ABRABANEL, ISAAC, called also ABRAVANEL, ABARBANEL (1437-1508), Jewish statesman, philosopher, theologian and com mentator, was born at Lisbon of an ancient family which claimed descent from the royal house of David. Like many of the Spanish Jews he united scholarly tastes with political ability. He was a favourite of King Alphonso V., who entrusted him with im portant state business, but after his death in 1481 Abrabanel was compelled to flee to Spain, where he held for eight years (1484-92) the post of a minister of state under Ferdinand and Isabella. After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 Abrabanel resided at Naples, Corfu and Monopoli, and in 1503 removed to Venice, where he was a minister of state till his death in 1508. Abrabanel was one of the first to see that for Biblical exegesis it was necessary to reconstruct the social environment of olden times, and he skilfully applied his practical knowledge of state-craft to the elucidation of the books of Samuel and Kings.