ABEL, LOUIS FELIX°

ABEL, LOUIS FELIX° (1878–1953), French archaeologist. Abel was born in Saint-Uze (Drome), France, joined the Dominican Order in 1898, and served as professor at the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem from 1903 until his death. His principal work was Géographie de la Palestine, 2 vols. (1934), the first dealing with physical geography, and the second with political geography and topography. With L.H. Vincent\>\> , he wrote Jerusalem ancienne et nouvelle (1912–14), regarded as one of the best monographs on Christian Jerusalem. He also collaborated with Vincent in monographs on Bethlehem, Emmaus, and Hebron. Toward the end of his life, Abel published his Histoire de la Palestine, 2 vols. (1952), covering the period from Alexander the Great to the Arab conquest. His other works include studies on the topography of the Hasmonean Wars, an account of travels in the Jordan Valley and in the Dead Sea area, as well as a grammar of the Septuagint and the New Testament. (Michael Avi-Yonah)