ABIGAIL Bible Study 2026

 

Beginning January 2026, I'll be hosting a study on the life of Abigail, who we first meet in 1 Samuel chapter 25. 

This godly woman features a great deal throughout the chapter, initially as the wife of Nabal, but eventually becoming the wife of King David. Abigail's kindness and courage are two of the character traits we shall be gleaning from as we study her story, but we shall also learn of her knowledge, generosity, sensibility, beauty, humility, respectfulness, honesty and sacrifice.

I have set up this page to house every section of the study for as long as it runs - perhaps a few months, or maybe a year. There will be a date & subject heading between each section, beginning here at the top of the page and gradually moving down, so if you miss any of the study just come to this page and scroll down until you find where you're up to. 

I made some Abigail notepaper as a free download, so if you'd like to write your own notes on them simply print up as many pages as you'll need. Use the link below to download the notepaper.

DOWNLOAD Abigail Notepaper

The study will begin during the second week of January. Until then, have a read through the chapter and make some notes on what stands out to you. Hopefully, we shall have some great insights to share in the comments once we get started. 

God bless!

ABIGAIL Part One: 1 Samuel 1-3

(January 7th, 2026)

Setting the scene for this chapter we learn in v1 that God’s faithful priest and prophet, Samuel, has died and been buried in Ramah. At that time David and his men have been hiding in the caves of the Engedi, to escape King Saul who is hunting David in order to take his life. You’ll note that previously in chapter 24 David spares Saul’s life because he will not murder God’s anointed. This is an important point to consider in the next chapter with the story of Abigail.

Now, leaving the strongholds of Engedi, David and his men travel to the area where a different man of aggression is to be faced. Nabal.

Nabal is very rich, with thousands of sheep and goats, and he employed many men to shepherd them. He is described in v3 as a man none of us would want to be involved with. The reason I’d like us to take a look at Nabal is to give us a reference point between the character of Nabal, and that of his wife Abigail.

Nabal: In the ancient Hebrew, the description of Nabal is less than kind – he is cruel, impudent, obstinate, stiff-necked and stubborn. An all-round nasty man indeed.

nāvāl, pronounced na-VAHL, means fool, and indeed we shall see that his character in the story ahead confirms that description.

Abigail: How very different she is to her husband. Described as a woman of good understanding and beautiful countenance, I have heard many women ask “why did she marry such a dreadful man?” Well, these were different times, and most marriages were arranged or convenient. Abigail was more than likely ‘bought’ by Nabal from her father for a mohar, or what we would call a dowry. This would commonly be 50 silver shekels as we learn in Exodus 22 and Deuteronomy 22, but could also be paid in livestock, years of service to the father-in-law (such as with Jacob, Rachel and Leah), or even foreskins, which were King Saul’s price for David to marry his daughter Michal. If the families were very rich the price would be much higher than the 50 shekels.

So, it seems fairly obvious this was how Abigail came to be Nabal’s wife. But let us not forget that God is in the details, and He had a bigger plan for Abigail’s life.

I love how the Hebrew language widens our understanding of a particular word, something our English language has lost, or may never have had. When I studied the description of Abigail last year, her character qualities became qualities I desired to focus on in my own life, knowing I had many sharp edges to be smoothed down, but also a loving Father who would show me how. Studying godly women in the Bible serves to refine our modern character, and to change us character trait, by character trait, into Christian women who represent the Word of God in action, and not just name only. 

Let’s look at the Hebrew meaning of the words which described Abigail in v3.

Good understanding – seh-kel (sekel). She had discernment, discretion, knowledge, prudence, sense, wisdom.

The same word is used in Proverbs 19:11 – “The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression.”

In Nehemiah 8:8 – “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”

In Proverbs 23:9 – “Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.”

In Psalm 111:10 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.”

Beautiful countenance – toar (to-ar). This refers to form and appearance, the same word being used to describe Rachel in Genesis 29:17, and David in 1 Samuel 16:18

The Wise Woman:

The Bible has a lot to say about being a wise woman, such as here in Proverbs 14:1 where the scripture reads "The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands." 

To build means to 'repair, set up, make, to obtain children'...

But to pull it down (plucketh in the KJ) means to 'overthrow, ruin, break, destroy into pieces, beat down'. 

Abigail was a wise woman, not foolish, and this becomes very obvious as we continue her story in the weeks and months ahead.

Next time...

Before the next instalment of our Abigail study, read through v4-13 to learn of the aggressive situation that arose between David and Nabal.

Then focus on v14-19 because that’s when we meet this wise woman again, and our focus will be on those four verses.

Until then, God bless you all!

DOWNLOAD Part 1

ABIGAIL Part Two: 1 Samuel 25:4-19

(January 21st, 2026)

 At the end of Part One I asked that before we moved on in the study, you could read through v4-13 to learn of the aggressive situation that arose between David and Nabal, before placing our focus on v14-19, where we meet Abigail again. Today I shall quickly mention the incident with David and Nabal before moving on to Abigail.

David’s men have been living in the area where Nabal’s men were shepherding three thousand sheep. One of the young men relays to Abigail later, “they (David and his men) were very good to us…we suffered no harm, we missed nothing in the fields as long as we went with them…they were a wall to us both day and night, all the while we were keeping the sheep”. From this we know that David meant only good to Nabal and his workers, and was generous in protecting the men and the sheep from marauders.

When the time for shearing the sheep had come, David sent ten of his men to Nabal and asked that they greet him in David’s name, and request that Nabal supply them with food for the coming feast day, as they had long been watching over Nabal’s men and flocks.

Now here it gets very nasty, for Nabal not only ridicules David but refuses to give him anything, not caring at all about the protection which was freely given to his men and sheep for quite a time. 

David’s response when his men return with Nabal’s answer, was fierce, and he had four hundred of his men strap on their swords, for David’s anger was stoked and he planned to attack Nabal and all he had.

ABIGAIL: v14-19

One of Nabal’s young shepherds immediately alerts Abigail to the situation, how it came about, and how it would soon unfold to the detriment of all in Nabal’s household. The young man relays not just the facts about how David and his men had protected them in the fields, but he begins with this –

“Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them.”

This is interesting because on the surface we might wonder why David reacted so strongly at Nabal’s rejection of his request for food, but when you study the words used here, the vast contrast between the humble attitude of David’s request, and Nabal’s fiery denial of giving any help, the smoke clears a little.

David’s request in V14 – to ‘greet’ our master. Greet in Hebrew is “barak” (pronounced baw-rak) and means blessed, praise, to kneel down. From this we know that David’s men came before Nabal with a humble blessing from David, and would probably have knelt down before Nabal in their greeting.

Nabal, we are told in V14, ‘railed’ at them (the word can also be translated as reviled). Railed in Hebrew is “‘iyt” (pronounced eet) and means swooped down upon. The same word is used in 1 Samuel 14:32 when the starving soldiers ‘flew upon the spoil’ and ate the cattle raw because they were so hungry. It paints a picture of Nabal that caused me to imagine him swooping down on David’s men as though he wanted to devour them.

Now, what did I learn of Abigail in this? She listens. She did not rush the young servant who relayed all of this to her, but paid attention. She is the mistress of the household and could have turned him away; she could have distanced herself from any involvement and turned a deaf ear. I also think the young man went to her because he knew of her honest and caring character, and believed she would act to save Nabal’s household from certain destruction. And that is exactly what she did.

This is where we see Abigail living out the description of herself from V3. We learned previously that she was not just beautiful, but had good understanding – seh-kel (sekel), which means discernment, discretion, knowledge, prudence, sense, wisdom. Now all those traits, and more, come to the fore.

In V18-19 Abigail, thinking quickly and wisely, and with great generosity, has donkeys laden with food of all kinds, in large quantities, prepared and sent ahead of her to David. She did not tell her husband, but bravely sets out on her own donkey to face David and beg for Nabal and their household to be spared.

She would have had no idea about the type of reception she would receive from David, who at this stage is furious with murderous intent against everything and everyone that belonged to Nabal, but she was doing all she knew, in a short amount of time, to step in and bring a peaceful end to the matter before blood would be spilled.

I have to say, this is where my admiration and awe of Abigail shines through. She takes up such a tiny part of Scripture, and yet if she did not take these steps, the course of David’s story would have taken a different turn. More about that as we move further into the chapter…

Next time we shall look at V20-35.

DOWNLOAD Part 2

ABIGAIL Part Three: 1 Samuel 25:20-35

(February 12^th, 2026)

At the end of Part Two I asked that before we moved on in the study, you could read verses 20-35, so let us take a look now at this meeting between Abigail and David, a meeting she hoped would save the lives of many innocent men, a meeting which put her own life at risk.

After Abigail has the servants load donkeys with a vast and generous array of grains, meat, fruits, bread and wine, she mounts another donkey and sets off to meet David before he can attack her husband and his men.

We see from verses 20-22 that David was furious with Nabal. He and his men had freely protected Nabal’s shepherds and the thousands of sheep and goats in their care from attack during the lead up to the shearing season, but when David requested food for his men, Nabal replied with anger and insults instead.

Now David’s own anger is stirred and he makes known his intent to kill every male belonging to Nabal – that would have been employees, servants, slaves, relatives – by morning light. It is for this reason Abigail takes action to save the men.

Sending the laden donkeys with some servants ahead of her, Abigail rode behind under cover of the hill until coming face to face with David. Upon meeting him, Abigail falls on her face before him, and begs that David hear her out.

Now this is what I found interesting – Abigail shows David respect and honour when she falls on her face before him and accepts personal blame for Nabal’s actions with genuine humility. Verse 28 - ²⁸ Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant.

As we move on in this passage, we learn that God is using Abigail to prophecy over David and bring God’s correction to his young future king. I wonder if things would have turned out differently had she not been so humble? Would God still have used her? Would she have eventually become David’s wife?

Up until now, David has not been bloodthirsty, has not attacked anyone except to save Israel and only then as the Lord would lead, and has shown respectful restraint in not killing King Saul when he had easy opportunity to do so. But now his anger has been quickly stoked and he is after revenge. This would be murder, and not able to be justified before God because Nabal’s men are not an enemy tribe or nation which God has instructed David to destroy, nor are they a force trying to kill him or his men. Nabal’s men would simply become innocent victims of David’s anger.

I was reminded of this verse from Proverbs when I read of David’s unbridled anger –

Proverbs 19:11 – The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression.

Here is part of what Abigail prophesies and relays to David from the Lord -

²⁶ Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. ²⁷ And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. ²⁸ Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. ²⁹ If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. ³⁰ And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, ³¹ my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

Abigail’s courage shines through in this entire episode, and I am so moved when she asks David to forgive HER for the sin of Nabal. Doesn’t this remind you of Jesus? She is willing to pay with her life for the sin of Nabal, and at this point still does not know if she will live or die by David’s sword. I have heard many women frown upon Abigail’s decision to disobey her husband, and yet Jesus tells us in John 15:13 – There is no greater love than this — that a man should lay down his life for his friends. Abigail was prepared to lay down her life.

David’s response is one of repentance and humility, as he now recognises his sin, and also confesses that because of what she has done, God has held back David’s hand from hurting Abigail.

³² And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! ³³ Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! ³⁴ For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” ³⁵ Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

Back in verse 3 of this chapter, we learned about the character of Abigail, and I think her actions, with regards to all involved in this story, confirm it – 1 Samuel 25:3 Abigail was a woman of good understanding “seh-kel” (sekel) which means she had discernment, discretion, knowledge, prudence, sense, wisdom. As I read her story, she lived out every one of those qualities.

In the final part of this Abigail study, we shall focus on verses 36-43, as well as an overlooked aspect of Abigail’s character many years later, for 1 Samuel 25 is not the end of her story, or her legacy.

DOWNLOAD Part 3