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Abigail - All the Women of the Bible - Bible Gateway biblegateway.com

Name Meaning—Father of Joy, Cause of Joyor

Family Connections—Scripture gives us no clue as to Abigail’s parentage or genealogy. Ellicott suggeststhat the name given this famous Jewish beauty who became the good angel of Nabal’s household waslikely given her by the villagers of her husband’s estate. Meaning “Whose father is joy,” Abigail was“expressive of her sunny, gladness-bringing presence.” Her religious witness and knowledge of Jewishhistory testify to an early training in a godly home, and acquaintance with the teachings of the prophets inIsrael, Her plea before David also reveals her understanding of the events of her own world.

The three conspicuous characters in the story of one of the loveliest females in the Bible are Nabal, Abigailand David. Nabal is described as “the man churlish and evil in his doings” ( ), and his record1 Samuel 25:3proves him to be all that. Churlish means, a bear of man, harsh, rude and brutal. Destitute of the finerqualities his wife possessed, he was likewise avaricious and selfish. Rich and increased with goods andgold, he thought only of his possessions and could be classed among those of whom it has been written—

The man may breathe but never lives

Whoe'er receives but nothing gives—

Creation’s blot, creation’s blank,

Whom none can love and none can thank.

Nabal was also a drunken wretch, as well as being unmanageable and stubborn and ill-tempered.Doubtless he was often “very drunken.” This wretch of a man was likewise an unbeliever, “a son of Belial,”who bowed his knee to the god of this world and not to the God of his fathers. Further, as a follower of Saulhe shared the rejected king’s jealousy of David. Added to his brutal disposition and evil doings was that ofstupidity, as his name suggests. Pleading for his unworthy life, Abigail asked for mercy because of hisfoolishness. “As his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him” ( ). Nabal means “avs 25fool,” and what Abigail actually meant was, “Pay no attention to my wretched husband for he’s a fool byname, and a fool by nature.” Truly, such a man will always provoke the profoundest perversion in all whoread his story.

Abigail is as “a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance.” In her, winsomeness andwisdom were wed. She had brains as well as beauty. Today, many women try to cultivate beauty andneglect their brains. A lovely face hides an empty mind. But with Abigail, loveliness and intelligence wenthand in hand, with her intelligence emphasizing her physical attractiveness. A beautiful woman with abeautiful mind as she had is surely one of God’s masterpieces.

Added to her charm and wisdom was that of piety. She knew God, and although she lived in such anunhappy home, she remained a saint. Her own soul, like that of David, was “bound in the bundle of life withthe Lord God.” Writing of Abigail as “A Woman of Tact” W. Mackintosh Mackay says that, “she possessedin harmonious combination these two qualities which are valuable to any one, but which are essential toone who has to manage men— and .”the tact of a wise wife the religious principle of a good womanEugenia Price, who writes of Abigail as, , says that, “only God can give aA Woman With God’s Own Poisewoman poise like Abigail possessed, and God can only do it when a woman is willing to cooperate asAbigail cooperated with Him on every point.” True to the significance of her own name she experienced

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Abigail cooperated with Him on every point.” True to the significance of her own name she experiencedthat in God her Father there was a source of joy enabling her to be independent of the adverse, tryingcircumstances of her miserable home life. She must have had implicit confidence in God to speak to Davidas she did about her divinely predestined future. In harmony with her many attractions was “the ornamentof a meek and quiet spirit, which is more lustrous than the diamonds that decorate the delicate fingers ofour betters, shone as an ornament of gold about her head, and chains about her neck.”

David is the other outstanding character in the record. He it was who fought the battles of the Lord, and evilhad not been found in him all his days ( ). He could match Abigail’s beauty, for it was said of him that25:28he was “ruddy...of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to” ( ). When Abigail and1 Samuel 16:12David became one they must have been a handsome pair to look upon! Then, in addition to being mostmusical, David was equal with Abigail in wisdom and piety for he was “prudent in matters,...and the Lord[was] with him” ( ).1 Samuel 16:18

The sacred historian tells us how these three persons were brought together in a tragic way. David was anoutlaw because of Saul’s hatred, and lived in the strongholds of the hills with his loyal band of 600followers. Having often helped Nabal’s herdsmen out, being in need of food for his little army, David sent akind request to Nabal for help. In his churlish fashion, Nabal bluntly refused to give David a crumb for hishungry men, and dismissed David as a marauding hireling. Angered, David threatened to plunder Nabal’spossession and kill Nabal and all those who emulated his contempt. Abigail, learning from the servants ofDavid’s request and her husband’s rude refusal, unknown to Nabal, acted with thought, care and greatrapidity. As Ellicott comments &--;

Having often acted as peace-maker between her intemperate husband and his neighbours, on hearing thestory and how imprudently her husband had behaved, saw that no time must be lost, for with a cleverwoman’s wit she saw that grave consequences would surely follow the churlish refusal and the rash words,which betrayed at once the jealous adherent of Saul and the bitter enemy of the powerful outlaw.

Gathering together a quantity of food and wine, sufficient she thought for David’s immediate need, Abigailrode out on an ass and at a covert of a hill met David and his men—and what a momentous meeting itturned out to be. With discreet tact Abigail averted David’s just anger over Nabal’s insult to hismessengers, by placing at David’s feet food for his hungry men. She also revealed her wisdom in that shefell at the feet of David, as an inferior before a superior, and acquiesced with him in his condemnation ofher brutal, foolish husband.

As a Hebrew woman was restricted by the customs of her time to give counsel only in an emergency and inthe hour of greatest need, Abigail, who had risked the displeasure of her husband whose life wasthreatened, did not act impulsively in going to David to plead for mercy. She followed the dictates of herdisciplined will, and speaking at the opportune moment her beautiful appeal from beautiful lips, captivatedthe heart of David. “As his own harp had appeased Saul, the sweet-toned voice of Abigail exorcised thedemon of revenge, and woke the angel that was slumbering in David’s bosom.” We can never gauge theeffect of our words and actions upon others. The intervention of Abigail in the nick of time teaches us thatwhen we have wisdom to impart, faith to share, and help to offer, we must not hesitate to take any risk thatmay be involved.

Abigail had often to make amends for the infuriated outbursts of her husband. Neighbors and friends knewher drunken sot of a husband only too well, but patiently she would pour oil on troubled waters, and whenshe humbly approached with a large peace offering, her calmness soothed David’s anger and gave her theposition of advantage. For her peace-making mission she received the king’s benediction ( ). Her25:33wisdom is seen in that she did not attempt to check David’s turbulent feelings by argument, but won him bywise, kind words. Possessing heavenly intelligence, self-control, common sense and vision, she exercisedboundless influence over a great man, and marked herself out as a truly great woman. After Abigail’s

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wise, kind words. Possessing heavenly intelligence, self-control, common sense and vision, she exercisedboundless influence over a great man, and marked herself out as a truly great woman. After Abigail’ssuccessful, persuasive entreaty for the life of her worthless husband, the rest of her story reads like a fairytale. She returned to her wicked partner to take up her hard and bitter life again.

It is to the credit of this noble woman that she did not leave her godless husband or seek divorce from him,but remained a loyal wife and the protector of her worthless partner. She had taken him for better or forworse, and life for her was worse than the worst. Wretched though her life was, and spurned, insulted andbeaten as she may have been during Nabal’s drinking bouts, she clung to the man to whom she had swornto be faithful. Abigail manifested a love stronger than death. But the hour of deliverance came ten daysafter her return home, when by a divine stroke, Nabal’s worthless life ended. When David hearkened to theplea of Abigail and accepted her person, he rejoiced over being kept back by her counsel from taking intohis own hands God’s prerogative of justice ( ).Romans 12:19

When David said to Abigail, “Blessed be thy advice,” he went on to confess with his usual frank generositythat he had been wrong in giving way to wild, ungovernable passion. If Abigail had not interceded he wouldhave carried out his purpose and destroyed the entire household of Nabal, which massacre would haveincluded Abigail herself. But death came as the great divorcer or arbiter, and Nabal’s wonderful wife hadno tears of regret, for amid much suffering and disappointment she had fulfilled her marriage vows. In thatfarmer’s house there had been “The Beauty and the Beast.” The Beast was dead, and the Beauty waslegally free of her terrible bondage.

After Nabal’s death, David “communed with Abigail” ( )—a technical expression for asking1 Samuel 25:39one’s hand in marriage ( )—and took her as his wife. Married to Israel’s most illustriousSong of Solomon 8:8king, Abigail entered upon a happier career. By David, she had a son named Chileab, or Daniel (compare 2

with ). The latter name means, “God is my Judge,” and one has an inkling thatSamuel 3:3 1 Chronicles 3:1the choice of such a name was Abigail’s because of her experience of divine vindication. She accompaniedDavid to Gath and Ziklag ( ). Matthew Henry’s comment at this point is, “Abigail; , 1 Samuel 27:3 30:5 18married David in faith, not questioning but that, though now he had not a house of his own, yet God’spromise to him would at length be fulfilled.” Abigail brought to David not only “a fortune in herself,” butmuch wealth so useful to David in the meeting of his manifold obligations.

Among the lessons to be learned from the life of Abigail, the first is surely evident, namely, that muchheartache follows when a Christian woman marries an unbeliever. Unequal yokes do not promote true andabiding happiness. The tragedy in Abigail’s career began when she married Nabal, a young man of Naon.Already we have asked the question, Why did she marry such a man? Why did such a lovely girl throwherself away upon such a brute of a man? According to the custom of those times marriages wereman-made, the woman having little to say about the choice of a husband. Marriage was largely a matter offamily arrangement. Nabal was of wealthy parentage and rich in his own right with 3,000 sheep and 1,000goats and thus seemed a good catch for Abigail. But character should be considered before possessions.

Many a woman in the world today made her own choice of a partner. Perhaps she knew of his failures andthought that after marriage she would reform him, but found herself joined to one whose ways becamemore evil. Then think of those brave, unmurmuring wives who have to live with the fool of a husband whosedrunken, crude ways are repellant, yet who, by the grace of God accept and live with their trial; and who,because of a deep belief in divine sufficiency retain their poise. Such living martyrs are among God’sheroines. All of us know of those good women chained with the fetters of a wretched married life for whomit would be infinitely better for them—

To lie in their graves where the head, heart and breast,

From care, labour and sorrow forever should rest.

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From care, labour and sorrow forever should rest.

Thinking of modern Abigails the appropriate lines of noble Elizabeth Barrett Browning come to mind—

The sweetest lives are those to duty wed,

Whose deeds, both great and small, and closeknit strands

Of an unbroken thread; where love ennobles all.

The World may sound no trumpets, ring no bells:

The Book of Life the shining record tells.

© 1988 Zondervan. All Rights Reserved