Life and Death in the Hands of Yahweh

Life and Death in the Hands of YHWH Commentary by Jennifer Moldenhauer Cite Share Show Bible Passage This miniature appears on folio 33v of the Crusader Bible—originally a picture book that was probably made around 1244–54 for King Louis IX of France. In view of the original royal patron of this Bible, the illumination seems to have been intended to offer instruction on the nature of royal dignity and of royal duty. The illumination is one of very few works to depict not only the encounter between David and Abigail, but also the subsequent events involving Nabal. Although Abigail's husband plays a fundamental role in the story, his figure is usually left out of its artistic reception. The biblical text describes him as ‘very rich’, but ‘churlish and ill-behaved’—a ‘Nabal’, which can be translated as ‘foolish’ or ‘senseless’. The upper register depicts the encounter between David, shown here as a medieval knight, and Abigail, also in contemporary costume. The heavily armed and armoured men on horseback are juxtaposed with the unarmed women and the shepherd. By contrast with many other works, where Abigail is depicted kneeling before David, she is here shown standing upright, which gives her person and her entreaty to David more power and impact. She urges David not to kill Nabal and his entire household so that he might not bring bloodguilt upon himself. When Abigail returns home, she finds her husband drunk from feasting like a king (v.36), and waits until the morning to tell him what she has done. Slumped on his throne, the bearded and elderly Nabal hears her report on her meeting with David. The description of his reaction (v.37) resembles a cardiac arrest, or possibly a stroke; its effect is that he lives for only ten more days (v.38). In the scene on the right, Abigail and her maidservants grieve at his bedside. Nabal's natural death confirms Abigail's prophecy of the necessity not to shed blood, and shows that life and death are in the hands of YHWH. The completely non-violent outcome of the Abigail episode, which differentiates it from many conflict resolutions in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, is what makes the story so special. References Greengus, Samuel. 2023. ‘Abigail and Nabal: What Really Happened?’, Journal for Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Law, 29: 133–46 Peetz, Melanie. 2008. Abigajil, die Prophetin: Mit Klugheit und Schönheit für Gewaltverzicht. Eine exergetische Untersuchung zu 1Sam 25 (Würzburg: Echter Verlag) Wolde, Ellen van. 2002. ‘A Leader Led by a Lady: David and Abigail in 1 Samuel 25’, Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 114.3: 355–75