Abigail, Wife of Nabal

This miniature appears on folio 33v of the Crusader Bible—originally a picture book that was probably made around 1244–54 for King Louis IX of France. In view of the original royal patron of this Bible, the illumination seems to have been intended to offer instruction on the nature of royal dignity and of royal duty.

The illumination is one of very few works to depict not only the encounter between David and Abigail, but also the subsequent events involving Nabal. Although Abigail's husband plays a fundamental role in the story, his figure is usually left out of its artistic reception. The biblical text describes him as ‘very rich’, but ‘churlish and ill-behaved’—a ‘Nabal’, which can be translated as ‘foolish’ or ‘senseless’.

The upper register depicts the encounter between David, shown here as a medieval knight, and Abigail, also in contemporary costume. The heavily armed and armoured men on horseback are juxtaposed with the unarmed women and the shepherd.

By contrast with many other works, where Abigail is depicted kneeling before David, she is here shown standing upright, which gives her person and her entreaty to David more power and impact. She urges David not to kill Nabal and his entire household so that he might not bring bloodguilt upon himself.

When Abigail returns home, she finds her husband drunk from feasting like a king (v.36), and waits until the morning to tell him what she has done. Slumped on his throne, the bearded and elderly Nabal hears her report on her meeting with David. The description of his reaction (v.37) resembles a cardiac arrest, or possibly a stroke; its effect is that he lives for only ten more days (v.38).

In the scene on the right, Abigail and her maidservants grieve at his bedside. Nabal's natural death confirms Abigail's prophecy of the necessity not to shed blood, and shows that life and death are in the hands of YHWH. The completely non-violent outcome of the Abigail episode, which differentiates it from many conflict resolutions in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, is what makes the story so special.

References

Greengus, Samuel. 2023. ‘Abigail and Nabal: What Really Happened?’, Journal for Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Law, 29: 133–46

Peetz, Melanie. 2008. Abigajil, die Prophetin: Mit Klugheit und Schönheit für Gewaltverzicht. Eine exergetische Untersuchung zu 1Sam 25 (Würzburg: Echter Verlag)

Wolde, Ellen van. 2002. ‘A Leader Led by a Lady: David and Abigail in 1 Samuel 25’, Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 114.3: 355–75

This painting by the Italian painter Guido Reni (1575–1642) depicts the encounter between David and Abigail and their entourages. However, while the biblical text is characterized by the direct speech and dialogue of the protagonists, the message in the painting is conveyed without any words appearing to be uttered.

The viewer is made to feel involved in the events through the close proximity of the painting’s central figures (who are positioned close to the picture plane), but also through the direct eye contact of the maidservant on the right.

Abigail, wrapped in a blue cloak and adorned with a wreath of flowers in her loose hair, is depicted sitting on the donkey in front of David. Her shoulders are drooping, her gaze is lowered, and her neck is vulnerably exposed.

David, on the other hand, stands confrontationally armoured and armed in front of her. Two of his men in the background, also wearing armour, emphasize the explosive situation in which Abigail has completely defencelessly placed herself.

It is remarkable, however, that several people’s gazes have turned in astonishment to the top right, towards a point outside the composition—seemingly into the light that makes Abigail’s face shine. Even in David’s case, it is not clear whether he is looking into Abigail’s face or whether his gaze has moved past her towards the sky and the source of the light. Reni paints a moment of spiritual realization: David understands that YHWH has sent this woman to show him the path of justice, and to direct him away from the exacting of retribution.

Such Old Testament stories were interpreted typologically by Christians, from very early on, as precursors of the New Testament and as models for moral behaviour. Various pious women who played a role in God’s saving purposes, such as Esther, Judith, Rebecca, Ruth, Naomi, Sarah, Rachel, Leah, and Deborah, were identified as precursors of the Virgin Mary.

The same applies to Abigail, who can be read as a model of humility and self-sacrifice. The connection between Abigail and the Virgin Mary is also enhanced by iconographic details, such as the white and blue colour of her clothing and the motif of riding on a donkey—a typical feature of depictions of Mary on the journey to Bethlehem or after the birth of Christ on the flight to Egypt. Last but not least, the donkey also anticipates what will be the second meeting between David and Abigail, in which Abigail will once again ride on a donkey to become the king’s wife.

References

Fischer, Irmtraud. 2003. ‘Abigajil: Weisheit und Prophetie in einer Person vereint’, in Auf den Spuren der schriftgelehrten Weisen. Festschrift für Johannes Marböck anlässlich seiner Emeritierung, Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 331, ed. by Irmtraud Fischer et al. (Berlin: De Gruyter), pp. 45–61

Schmeer, Julia. 2017. ‘Marias Verschwinden. Metaphorische Umgestaltung Marias in der Nürnberger Literatur des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts und bei Luther’ (Unpublished PhD thesis, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

Zucker, David J., and Moshe Reiss. 2016. ‘David’s Wives: Love, Power, and Lust’, Biblical Theology Bulletin, 46.2: 70–78

In this oil sketch from the early 1630s, the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens dramatically depicts the meeting of Abigail and David. The blonde Abigail in her seventeenth-century costume has dismounted from her donkey and is kneeling on the ground in front of David, turning to him in conversation and, at the same time, pointing to the loaves of bread that the servants have brought with them. David, who has also dismounted from his white horse, is already trying to help her up. He is depicted as an older but agile man and his clothing—like that of his followers—is reminiscent of a Roman general.

While the image positions the viewer as an onlooker, standing outside the action, the reader of the biblical text experiences the encounter as though at Abigail's side: ‘she met them, Abigail saw David, she made haste, she dismounted the ass, she fell on her face before the face of David, she bowed to the ground, she fell at his feet, she said...’ (vv.20–24). And Abigail then starts a long discourse addressed to David.

The text thus assigns Abigail discursive dominance in the encounter, even though her words express politeness and respect towards him. Abigail’s long and careful speech has two functions in the narrative: to calm David’s raging bloodlust, and to point to the future and the kind of king that David will become. The almost tender glances and touches between the protagonists indicate that she succeeds in this. Almost forgotten is David’s previous military-style speech to his men that each man should take his ‘sword’ (vv.13, 21–22).

At the time this oil sketch was painted, Europe was in the midst of one of the most devastating wars in European history: the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48). The works of the Catholic Rubens are also situated in the context of European power politics and many of those works with Christian subject matter also reflect his close experience of such confessional conflicts; they were never far away. Likewise, potential conflict looms close in the story of Abigail, which takes place between several battles between Saul and David—battles which will decide the future of the monarchy, and result in YHWH's appointment of David as leader over Israel.

References

Fischer, Irmtraud. 2003. ‘Abigajil: Weisheit und Prophetie in einer Person vereint’, in Auf den Spuren der schriftgelehrten Weisen. Festschrift für Johannes Marböck anlässlich seiner Emeritierung, Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 331, ed. by Irmtraud Fischer et al. (Berlin: De Gruyter), pp. 45–61

Sauerländer, Willibald. 2011. Der katholische Rubens. Heilige und Märtyrer (München: Verlag C.H. Beck)