Pro-Davidicism and Feminism in 1 Samuel 25

There are two main issues that play an important role in chapter 25 of 1 Samuel. The first is the ways in which pro-Davidic propeganda are used to further the story and demonstrate David's superiority as a potential king. The second is the depiction of the female ideal through the character of Abigail and her relatinship with David. It is also very likely that the story would have had a very different edge to it had it been written from a pro-Saulite perspective.

Despite the fact that David goes through an exilic period where he becomes a bandit figure that often displeases the lord, it is still clea r that the authors of 1 Samuel are very pro-Davidic and anti-Saul and the story of David and Abigail contains several examples of this pro-Davidic propegand. Even though some of his actions are not the most honorable. David is portrayed in 1Samuel 25 as the hero who can do no wrong and is perpetually protected and assisted by Yahweh, and even his female love interest in the story is portrayed in a very positive light despite negative actions.

David sends some of his men to Nabal to demand gifts of food and supplies in return for not killing his livestock or servants. This is couched in pleasant terms, but it is clear that if he does not comply, there will be bloodshed, which is not exactly something a future king of Israel and a good servant of the Lord should be doing. Indeed, when Nabal's message of refusal gets back to David, they take up swords and start off to kill Nabal and take his goods and lands by force.

They are stoped, however by Nabal's wife, Abigail, who says she is acting in the name of the Lord. This protection by God is another example of pro-Davidic propaganda, since this shows he is a chosen favorite of the lord, not that his actions were controlled by a strange woman, whom under other circumstances would have been ignored or merely treated as booty.

The delivery of Nabal's wife and his property into David's hands is an example of this special relationship with God and his own charismatic personality, rather than an effect of brute force and murder. This is also related to the way Abigail treats David when she first meets him, which is by throwing herself on the ground in front of him, treating him like a king. She says God prompted her to come and stop the blood feud that would have resulted from David's army attacking Nabal, again reflecting this special relationship with God.

Abigail as the Ultimate Woman

The author describes Abigail as "beautiful and intelligent" yet she is controlled by a "surly and mean" husband, which is a common folk theme of the damsel under duress. Though she is trapped in a loveless relatinship,

she is clearly intelligent enough and has enough personal freedom to escape and prevent the large ammounts of bloodshed that would have resulted if David had attacked Nabal. The servant who alerts her obviously has respect for her as person, and as the voice of reason in the household; the person to talk to in an emergency. It seems unlikely that she wanted to save her husband from David, but more likely she wanted to save David from spilling blood unneccesarily. She also implies it was the Lord who prompted her, giving him prophesies of Gods protection and the proliferation of his descendants.

She demonstrates a small ammount of control in her relationship with Nabal when she refuses to speak to him because of his drunken state, which Nabal doesn't even seem to notice. She then tells him how she went against his will, which then causes him to have a seisure, and some days later "the lord struck him." Abigail doesn't seem too upset or remorseful about his death, and quite happily goes off to join David and become one of his many wives, prostrating herself before his servants and picking up allher belongings and packing them on donkeys. It is also interesting to note that the author mentions at this point that David's first wife, Michal, the daughter of Saul has left him and been married to another.

Pro-Saul Version:

Had the story been written by a pro-saul author, there probably would have been several significant differences. When David demanded the food and supplies from Nabal, he still would not have given it to him. David may or may not have gone and spilled blood, but Abigail's role would have been significantly different. Either she would not have gotten involved until after David came to claim Nabal's or she would have been portrayed as an uppity woman whohad to fight David's battle for him, rather than a messenger of the Lord. Nabal's death would have been a result of Abigail murdering him at David's instigation in order to marry David. She would then have to have been executed for murder, as would David. David would have been punished for his activities as an "outlaw captain" and cerainly would not have been made into the folk hero that he is as the Bible is now.