ACHBOR ("Mouse"):
- 1. Father of Baal-hanan (comp. Hannibal), king of Edom (Gen. xxxvi. 38, 39, and in the corresponding list of I Chron. i. 49). It has been suggested that the name implies a species of totemism (W. R. Smith, "Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia," p. 302), and the discovery of sacrificial mice by the Palestine Exploration Fund ("Quart. Statement," 1893, p. 296; see illustration in next column) gives the theory some interest. The name Baal-hanan ben Achbor finds an exact parallel in the inscription on the accompanying seal, Hananyahu bar Achbor.V01p165005.jpgHananyahu bar Achbor.(From Benzinger.)
- 2. One of the men sent by King Josiah to consult the prophetess Huldah concerning the finding of the "book of the law" (II Kings, xxii. 12, 14); son of Michaiah. In II Chron. xxxiv. 20 his name is given as Abdon, but the existence of the name Achbor on an archaic Hebrew seal found at Jerusalem (see illustration above) proves this to be a misreading. Achbor is referred to again only as the father of Elnathan (Jer. xxvi. 22, xxxvi. 12).
G. B. L.J.
