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{{Short description|Wife of King David in the Bible}} 
{{About|the woman married to King David|more information on the name "Abigail"|Abigail (name)|other uses|Abigail (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Avigail|people with the given name "Avigail"|Avigail (name)}}
{{See also|Avigayil}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = A.Cortina Abigail (cropped).jpg
| caption            = Detail from ''Abigail'' by [[Antonio Cortina Farinós]], 19th cent.
| spouse             = {{ubl
|[[Nabal]]
|[[David]]
}}
| children           = [[Chileab]]
}}
'''Abigail''' ({{hebrew Name|אֲבִיגַיִל|ʾAvīgayīl|ʾĂḇīḡayīl}}) was an Israelite woman in the [[Hebrew Bible]] married to [[Nabal]]; she married the future [[David|King David]] after Nabal's death ([[Books of Samuel|1 Samuel]] {{Bibleref2-nb|1SAM|25|NIV}}).<ref name="EB">{{cite encyclopedia |editor-first=Dale H. |editor-last=Hoiberg |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Abigail |edition=15th |year=2010 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. |volume=I: A-ak Bayes |location=Chicago, IL |isbn=978-1-59339-837-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/32 32] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/32 }}</ref> Abigail was David's third wife, after [[Ahinoam]] and [[Saul]]'s daughter, [[Michal]], whom Saul later married to [[Palti, son of Laish]], when David went into hiding.

Abigail 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]]'', in the [[Masoretic Text]] of the Books of Samuel as ''Chileab,''<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Samuel|3:3|}}</ref> and in the [[Septuagint]] text of 2 Samuel 3:3 as Δαλουια, ''Dalouia''.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/sep/sa2003.htm 2 Samuel 3], LXX</ref> Her name is spelled '''Abigal''' in {{Bibleverse|2Samuel|17:25|ASV|2 Samuel 17:25}} in the [[American Standard Version]].

== Name ==
Derived from the Hebrew word ''ab,'' "father", and the Hebrew root ''g-y-l'', "to rejoice," the name Abigail has a variety of possible meanings including "my father's joy" and "source of joy".<ref>"my father's joy", "my father rejoices", "my father is joy" (or similar); from either the verbal root ''g-y-l'' "to rejoice" directly, or from the root noun ''gil'' "rejoicing, joy". See: [[Adele Berlin]] in: [[Carol L. Meyers]], Toni Craven, Ross Shepard Kraemer (eds.), ''Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000, [https://books.google.com/books?id=MFbHT73BxpAC&pg=PA43 p. 43]</ref>

==Biblical narrative==
[[File:Antonio Molinari David y Abigail.jpg|thumb|250px|''David and Abigail'' by [[Antonio Molinari (painter)|Antonio Molinari]]|left]]
In 1 Samuel 25, [[Nabal]] demonstrates ingratitude towards David, the son of [[Jesse (biblical figure)|Jesse]] (from the tribe of Judah), and Abigail attempts to placate David, in order 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 "[[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]].<ref name="Levenson">[[Jon D. Levenson]], "1 Samuel 25 as Literature and History," ''[[Catholic Biblical Quarterly|CBQ]]'' 40 [1978] 20.</ref> [[Alice Bach]] notes that Abigail pronounces a "crucial prophecy,"<ref>[[Alice Bach]], "[http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1945&C=1780 The Pleasure of Her Text] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629050426/http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1945&C=1780 |date=2011-06-29 }}," ''[[Union Seminary Quarterly Review]]'' 43 [1989] 44.</ref> and the [[Talmud]] regards her as one of the [[Tanakh]]'s seven female prophets.<ref>[[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] [http://www.halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Megilah.pdf 14a] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124155511/http://halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Megilah.pdf |date=2010-11-24 }}</ref> Levenson, however, suggests that she "senses the drift of history" from intelligence rather than from special revelation.<ref name="Levenson" />

After Abigail reveals to Nabal what she has done, "God struck Nabal and he died" (v. 38), after which David married her. Abigail is described as intelligent and beautiful. The [[Talmud]] amplifies this idea, mentioning her as being 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, or as an astute political move, or both is unclear.<ref name="Berlin">{{cite web |url=http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/abigail-bible |last=Berlin |first=Adele |title=Abigail: Bible|publisher=Jewish Women's Archive}}</ref>

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 then settle with David in Hebron, where Abigail gives birth to David's second son, Chileab (also called Daniel).<ref name="Berlin" />[[File:Escalante-abigail.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''Prudent Abigail'' by [[Juan Antonio de Frías y Escalante|Juan Antonio Escalante]]]]Abigail is also listed as one of the seven Jewish women prophets, the other six being [[Miriam]], [[Deborah]], [[Hannah (biblical figure)|Hannah]], [[Sarah]], [[Huldah]], and [[Esther]].<ref>[[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] [http://www.halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Megilah.pdf 15a] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124155511/http://halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Megilah.pdf |date=2010-11-24 }}</ref> In terms of her moral character, [[Abraham Kuyper]] argues that Abigail's conduct indicates "a most appealing character and unwavering faith,"<ref>[[Abraham Kuyper]], ''Women of the Old Testament'' (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1941), 106.</ref> but Alice Bach regards her as subversive.<ref>Alice Bach, "[http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1945&C=1780 The Pleasure of Her Text] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629050426/http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1945&C=1780 |date=2011-06-29 }}", ''Union Seminary Quarterly Review'' 43 [1989] 41.</ref>

Adele Berlin contrasts the story of Abigail 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 ever more overtly and begins to lose control of his family."<ref name=Berlin/>

[[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]].<ref>[[Jon D. Levenson]] and [[Baruch Halpern]], "The Political Import of David's Marriages," ''[[Journal of Biblical Literature|JBL]]'' 99 [1980] 511–512.</ref> [[Richard M. Davidson (theologian)|Richard M. Davidson]], however, points out that "on the basis of the final form of Old Testament canon, references to Abigail in the biblical accounts indicate two different individuals."<ref>{{cite book|last=Davidson|first=Richard M.|author-link=Richard M. Davidson (theologian)|title=Flame of Yahweh: A Theology of Sexuality in the Old Testament|year=2007|publisher=Hendrickson|page=444}}</ref>

==Generic use==
[[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 096.png|thumb|right|250px|''David and Abigail'', 1860 woodcut by [[Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld]]]]
Abigail's self-styling as a ''[[handmaid]]''<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Samuel|25:25|}} and following</ref> led to ''Abigail'' being a traditional term for a waiting-woman, for example as the "waiting [[gentlewoman]]" in [[Beaumont and Fletcher]]'s ''[[The Scornful Lady]]'', published in 1616.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Abigail|volume=1|page=62}}</ref> [[Jonathan Swift]], [[Tobias Smollett]], and [[Henry Fielding]] use ''Abigail'' in this generic sense, as does [[Charlotte Brontë]]. [[Walter Scott]], in ''[[The Abbot]]'', frequently refers to Lilias, Lady Avenel's maid as an "Abigail". [[Anthony Trollope]] makes two references to "the abigail" (all lower case) in ''[[The Eustace Diamonds]]'', at the beginning of Chapter 42, whilst [[Thomas Mann]] makes the same reference at the start of the second chapter of Part 2 in ''[[Buddenbrooks]]'' (published in 1901). [[William Rose Benet]] notes the notoriety of [[Abigail Hill]], better known as "Mrs Masham", a [[lady-in-waiting]] to [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]].<ref>''The Reader's Encyclopedia'', 1948, ''s.v.'' "Abigail".</ref> [[George MacDonald Fraser]] makes mention of "an 'abigail' fussing about the room" in his novel ''[[Flashman (novel)|Flashman]]'' from ''[[The Flashman Papers]]'' series.

==In art==
Abigail, and especially her meeting with David, was a common subject of European artwork in the [[Renaissance]] and post-Renaissance period.  Artists depicting her, or them, include [[Antonio Molinari (painter)|Antonio Molinari]], [[Juan Antonio Escalante]], and [[Peter Paul Rubens]].

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]].''<ref name="AbigailBM">{{cite web | 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 | access-date=13 December 2011}}</ref><ref name="C69">Chicago, 69.</ref>

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
* Chicago, Judy. ''The Dinner Party: From Creation to Preservation''. London: Merrell (2007). {{ISBN|1-85894-370-1}}.
* {{cite Q|Q115281287|editor1=Henry Gardiner Adams}}<!-- [[s:A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Abigail]] -->

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline}}

{{Prophets of the Tanakh}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abigail}}

[[Category:10th-century BC women]]
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[[Category:Christian female saints from the Old Testament]]
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[[Category:Wives of David]]
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