Hallelujah Roll Call…Abigail
Women of the Bible from A to Z
by JC Miller
Introduction
We all know about the TikTok sensation, ‘Hallelujah Roll Call’ where TikTokers are rapping while mimicking a cheat sheet of sorts on biblical characters. As a lover of The Word and biblical trivia, this is right up my alley. For the remainder of the year, I want to reintroduce the women of the Bible– from A to Z. No, I’m not rapping. Just like in my books, I’ll be unwrapping the lives of these women using my mind’s eye. Let’s have fun with it. The worst that can happen is that you will learn something new, and next time you’re asked something like: who was Moses’ wife, you’ll know it was Zipporah.
Abigail
The month of April seems appropriate to start with the letter A. According to Wikipedia, there are 19 women in the Bible whose names begin with A–and to be quite frank, I’m taking their word for it. Kudos to whoever did that research. We’re not going there. Besides, I would probably lose you after the first ten names. Who am I kidding after the first three. I’ve decided to focus on just one: Abigail.
My girl Abigail, I’m calling her Abby, was married to a foolish man–to put it nicely! Her husband, Nabal, was a joke. No wonder his name meant: to fall, wither, fade–a fool. If Abby had a playlist at that time, I imagine her listening to I’m Not Your Superwoman on repeat. She was most likely miserable under Nabal’s cheap, dishonest, uncooperative business and life tactics. The Bible calls him surly and mean in his dealings.
Though life’s output looked bleak for Abby, she remained in a loveless marriage until God took out His revenge for her. This is what went down in a nutshell. Let me set the stage.
At one point, Nabal’s workers were shearing in Carmel–the rough part of town, a.k.a the wild wild west. They found favor amongst a young shepherd, turned harpist, turned hero, soon to be king, named David, along with his crew of renegades. At the time, they were on the run–(bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do).
David and his men could have jumped Nabal’s shepherds and taken everything. Instead, they performed a valuable service, protecting his flocks from the common Philistine bandits.
When the time came for Nabal to do David a solid, he basically pretended like he didn’t know him. David’s messenger politely reminded Nabal of the circumstances and their traditions of generosity. But Nabel flat-out dismissed them. “Why should I take my bread and water and give it to men coming from who knows where?”
This became a cause for war, and for David, not a very high moment. He had just spared the life of King Saul, who was relentlessly pursuing him. Yet, he was ready to kill every man in Nabal’s household for this disrespect.
David told his troop, “Strap on your swords! This man has paid me back evil for good.” That’s when our girl Abby walks in–stage left.
Abigail’s servant reported to her all that Nabal had done or lacked to do. He read the handwriting on the wall and knew their lives were at stake. Our girl quickly threw a feast together, loaded it up, and headed out without telling her husband. Why? Because the Bible says that Nabal was wicked, and no one could talk to him. Not that that makes it right. This was definitely a marriage no-no. To me, it shows the amount of stress the marriage was under. Abby made haste. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes, chicken, chicken, chicken–you name it.
David stopped when he saw this great procession of gifts, and at the end, the most beautiful girl in the world bowed before him. I imagine this must have made a startling impression. Abby had taken a few extra moments to throw the look together. She knew she had to pacify the young warrior. Allow me to paraphrase her beautiful words? Well, continue paraphrasing.
Abigail fell at David’s feet and took total blame, saying,
“I’m a simple woman. Please allow me to speak. My husband is wicked, don’t do something you’ll regret later. Nabal stands up to his name—Fool.”
She said it, not me!
“I promise you, my lord, I did not see the men you sent. Now, enough with this madness. God has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself.”
David is being taught a lesson right here – our hurt feelings never justify. Abby continued.
“May your enemies and all who intend on hurting you be like Nabal.”
Hmm, that sounds like shade to me–be dead like Nabal. But it wasn’t. It was a prophecy.
“Please accept this gift I’ve brought and share it with the men who follow you.”
And more prophecy.
“Please forgive me for being forward. But the way I see it is, the Lord will certainly make a lasting dynasty for you because you have fought His battles. No wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live. Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, you will be protected by the Lord your God. He will hurl away the lives of your enemies as from the pocket of a sling.”
Listen to this part carefully. Did I mention that David was a handsome, young promising warrior/king? Lol! Abigail said,
“When the Lord has fulfilled for you every good thing He promised…and has appointed you ruler over Israel, you will not have in your conscience the staggering burden of ‘needless’ bloodshed…”
Oops, more shade…I heard worthless.
“…or of having avenged yourself. And when God has brought you success, remember me.”
Holla! I can almost hear the Emotions singing, come to me (oh, boy, I love you).
I’m just saying–Abby put up with a lot. This was her moment. She dropped that subtle hint, stating it in a way that almost guided David toward her suggested outcome. She made herself available for his future consideration, although perhaps in an inappropriate way.
With stumbling words, David responded,
“Praise be to God, who has sent you to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from avenging myself with my own hands. Go home in peace. I’ve heard you and your request is granted.”
Whew! Abby saved the day.
How did a woman like Abby get mixed up with a man like Nabal? I really don’t know, but there are plenty of Abigails today. God-fearing women, tender and gentle, are tied in unions with men they have grown to dislike. Silently suffering. Waiting and praying with the spirit of Abigail.
When Abigail returned home, Nabal was enthralled with hosting a banquet, which was not uncommon after the shearing season. This banquet, however, was fit for a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk–living up to his name, fool. His life was in danger, yet he ate and drank like all was well. Nabal didn’t have a care in the world. He is the perfect picture of a sinner who continues to reject God without regard for his coming judgment.
Abigail decided to wait until daybreak to talk to him, as many wives dealing with the foolishness of a wayward husband do. In the morning, when Nabal was sober, she confronted him, and the Bible says his heart failed him. He became like a stone. Ten days later, the Lord struck him dead.
When David heard of Nabal’s death, he said, “Praise be to the Lord, who has upheld my cause against Nabal…He has kept me from doing wrong and brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.”
Bingo!!!
If we wait on God, He will redeem us. Abigail was faithful. She cared about her home and the lives of her servants. She attempted to clean up her husband’s mess and endured it all. David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife– just be my lady. Without haste, Abby quickly gets on a donkey and goes with David’s messengers to become his queen.
Abigail was the wife of King David and the mother of one of his 19 sons. She is described as intelligent and beautiful. The Talmud mentions her as one of the “four women surpassing beauty in the world” (the other three being Rahab, Sarah, and Esther). As a heavy hitter, Abby is also listed as one of seven Jewish women prophets, the other six being Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Sarah, Huldah, and Esther.
What is the lesson of Abigail in the Bible?
Abigail taught us an important life lesson – even when it’s not your fault, sometimes humility is the best course of action.
The entire story of Abigail and King David can be found in I Samuel 25
Women of the Bible with names starting with A
A
Abigail – mother of Amasa, Sister of David.
Abigail – wife of the Nabal and then David.
Abihail #1 – wife of Abishur.
Abihail #2 – wife of king Rehoboam II
Abishag – concubine of aged King David. She was literally a bed-warmer
Abital – one of King David’s wives
Achsah (or Acsah) – daughter of Caleb.
Adah – Adah # 1 – wife of Lamech,
Adah – Adah #2 – daughter of Elon, the Hittite and one of the wives of Esau.
Ahinoam #1 – wife of King Saul, mother of Michal (wife of King David)
Ahinoam #2 – one of King David’s wives,
Aholibamah (or Oholibamah) – Daughter of Anah and one of Esau’s wives. Also called Judith.
Anna the Prophetess – aged Jewish prophetess who prophesied about Jesus
Asenath – Egyptian wife of Joseph.
Ashtoreth – Ancient Near Eastern goddess
Atarah – second wife of Jerahmeel.
Athaliah – Queen of Judah during the reign of King Jehoram
Azubah #1 – Caleb’s wife.
Azubah #2 – wife of King Asa.
