, Abel offered to God the firstlings of his flock and their fat portions—an offering that God accepted, in contrast to the grain offering of his brother Cain. Moved by jealousy, Cain killed Abel, making him the first murder victim recorded in Scripture. The brief account in Genesis 4 emphasizes that Abel's blood cried out to God from the ground.

In the New Testament, Abel is cited as a paradigm of righteous faith (Hebrews 11:4), the first in a long line of righteous sufferers (Matthew 23:35), and one whose blood spoke less powerfully than the sprinkled blood of Christ (Hebrews 12:24).