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Abigail (Hebrew: אֲבִיגַיִל / אֲבִיגָיִל, Modern Avigáyil Tiberian ʾĂḇîḡáyil / ʾĂḇîḡāyil, "her Father's joy" or "fountain of joy") is a character in the Hebrew Bible. She was the mother of Amasa, the commander-in-chief of Absalom's army (2 Samuel 17:25).

Family

2 Samuel 17:25 refers to Abigail as a sister of Zeruiah, and therefore an aunt to Joab. In 1 Chronicles 2:13–16, Abigail and Zeruiah are referred to as sisters to David. It does not explicitly say that they are also daughters of Jesse, and the Masoretic Text of 2 Samuel 17:25 calls Abigail the daughter of Nahash. While it is possible that Jesse's wife had first married to Nahash (and Abigail was David's half-sister), scholars think that Nahash is a typographic error, based on the appearance of the name two verses later.

In the Book of Chronicles, Amasa's father is Jether the Ishmaelite, but in the Books of Samuel, Amasa's father is Ithra the Israelite (2 Samuel 17:25); scholars think that the latter case is more likely.

Jon Levenson and Baruch Halpern suggest that Abigail, mother of Amasa may, in fact, be the same Abigail who became David's wife. Richard M. Davidson, however, points out that "on the basis of the final form of the OT canon, references to Abigail in the biblical accounts indicate two different individuals."

References

1. Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Abigail". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I: A-ak Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, IL: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
2. ^ Peake's commentary on the Bible
3. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
4. 2 Samuel 17:27
5. 1 Chronicles 2:17
6. Jon D. Levenson and Baruch Halpern, "The Political Import of David's Marriages," JBL 99 511–512.
7. Davidson, Richard M. (2007). Flame of Yahweh: A Theology of Sexuality in the Old Testament. Hendrickson. p. 444.

• Hebrew Bible people
• Women in the Hebrew Bible