Who Was Abigail in the Bible — In Biblical Context

The Biblical Context

Abigail stands as one of the most remarkable women in the Old Testament — celebrated for her wisdom, quick thinking, humility, and godly discernment. She was the wife of Nabal, a wealthy but foolish and harsh man of Carmel whose name literally means 'fool.' When David and his men were in the wilderness, they protected Nabal's shepherds and flocks. At sheep-shearing time, a time of festivity and generosity, David sent ten young men to Nabal requesting provisions. Nabal responded with contempt: 'Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?' David, enraged by this ingratitude and insult, armed four hundred men to destroy Nabal and his household. One of Nabal's young servants told Abigail what had happened. Without telling her husband, she quickly prepared two hundred loaves, two bottles of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched corn, an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. She went out to meet David and his men, and when she saw them, she dismounted and bowed herself to the ground. Abigail's speech to David is a masterpiece of diplomacy and theology. She took responsibility for her husband's foolishness, acknowledging that Nabal 'is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.' She asked David to 'let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.' She reminded David that the Lord would make him a 'sure house,' that he fought the Lord's battles, and that evil should not be found in him. She urged him not to shed blood unnecessarily: 'The soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.' David blessed her: 'Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.' When Abigail returned home, Nabal was drunk from his feast. She told him nothing until the morning. When she did tell him, 'his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.' Ten days later, the Lord smote Nabal, and he died. When David heard, he sent for Abigail and married her. Abigail's story teaches several lessons: wisdom can avert disaster, a godly woman can influence great men for good, and the Lord judges the foolish while rewarding the discerning. Her quick action, humble demeanor, and theological insight make her one of Scripture's most admirable women.

Where It Sits in Scripture

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