Facts About Abigail: Are They True or False? Quiz

Answer: True

True. According to 1 Samuel 25:3, Abigail was married to Nabal, a man described as "surly and mean" in the NIV Bible. What's more, Abigail in 1 Samuel 25:25, states Nabal was not only wicked but his name meant "Fool". He might have been surly and mean, but he certainly had his comeuppance.

After being rude and obnoxious with David's men, Nabal was struck dead by the LORD, as per 1 Samuel 25:38. Shortly after Nabal's death, Abigail became David's wife. The same chapter states David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel.

Answer: True

True. According to 1 Samuel 25:3, Abigail and her husband lived at Carmel. In 1 Chronicles 3:1, she is described as "Abigail of Carmel". According to Wikipedia, Carmel was a community in Judea.

Mount Carmel, however, is not at Carmel. Wikipedia reports the famous mountain is part of a coastal mountain range overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It was on Mount Carmel, of course, where Elijah scored his spectacular victory over 450 prophets of Baal, as per 1 Kings 18:16-45.

Wikipedia also reports Carmel means 'God's vineyard'.

Answer: True

It's hard to believe, but Abigail is the only woman in the Hebrew Bible and the English Bible described as both beautiful and intelligent. A number of other women are described as beautiful. They are Sarah, Rachel, Bathsheba and Esther. And there appears to be no doubt there are a number of other women in the Bible who were intelligent, with some of them being Esther, Bathsheba, Lydia and Priscilla.

However, Abigail is the only one to have the double distinction in the text.

Answer: False

There is no mention whatsoever about Abigail's family. Like so many Bible characters, little in the way of details are given about her personal life.

Answer: False

False. There is no indication Abigail was unable to conceive. In 1 Chronicles 3:1, she is identified as the mother of Daniel and in 2 Samuel 3:3 as the mother of Kileab.

Answer: False

False. There is no record in Scripture about Abigail praying to the LORD. What's more, 1 Samuel does not have a 32nd chapter in the Old Testament of the English Bible. (In the Hebrew Bible, Samuel is one book without being divided into two parts.)

Answer: False

False. There is no indication in Scripture she did such a thing. However, it is possible she attempted to have her sons Daniel or Kileab installed as king. After all, for a woman to become the Queen Mother meant she would be the most powerful woman in the land.

Answer: True

True. They were both captured by the Amalekites, as per the 30th chapter of 1 Samuel. The chapter tells of David and his men arriving in Ziklag and finding the town burnt to the ground with all the "sons and daughters" taken captive by the Amalekites. Scripture goes on to state Abigail and Ahinoam were also taken captive. David and 400 men ended up attacking the Amalekites and freeing the captives, including his two wives.

1 Samuel 30:17-20, in the NIV Bible, states: "David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, 'This is David's plunder'."

Answer: True

Yes, there are two women in the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament of the English Bible, with the name Abigail. The other Abigail was the sister of David, as per 1 Chronicles 2:16-17. She was the wife of Jether. According to 2 Samuel 17:25, David's sister Abigail was the mother of Amasa.

Answer: False

There is no mention of Abigail in the New Testament. Her husband David, however, is mentioned multiple times in the New Testament, including the genealogy of Christ in the first chapter of Matthew and the third chapter of Luke. David's name can be also found in Mark and John as well as Acts, Romans, 2 Timothy, Hebrews and Revelation.