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Biography
About|the wife of David|more information on the human name "Abigail"|Abigail (name)|other uses|Abigail (disambiguation) Abigail (Hebrew Name 2|??????????|??????????|Avigáyil||?A?î?áyil|?A?î?ayil|"her Father's joy" or "fountain of joy", spelt Abigal in Bibleref2|2Samuel|3:3|NIV|2 Samuel 3:3) was the wife of Nabal ; she became a wife of David (biblical king)|David after Nabal's death ( Books of Samuel|1 Samuel Bibleref2-nb|1SAM|25|NIV). She became the mother of one of David's sons, who is listed in the Book of Chronicles under the name Daniel (son of David)| Daniel ,bibleverse|1|Chronicles|3:1| in the Masoretic Text of the Books of Samuel as Chileab, bibleverse|2|Samuel|3:3| and in the Septuagint text of 2 Samuel 3:3 as ?a????a, Dalouia . http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/sep/sa2003.htm 2 Samuel 3, LXX Jon D. Levenson|Levenson and Halpern suggest that Abigail may, in fact, also be the same person as Abigail (mother of Amasa)|Abigail, mother of Amasa . Jon D. Levenson and Baruch Halpern , "The Political Import of David's Marriages," Journal of Biblical Literature|JBL 99 1980 511-512.
Biblical history
In the passage from 1 Samuel, Nabal demonstrates ingratitude towards David , and Abigail attempts to placate David in order to stop him 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 Yahweh|God will make him a " Davidic line|lasting dynasty " (verse 28). Jon Levenson calls this an "undeniable wikt:adumbration|adumbration " of Nathan (prophet)|Nathan 's prophecy in Covenant (biblical)#Davidic covenant|2 Samuel 7 . Jon D. Levenson , "1 Samuel 25 as Literature and History," Catholic Biblical Quarterly|CBQ 40 1978 20. Alice Bach notes that Abigail pronounces a "crucial prophecy,"Alice Bach, " http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp? title=1945& C=1780 The Pleasure of Her Text," Union Seminary Quarterly Review 43 1989 44. and the Talmud regards her as one of the Tanakh 's seven female prophets. Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah http://www.halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Megilah.pdf 14a Levenson, however, suggests that she "senses the drift of history" from intelligence rather than from special revelation.
After Abigail reveals to Nabal what she has done, " YHWH struck Nabal and he died," (v.38), after which David married her.
The text explicitly describes Abigail as "intelligent and beautiful" (1 Samuel 25:3, NIV , also in the JPS Tanakh ). The Talmud amplifies this idea, mentioning her as being one of the "four women of surpassing beauty in the world." Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah http://www.halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Megilah.pdf 15a In terms of her moral character, Abraham Kuyper argues that Abigail's conduct indicates "a most appealing character and unwavering faith," Abraham Kuyper , Women of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1941), 106. but Alice Bach regards her as subversive.Alice Bach, " http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp? title=1945& C=1780 The Pleasure of Her Text," Union Seminary Quarterly Review 43 1989 41.
Generic use
Abigail's self-styling as a handmaid bibleverse|1|Samuel|25:25| and following led to Abigail being the traditional term for a waiting-woman, for example as the waiting gentlewoman in Beaumont and Fletcher 's The Scornful Lady , published in 1616. Jonathan Swift and Henry Fielding use Abigail in this generic sense, as does Charlotte Brontë . Anthony Trollope makes two references to the abigail (all lower case) in The Eustace Diamonds , at the beginning of Chapter 42. William Rose Benet notes the notoriety of Abigail Hill , better known as "Mrs Masham", a lady-in-waiting to Anne of Great Britain|Queen Anne .''The Reader's Encyclopedia , 1948, s.v. "Abigail". commons category|David and Abigail
In art
Abigail is a featured figure on Judy Chicago 's installation piece The Dinner Party , being represented in one of the 999 tiles of the List of women in the Heritage Floor|Heritage Floor . cite web | author= | year=2007 | title=Abigail | work=Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art: The Dinner Party: Heritage Floor: Abigail | publisher= Brooklyn Museum | url= http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/heritage_floor/abigail.php | accessdate=13 December 2011Chicago, 69.
Notes
reflist
Bibliography
Chicago, Judy. The Dinner Party: From Creation to Preservation . London: Merrell (2007). ISBN 1-85894-370-1
Prophets of the Tanakh DEFAULTSORT:Abigail Category:11th-century BC women Category:10th-century BC women Category:Hebrew Bible people Category:Wives of David Category:Books of Samuel
