{"id":58924,"date":"2019-07-07T10:52:58","date_gmt":"2019-07-07T07:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=58924"},"modified":"2023-01-29T17:54:32","modified_gmt":"2023-01-29T15:54:32","slug":"abigails-rebuke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/abigails-rebuke\/","title":{"rendered":"Abigail\u2019s Rebuke"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[834,526,835,543],"acf":{"old_id":"58924","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":36277,"related_cahpter":"257","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"In which we learn that the right woman can rein in a king\u2019s impulse to violence and bloodshed\u00a0","content":"

In this chapter David meets and marries his wisest wife, Abigail. She was previously married to Nabal, a crude, wealthy boor who enrages David by spurning the latter\u2019s request for food. Abigail manages to avert a bloodbath by secretly bringing food to David and his men herself.<\/span><\/p>\n

David, the Talmud tells us, (Sanhedrin 21a) had eighteen wives, the largest number of women that the Torah permits kings to marry. The Talmudic argument on this point turns around the danger that too many or the wrong kind of wives will \u201cturn his heart away,\u201d (Deut. 17:17) as the Torah warns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abigail has a special place in this Talmudic discussion. The rabbis in the Mishnah argue about whether the 18-wives upper limit depends on the character of the women concerned. What if they are all virtuous? Does the limit still stand? Rabbi Shimon\u2019s position is that even one wife who seduces the king into bad ways is too many. But if character is the decisive factor then, asks the Mishnah, why set any upper limit? The number of wives seems not to be the real issue. Rabbi Shimon answers, he may not marry more than 18 wives, \u201ceven if they are all like Abigail.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of Abigail introduces the name of a particular woman into a Talmudic conversation that was until now about numbers. Who was Abigail and why is she the model of an excellent queen? True, the Bible describes her as being intelligent in addition to beautiful, but her story teaches a deeper message.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

David reacts to Nabal\u2019s failure of hospitality with the threat that he will not leave alive a single one of Nabal\u2019s \u201curinators against the wall,\u201d (v.22) i.e. men. The crude language shows that David is incensed and ready to unleash violence. Caught between a coarse, stupid husband and a furious future husband, Abigail appeases David\u2019s anger by assuring him that Nabal is not worth \u201cbeing a cause of stumbling and of faltering courage to my lord that you have shed blood needlessly\u201d (v.22). As Rashi explains it, killing Nabal and his men would be a stain on David\u2019s record, which could diminish his ability to command men\u2019s loyalty and courage in the future. David gratefully receives Abigail\u2019s rebuke and blesses her for \u201crestraining me from seeking redress in blood by my own hands\u201d (v.33).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Restraint is the central issue of the Talmudic discussion in which Abigail figures. The Talmud gives nuance and detail to the Torah\u2019s prohibitions against the king marrying too many wives, acquiring excessive horses or accumulating unnecessary wealth. The arguments weigh prerogatives that the king needs to exercise power against the dangers of excess, leading to unrestrained power lust and corruption.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abigail adds a human dimension showing how the right woman can rein in a king\u2019s impulse to violence and bloodshed and so help protect against the Torah\u2019s deep fear about monarchy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Juan Antonio de Fr\u00edas y Escalante, Wise Abigail, 1667 \/ wikimedia<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":58925,"id":58925,"title":"isam25-Escalante-abigail","filename":"isam25-Escalante-abigail.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam25-Escalante-abigail.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/abigails-rebuke\/isam25-escalante-abigail\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam25-escalante-abigail","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":58924,"date":"2019-07-07 07:52:47","modified":"2019-07-07 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