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Person · Tribe of Judah

Abigail

Woman living at the time of United Monarchy

Abigail, David's sister, was the mother of Amasa, who became the commander of Absalom's army.

🗺 Places mentioned alongside Abigail on the map →

Also known as Abigal

Abigail was the daughter of Jesse and the sister of King David, as mentioned in 1Ch.2.16-17. She married a man named Jether, who was an Ishmaelite (2Sa.17.25). Abigail and Jether had a son named Amasa, who played a significant role during the rebellion of David's son Absalom.

During Absalom's revolt against David, Absalom appointed Amasa as the commander of his army, replacing Joab, who had been David's military commander (2Sa.17.25). After Absalom's defeat and death, David offered Amasa the position of commander-in-chief to appease the supporters of Absalom.

However, when David sent Amasa to gather the men of Judah, he took longer than expected. This delay prompted David to send Abishai and Joab to pursue the rebel Sheba. Joab, seeing Amasa as a threat to his position, killed him (2Sa.20.4-13). The biblical text does not provide further information about Abigail's life or her reaction to her son's death.

Family

Father
Jesse
Mother
Nahash
Spouse or partner
Jether
Children
Amasa

Where Abigail appears

3 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0026

2 Samuel1
1 Chronicles2

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.