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The BibleTexts.com Glossary of Terms Abigail |
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Harper’s Bible Dictionary
edited by Paul J. Achtemier (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985)
You are strongly recommended to add to your library the excellent revised edition of Harper's Bible Dictionary titled, The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, Revised Edition, edited by Paul J. Achtemeier, with the Society of Biblical Literature (NY: Harper Collins, 1996). It is currently the best one-volume Bible dictionary in English, and it is available at Border's Books, Christian Science Reading Rooms, http://www.borders.com, or http://www.christianbook.com.
Abigail.
1 Wife of Nabal, a wealthy and churlish rancher in Carmel (1 Sam. 25:2-3). Nabal refused to acknowledge David’s authority and as a result David determined to have Nabal killed. Abigail, a beautiful and intelligent woman, arranged a meeting with David, unbeknownst to her husband, and persuaded him not to harm Nabal. Shortly afterward, Nabal died suddenly (apparently from shock after hearing how his wife had intervened on his behalf), and David married Abigail (1 Sam. 25:39-42). She and Ahinoam, another wife of David, accompanied him when he sought refuge in the Philistine territories (1 Sam. 27:3), and the two were later captured by raiding Amalekites. David tracked down the raiders and rescued his wives (1 Sam. 30). Later, in Hebron, Abigail bore David a son named Chileab (2 Sam. 3:3; 1 Chron. 3:1 records the son’s name as Daniel).
2 According to 2 Sam. 17:25 Abigail was the mother of Amasa, whom Absalom appointed commander in place of Joab (cf. also 2 Sam. 19:13), the wife of Ithra the Israelite (Jether the Ishmaelite according to 1 Chron. 2:17), the daughter of Nahash, and the sister of Joab’s mother, Zeruiah. According to 1 Chron. 2:16 Abigail and Zeruiah were the daughters of Jesse and the sisters of David.
Copyright 1996-2005 Robert Nguyen Cramer
David and his wives.
It should be noted that marriage was often a tool used to consolidate political power and alliances.
The following are the wives of David that are mentioned in the Bible. Based upon the number of his children, David possibly had additional wives and/or concubines. (See 2Sa 5:14; 1Ch 3:5-9; 1Ch 14:4-7)
See also 2Sa 11 and 12 at http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-2sa.htm
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