The Extinguished Voice of Abigail
“People, and even more so leading persons, become what they are in relationship to others” (Wolde, 355). In David’s case, his wives help shape his character throughout Bible. The narrator used David’s wives in order to depict his character rather than inform us about the women themselves, and when information is revealed concerning the women it is accidental rather than deliberate (Bellis, 133). Among David’s wives is Abigail, a somewhat unique character among women in the Bible. Ultimately, she is able to violate many of the patriarchal norms and is portrayed as a liberated character; however the narrator returns her to her role as a marginalized female before concluding her story in 1 Samuel 25. Abigail’s story is read today as a positive text that supports the female character, yet there is hidden patriarchy in the evolution of her character that ultimately leads to the extinguishing of Abigail’s powerful voice.
Within first Samuel, Abigail is introduced as the wife of Nabal whose name literally means fool. His character is in direct…show more content… As the prophetess, she takes on the role of redeemer whose prophecy is necessary in supposing the role of David in the future of God’s selected monarchy (Bach, 44). From the narrator’s perspective, this prophecy would be the greatest utterance and concern of Abigail’s existence within the text. Her role in the text is defined by her prophecy that David would later rule Israel as God’s chosen man (Bellis, 130). In her role as prophetess, she also becomes God’s vessel for the protection of David. Abigail warns David that shedding innocent blood would result in his downfall, and therefore prevents David from the consequences of blood guilt (Bach, 45). Consequently, Abigail manages to portray an impression of a “maternal wife