Bible Characters

Who Was Abigail in the Bible? The Wise Woman Who Became David's Wife

Abigail was the wife of a wealthy man named Nabal who lived in Maon and kept his flocks at Carmel in Judah (1 Samuel 25:2-3). When Nabal insulted David and David set out to kill every male in his household, Abigail met David on the road with food and persuaded him not to take revenge (1 Samuel 25:13-35). After Nabal died about ten days later, she became one of David's wives (1 Samuel 25:38-42). Her story is told in 1 Samuel 25.

She later bore David a son, named Kileab in 2 Samuel 3:3 and Daniel in 1 Chronicles 3:1.

Quick Facts About Abigail

Fact	Details
Name meaning	Usually understood as "my father is joy"
Testament	Old Testament
Key books	1 Samuel 25, 27, 30; 2 Samuel 2-3; 1 Chronicles 3:1
Time period	Late in King Saul's reign, about 1015-1010 BC (traditional dating)
Family	Wife of Nabal, then wife of David; mother of Kileab (also called Daniel)
Known for	Her wise appeal that kept David from bloodshed

**Restraining Grace**
Alistair Begg, Truth For Life

Who Was Abigail in the Bible? Nabal's Wife

The chapter opens with the death of the prophet Samuel. All Israel mourned him, and David moved down into the Desert of Paran (1 Samuel 25:1). At that time David was a fugitive from King Saul, leading a band of about six hundred men (1 Samuel 23:13).

The Bible introduces Abigail and her husband side by side:

"His name was Nabal and his wife's name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings—he was a Calebite." (1 Samuel 25:3)

Nabal was very wealthy, with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing at Carmel (1 Samuel 25:2). This Carmel was a town in the hill country of Judah, not Mount Carmel in the north (Joshua 15:55). As a Calebite, Nabal belonged to the clan descended from Caleb, who had received land in this region (Joshua 14:13-14).

Nabal Insults David

David heard that Nabal was shearing sheep and sent ten young men to greet him (1 Samuel 25:4-5). They said they had come at a festive time and reminded Nabal that David's men had not mistreated his shepherds and nothing of theirs had gone missing, and they asked him to give whatever he could (1 Samuel 25:7-8).

Nabal answered with contempt. He asked who David was and said many servants were breaking away from their masters these days. He refused to give his bread, water and meat to men from who knows where (1 Samuel 25:10-11).

When David heard this, he told his men to put on their swords. About four hundred went with him and two hundred stayed with the supplies (1 Samuel 25:13). David vowed that by morning he would not leave one male alive in Nabal's household (1 Samuel 25:21-22).

Abigail Acts Quickly

One of Nabal's servants told Abigail what had happened. He said David's men had been very good to them and had been a wall around them night and day while they kept the sheep. He added that Nabal was so wicked that no one could talk to him (1 Samuel 25:14-17).

Abigail did not wait. She loaded donkeys with two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs (1 Samuel 25:18). She sent her servants ahead and followed them, but she did not tell her husband (1 Samuel 25:19).

Abigail's Appeal to David

Abigail met David and his men as she rode down into a mountain ravine (1 Samuel 25:20). She got off her donkey and bowed down before him with her face to the ground (1 Samuel 25:23). Her speech covered several points:

She asked to be heard. She fell at his feet, asked him to pardon her, and asked him to hear what she had to say (1 Samuel 25:24).
She explained Nabal. She told David to pay no attention to Nabal, since his name means Fool and folly went with him. She had not seen the men David sent (1 Samuel 25:25).
She pointed to God. She said the LORD had kept David from bloodshed and from avenging himself with his own hands (1 Samuel 25:26).
She offered the gift. She asked that the food be given to his men (1 Samuel 25:27).
She spoke of David's future. She said the LORD would make a lasting dynasty for David, because he fought the LORD's battles (1 Samuel 25:28).
She warned him about regret. When the LORD made him ruler over Israel, he would not carry the burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself (1 Samuel 25:30-31).

David accepted her words:

"David said to Abigail, 'Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands.'" (1 Samuel 25:32-33)

He said that if she had not come, no male in Nabal's household would have been left alive by daybreak. He accepted her gift and sent her home in peace (1 Samuel 25:34-35).

Abigail's story falls between two accounts in which David spared Saul's life rather than kill the LORD's anointed (1 Samuel 24:4-7; 26:9-11).

The Death of Nabal

When Abigail returned, Nabal was holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk, so she told him nothing until daybreak (1 Samuel 25:36). In the morning, when he was sober, she told him everything. His heart failed him and he became like a stone (1 Samuel 25:37). About ten days later the LORD struck Nabal and he died (1 Samuel 25:38).

When David heard, he praised the LORD for upholding his cause against Nabal and for keeping him from doing wrong (1 Samuel 25:39).

Abigail Becomes David's Wife

David sent servants to Carmel to ask Abigail to become his wife (1 Samuel 25:39-40). She bowed down and said she was ready to serve and to wash the feet of her lord's servants (1 Samuel 25:41). She quickly got on a donkey and, with her five female servants, went with David's messengers and became his wife (1 Samuel 25:42).

David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. Saul had given David's first wife, Michal, to another man named Paltiel (1 Samuel 25:43-44).

Abigail's Later Life

She lived with David among the Philistines at Gath, under King Achish (1 Samuel 27:3).
The Amalekites captured her and Ahinoam when they raided Ziklag (1 Samuel 30:1-5).
David pursued the raiders and recovered everything, including his two wives (1 Samuel 30:18).
She went with David to Hebron when he became king over Judah (2 Samuel 2:2-4).
She gave birth to David's second son in Hebron, called Kileab in 2 Samuel 3:3 and Daniel in 1 Chronicles 3:1.

Kileab is not mentioned again, and the Bible does not record Abigail's death. Later in David's life, Bathsheba also became his wife after her husband Uriah died, but in that case David himself arranged the husband's death (2 Samuel 11:14-17, 11:26-27).

Another Abigail in the Bible

A second Abigail was David's sister. 1 Chronicles 2:16 lists Zeruiah and Abigail as David's sisters, and this Abigail was the mother of Amasa, who later commanded Absalom's army (2 Samuel 17:25; 1 Chronicles 2:17). This Abigail is a different woman from Nabal's widow.

Key Lessons From Abigail's Life

Wisdom acts quickly. Abigail heard the danger and responded the same day (1 Samuel 25:18).
A gentle answer can stop violence. Her words turned David back from his plan (1 Samuel 25:32-35).
Vengeance belongs to God. David did not strike Nabal, and the LORD dealt with him (1 Samuel 25:39).
God uses people to restrain His servants. David said the LORD had sent Abigail to meet him (1 Samuel 25:32).

Where Abigail Appears in the Bible

1 Samuel 25:3-42
1 Samuel 27:3; 30:5, 30:18
2 Samuel 2:2; 3:3
1 Chronicles 3:1

The two names of Abigail's son are the kind of detail found in hard Bible trivia.

Frequently Asked Questions