Abigail
With bread, wine and wise words, she stopped David from taking revenge.
Old Testament · c. 1000 BC · 1 Samuel · Also known as Wife of Nabal, Wife of David
About Abigail
Abigail was "a woman of good understanding," married to Nabal, a rich, harsh man whose name means "fool." When David’s men, who had protected Nabal’s shepherds, asked for provisions, Nabal insulted them, and David set out with four hundred men to kill every male in his household. Without telling her husband, Abigail loaded donkeys with food and met David on the way. She knelt and persuaded him not to stain his hands with revenge. David blessed her for it. Ten days later Nabal died, and David married Abigail.
Hospitality and fair payment for protection were expected in the wilderness. Samuel had just died (1 Samuel 25:1), and David was still a fugitive from Saul. Abigail’s speech is one of the longest by a woman in the Old Testament.
The story
Who is David?
Nabal was "churlish and evil in his doings," but Abigail was "a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance." At shearing time David sent ten young men to ask for food. Nabal answered, "Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse?" David told his men to strap on their swords.
1 Samuel 25:2-13
She made haste
A servant told Abigail what had happened. "Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed," with grain, raisins and figs, and loaded them on donkeys. "But she told not her husband Nabal."
1 Samuel 25:14-20
Upon me let this iniquity be
Abigail fell at David’s feet: "Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be." She reminded him that God would make him king, and that when he was, "this shall be no grief unto thee… that thou hast shed blood causeless." David answered, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: And blessed be thy advice."
1 Samuel 25:23-35
Wife of David
Abigail found Nabal feasting "like the feast of a king" and drunk, so she waited until morning to tell him. "His heart died within him," and ten days later "the LORD smote Nabal, that he died." David sent for Abigail, and she became his wife.
1 Samuel 25:36-42
Key moments
- Nabal insults David: "Who is David?" (1 Samuel 25:10)
- Brings provisions: Without telling Nabal. (1 Samuel 25:18-19)
- Pleads with David: "Upon me let this iniquity be." (1 Samuel 25:24)
- David blesses her: "Blessed be thy advice." (1 Samuel 25:33)
- Marries David: After Nabal’s death. (1 Samuel 25:42)
Questions about Abigail
In meetBible these answers are given in Abigail’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
How did you stop David?
I came quickly with food, bowed before him, and took the blame on myself: "Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be." I reminded him that the LORD would make him ruler over Israel, and that he wouldn’t want the memory of having "shed blood causeless." David answered, "blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood."
What was Nabal like?
Scripture calls him "churlish and evil in his doings." Even his own servant said, "he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him." I told David, "as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him." Nabal means "fool."
Connected people
Read it yourself
Start with 1 Samuel 25.