Women in the Bible – Abigail – Mother of Amasa, Sister of David

Women in the Bible – Abigail – Mother of Amasa, Sister of David

1 Chronicles 2:16-17 (ESV) And their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. The sons of Zeruiah: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, three. Abigail bore Amasa, and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.

Martha and I enjoy watching certain TV shows together. One of these is “Person of Interest.” The gist of the show tells of a computer system that is constantly scanning every action of every person (presumably on the planet) and alerting the authorities so they can intervene in matters of national security. It also has a “back door” program that notifies the systems designer with “irrelevant” people whose life is some way at risk.

The Bible is full of names. Many you have never heard because, quite frankly, their place in the historical events recorded in scripture is not very compelling, or “irrelevant” to the main storyline – Jesus reconciling man back to God. However, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at these folks and find out for myself their relevance. In my opinion, anyone mentioned in the Bible deserves to be considered. I do not believe there are any “wasted” words in the Bible.

The first name on the list is Abigail. There are two women mentioned in scripture that have this name. The first one we will consider is found in 1Chronicles 2. The name comes from the Hebrew word ʾabîgayil, which means “father (i.e. source) of joy.” Many of the “sisters” are never mentioned in scripture. It is possible that Abigail is mentioned because she was the daughter of Jesse, sister of David, who would one day be King of Israel.

Abigail had at least one child, a son named Amasa, which means “burden.” Abigail married a man named Jether the Ishmaelite, the father of Amasa. In 2 Samuel 17 Jether is referred to as Ithra the Israelite. There certainly seems to be a difference between the writers of the two books regarding the man’s name and family origin. I’ve read some documents about this written by folks above my pay grade. They assure us that it is not a discrepancy, simply an alternate form of the same name.

It would be very easy to invent a story line for Abigail. She could have lived a life similar to that of Lady Edith of Downton Abbey. In the TV show Edith had a child outside of marriage but was still loved by her father. The child grew up with the blessings that come with its station in life. The same may have been true for Amasa. We know from other references that Amasa was placed as a leader in the Israeli army under David. We also know that David considered him “bone of his bone.”

2 Samuel 17:24-26 (ESV) Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite, who had married Abigal the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.

2 Samuel 19:13 (ESV) And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me and more also, if you are not commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.’”

David was king over Judah before he became king over all of Israel. He united the divided kingdom of Israel, but there was a price in doing so.

2 Samuel 20:4-13 (ESV) Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.” So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us.” And there went out after him Joab’s men and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier’s garment, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened on his thigh, and as he went forward it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab’s hand. So Joab struck him with it in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow, and he died.

And one of Joab’s young men took his stand by Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway. And anyone who came by, seeing him, stopped. And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

Abigail’s son, Amasa, died in service to King David. He gave all trying to bring together the factions of Israel. It reminds me of the movie Braveheart where William Wallace wages war with England to free his native land of Scotland. It also brings to mind many in both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland who died trying to unite their homeland. Abigail, like many mothers of sons, suffered anguish because of the sacrifice of men on the battlefield. However, David made sure that Amasa’s death was vindicated. He killed Joab to avenge the death of his nephew, Amasa.

1 Kings 2:5 (ESV) “Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet.

1 Kings 2:32 (ESV) The LORD will bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men more righteous and better than himself, Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

So much of Abigail’s life remains a mystery. I’m sure there are many stories of being part of the royal family that went untold. However, there was much anguish that came with that role as well. David’s family, especially his sons, caused him much grief in his reign as king.