ABIHAIL [AB ih hail] (father of strength) — the name of three men and two women in the Old Testament:

1. A Levite and the father of Zuriel in the time of Moses (Num. 3:35).

2. The wife of Abishur, a descendant of Hezron of the tribe of Judah (1 Chr. 2:29).

3. The head of a family in the tribe of Gad who lived in Gilead of Bashan (1 Chr. 5:14).

4. A daughter of Eliab (David's brother) and the wife of King Rehoboam (2 Chr. 11:18).

5. The father of Queen Esther, who became the wife of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I, 485–464 B.C.), king of Persia, in the place of Vashti. Abihail was therefore also an uncle of Mordecai (Esth. 2:15; 9:29).