Women in the Bible – Abital – One of King David's Wives

Women in the Bible – Abital – One of King David's Wives

2 Samuel 3:2-5 (ESV) And sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel; and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

1 Chronicles 3:1-4 (ESV) These are the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelite; the second, Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelite, the third, Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah; six were born to him in Hebron, where he reigned for seven years and six months. And he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

The next Woman in the Bible we will look at is Abital, a wife of David, the King of Israel. Abital comes from the Hebrew word ʾabîṭāl, which means “father of dew”, or “fresh.” She bore David a son, Shephatiah, whose name means “Jah has judged.” Very little is known about either Abital or her son. There are only the two references, cited above, mentioned in scripture.

All we know is Abital was a relative of Jesus, by way of her marriage to King David. She was part of the Tribe of Judah by marriage. We know much about many members of David’s family, mostly because of all the drama that tended to surround him. Son’s trying to overthrow his reign, killing other members of the family, etc. The fact that we never hear of Abital, or her son, Shephatiah, speaks volumes. They never caused the issues that landed others in David’s story recorded in scripture.

It brings to mind an interesting question. If there were a written account of your family history, how would you be remembered? Would you be a prominent figure that accomplished great feats? Would you be the reason for shame among your relatives? Or, perhaps you might be like Abital, that lived her life in the King’s house, raised a responsible son, and never caused anyone to speak of her in the narrative of David’s life? I think we spend too much time trying to build a legacy instead of living our lives. Let us take note of Abital and realize it’s not the headlines that define us. Sometimes, it’s the lack thereof.