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A Millennial’s Commitment to the Body of Christ

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Abigail, the Prophet and Peacemaker

Editor’s note: This article is a 2024 CBE Writing Contest honorable mention. Enjoy!

What is a prophet? In Scripture, a prophet is often someone who calls a people to hear God’s words (Deut. 18:18). While some of these prophets are explicitly given the title—such as Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Miriam (Ex. 15:20), or Deborah (Judges 4:4)— there is another woman who fills the role of prophet but without being given the title in Scripture or recognition throughout church history. Abigail, who acts as a prophet, interrupted and undermined multiple generations of retributive violence that began in Genesis between Esau and Jacob, and taught David a valuable lesson on godly leadership.

Just before David met Abigail (1 Sam. 25), he was in serious trouble. He was on the run from Saul, hiding out, and in need of resources. But the real danger to David was more insidious, lurking inside his own heart. David asked his relative Nabal for provisions. When Nabal rebuffed this reasonable request, David flew into a murderous rage. David’s immediate response when insulted was not only a threat to him and to God’s mission of a just community; it was also a threat to Nabal’s physical wellbeing. Thankfully, Abigail was there to counsel David away from his vicious impulses, calling him away from violent, aggressive behavior and back to his leadership as shepherd of Israel. Abigail’s faithful, prophetic words advocating mercy and forgiveness taught David how to control himself and align himself with God’s desired peace.

When Violence Runs in the Family

In the midst of a civil war, David reached out to wealthy Nabal to ask for a modest gift of food for his men at the time of sheep-shearing, a custom typical at the time.¹ Nabal’s own servants testified that David’s men had treated them well, not stealing anything, but protecting them and their flocks (1 Sam. 25:7, 15). Rather than expressing generosity or gratitude, Nabal’s response was to ask, “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse?” (1 Sam. 25:10). But Nabal, being a Judahite from the line of Caleb, already knew who David was. In fact, they were distant cousins!² Nabal’s goal was to insult his tribesman David: “There are many servants who are breaking away from their masters these days!” (1 Sam. 25:10). In Nabal’s view, David was not a wronged member of the royal court, but a runaway slave. David’s immediate response to Nabal’s words was to gather 400 men and to command them to strap on their swords (1 Sam. 25:13). Rather than reacting with a cool head, or negotiating with Nabal, David’s natural response was violence.

David’s penchant for violence is meant to invoke for readers his ancestor Esau. Many generations earlier, when Jacob and his family returned to the land of Canaan, his brother Esau came out to meet him with a small army of 400 men (Gen. 33:1). Previously, Esau had sworn to kill his brother (Gen. 27:41–42), prompting Jacob’s twenty-year exile in Padan-Aram. After seeing Esau and his 400-man army, Jacob ran in front of his family to intercept Esau’s hostility (Gen. 33:3 and Bereshit Rabbah 78:8).

Esau seems to have relented from his murderous rage, at least temporarily, as he surged forward and embraced Jacob. Despite Esau’s “falling on his neck,” showing his anger and desire for violence was dormant, Jacob’s reticence to journey with Esau suggests Esau’s violence had not been extinguished. For generations, Esau’s descendants try to starve, kidnap, or murder Jacob’s children,³ seeking to undo Esau’s temporary mercy at the fords of the Jabbok. Many generations later, David swore to God that he would commit the mass murder that Esau’s descendants sought—“May God strike me down if I don’t kill every one of Nabal’s who urinates against a wall” (1 Sam. 25:22). Although David was not Esau’s direct descendent, the rage shared by his ancestor seemed to run in the family.

Careful readers notice that David and Esau resemble each other beyond the troops they travel with, their intercepting missions, and their desire to annihilate their enemies. David and Esau are the only characters in the Bible who are described as reddish, or ruddy (Gen. 25:25, 1 Sam. 16:12). A medieval commentary considered the striking similarities between Esau’s and David’s appearances.⁴ Commentors noticed that David looked very similar to Esau and questioned whether a reddish future king of Israel would be murderous like Esau. But 1 Samuel 16:12 goes on to describe David’s lovely eyes that revealed his penitent character.

Abigail’s Prophetic Wisdom

Abigail appealed to this repentant character in order to save David from Esau-like violence. David was furious that he was denied his birthright—as Nabal’s relative. David would expect Nabal to share his food and resources at the time of shearing. Abigail immediately sought to separate the warring men by interposing herself between David and Nabal. When Abigail heard that her foolish husband had insulted David and refused their kinsman resources, she quickly moved to make amends. Like Jacob generations earlier, Abigail sent gifts ahead to appease the wrath of the reddish man who had sworn violence, now approaching with 400 men (1 Sam. 25:18–19). The close similarities between Abigail and Jacob are not accidental! They both are to be regarded as parents of the Israelite community, who know how to turn away wrath. Countering centuries of flawed assumptions regarding the qualities of leadership and the gender of leaders, this text shows that godly leadership is not confined to first-born men.

In fact, Abigail is recognized as one of the seven female prophets in Judaism.⁵ Not only did she prophesy that David would one day become king, but also, she counseled David that he should not begin his kingship with bloody hands from killing the outrageous Nabal (1 Sam. 25:26, 31).

Abigail interceded on behalf of her husband with the man who would soon be king. In speaking, she impressed three lessons on David. First, it was God who had restrained David from the bloodshed he threatened (1 Sam. 25:26). Second, God would protect David’s life from all who opposed him, including, tragically, his own children (1 Sam. 25:29). Third, and most importantly, Abigail prophesied that David was in danger of the twin obstacles of “helping himself”⁶ to what he wanted and shedding blood (1 Sam. 25:30–31). Her advice, if remembered, may have spared David from committing his own sinful acts toward Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Sam. 11). Abigail the Prophet sees with clarity the weaknesses in David’s character and shrewdly advises him to pursue God’s righteousness rather than his own worst impulses.

By her wise speech, Abigail preserved the lives of all the men in Nabal’s house that David had sought to kill. Moreover, Abigail showed David the desire of the Lord, that David act as a peaceful shepherd who would defend the flock entrusted to him, and resist violence and warfare. Not only did David heed her advice, he also married her after Nabal’s death. It is speculation, but if David had spent more time with Abigail, heeding her counsel, she could have steered him away from his worst impulses that led to the rape of Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. Ultimately, David was prohibited from building God’s house because of his excessive violence (1 Chron. 22:8).

Abigail’s willingness to step in to prevent violence, her prophetic understanding of David’s violent character, and her insistence to speak for God’s preference for merciful rulers rightly led her being recognized as prophet and peacemaker. Abigail helped David counter, at least for a time, his own worst impulses, and saved him from committing Edom’s violence. As we continue to encounter violence and war, may those in power heed wise voices of women such as Abigail the prophet and peacemaker, who spoke God’s words of accountability and truth.

Geoghegan, Jeffery, “Israelite Sheepshearing and David’s Rise to Power,” Biblica 87(1), 2006, 55–63.
1 Chron. 2:1–18 preserves the family tree of Judah. David’s and Nabal’s common ancestor, Hezron, was the grandson of Judah and Tamar. After that, Nabal was descended from Hezron’s son, Caleb (1 Sam. 25:3), while David was descended from Hezron’s son, Ram (Ruth 4:18–19).
Num. 20; Amos 1:6, 9, 11; Ps. 137:7; Ez. 25:12; Joel 3:19; Obadiah.
Malbim (Meir Leibush Weisser) commentary of 1 Sam. 16:12.
BT Megillah 14a: “Who were the seven prophetesses? The Gemara answers: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther.”
NASB translates וּלְהוֹשִׁ֥יעַ as “avenged,” whereas NRSVue renders a more appropriate “saved himself.” Still, the context of the passage is less about “saving,” and more about “helping,” which is well within the semantic range of יָשַׁע. David is not intent on saving himself from Nabal’s threat. Instead, he wants to help himself to what he has been denied.

Photo by Pouria Seirafi on Unsplash