Abigail Series

Abigail

Abigail was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible who married Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death (1 Samuel 25). Abigail was David's second wife after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married to Palti, son of Laish when David went into hiding.

The name Abigail has a variety of possible meanings, including "my father's joy" and "source of joy."

In 1 Samuel 25, Nabal demonstrates ingratitude towards David, the son of Jesse (from the tribe of Judah), and Abigail attempts to placate (appease) David to stop the future King from taking revenge. She gives him food and speaks to him, urging him not to "have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed" (verse 31, NIV) and reminding him that God will make him a "lasting dynasty" (verse 28). Jon Levenson calls this an "undeniable *adumbration" of Nathan's prophecy in 2 Samuel 7. The commentator notes that Abigail pronounces a "crucial prophecy," and the Talmud regards her as one of the Tanakh's seven female prophets. Levenson, however, suggests that she "senses the drift of history" from intelligence rather than from special revelation.

*adumbration - a sketchy or incomplete representation of something

Abigail is described as intelligent and beautiful. After Abigail reveals to Nabal what she has done, "God struck Nabal, and he died" (v. 38), after which David married her. The Talmud amplifies this idea, mentioning her as one of the "four women of surpassing beauty in the world" (the other three being Rahab, Sarah, and Esther). Being married to the wealthy Nabal, she is also a woman of high socioeconomic status. Whether David married her because he was attracted to her, as an astute political move, or both is unclear. Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel, is the only woman in the Hebrew Bible who is described as both intelligent and beautiful. After detailing Nabal's enormous wealth in flocks (1 Sam 25:2), the narrative introduces her in contrast to him. She is "of good sense and beautiful in looks." At the same time, he is "hard and evil in his deeds" (v. 3). As Abigail later asserts (v. 25), his character befits his name, Nabal, meaning "fool" or "boor" (see Prov 17:7, 21, and Isa 32:6). He is also identified as a Calebite, perhaps a rival clan for the Judean monarchy. (David has not yet been publicly anointed, King). Alternatively, the written text states he is "like his heart." Later, the narrative recounts that "his heart died within him and he became like a stone" (v. 38). Mean and inhospitable, he meets his fate, measure-for-measure, in the hardening of his heart. This characterization explains why Nabal responds so rudely to David's request for sustenance, likening him to a runaway servant (Vv. 10–11), and why one of his young men turns to Abigail to save them all, explaining: "he is such a nasty fellow that no one can speak to him" (v. 17). Further, it accounts for Abigail's motivation: why she intervenes secretly to provide a feast for David and his men without consulting her husband. In a subtle twist, she simultaneously saves her household and allies herself with David, eventually in matrimony when she is fortuitously widowed

Abigail and David's second wife, Ahinoam the Jezreelite, accompany David and his war band as they seek refuge in Philistine territory. While David and his men are encamped near Jezreel, the women are captured by Amalekites, who raided the town of Ziklag and carried off the women and children. David led the pursuit, and they were subsequently rescued. Both wives settle with David in Hebron, where Abigail gives birth to David's second son, Chileab (also called Daniel).

Abigail is also listed as one of the seven Jewish women prophets, the other six being Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Sarah, Huldah, and Esther. In terms of her moral character, Abigail's conduct indicates "a most appealing character and unwavering faith," with a tendency to sometimes being rebellious.

The story of Abigail contrasts with that of Bathsheba. In one, the wife prevents David from murdering her foolish and greedy husband. In the second, David orders the death of a good man because he desires his wife. "In the Abigail story, David, the potential king, is seen as increasingly strong and virtuous, whereas in the Bathsheba story, the reigning monarch shows his flaws more overtly and begins to lose control of his family."

A commentator suggests that Abigail may, in fact, also be the same person as Abigail, mother of Amasa. However, he points out, "based on the final form of Old Testament canon, references to Abigail in the biblical accounts indicate two different individuals."

Abigail became the mother of one of David's sons, who is listed in the Book of Chronicles under the name Daniel in the *Masoretic Text of the Books of Samuel as Chileab. In the Septuagint text of 2 Samuel 3:3 as ?a????a, Dalouia Her name is spelled Abigal in 2 Samuel 17:25 in the American Standard Version.