Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
1 Samuel 25:39-44
David, Having Lost His Wife Through Saul's Conniving, Receives Two Wives in Her Place (25:39c-44).
Once David had fled from Saul he became an outlaw. Thus Saul considered that his marriage to Michal was consequently at an end, and gave Michal to someone else. But we learn that YHWH then adequately compensated him by giving him instead two wives, first Ahinoam, a Jezreelite, and now Abigail the Wise and Beautiful.
Analysis.
a And David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife (1 Samuel 25:39).
b And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you, to take you to him to wife” (1 Samuel 25:40).
c And she arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, “Look, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord” (1 Samuel 25:41).
b And Abigail hurried herself, and arose, and rode on an ass, with five damsels of hers who followed her, and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife (1 Samuel 25:42).
a David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they became both of them his wives. And Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim' (1 Samuel 25:43).
Note that in ‘a' David decided to take Abigail to be his wife, and in the parallel took Ahinoam to be his wife, having lost Michal. In ‘b' David sent his servants for Abigail, and in the parallel Abigail hastened to go with them to be his wife. Centrally in ‘c' Abigail accepted David's proposal.
1 Samuel 25:39 c (e-Sword Note: For commentary on "a" and "b" of verse 39, read the end of the commentary on 1 Samuel 25:38.)
‘And David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife.
David had clearly been impressed by Abigail, and once he had learned that she was now free he decided to take her as his wife, in addition to Ahinoam from Jezreel whom he had previously married. By this means he would probably gain control of great wealth and provision through Abigail which would provide resources for his men, unless of course Nabal had an adult son. But in that case the lands would probably be confiscated by Saul once he learned of the situation.
There must, however, have been a decent interval between Nabal's death and this final incident for custom would have demanded that Abigail mourn for Nabal for a reasonable period (compare Genesis 50:1; Numbers 20:29, and those were just the periods of official mourning. A further discreet period would also probably be expected).
‘ And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you, to take you to him to wife.”
So he sent his servants to Abigail to explain that David wanted her as his wife.
‘ And she arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, “Look, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”
Abigail received them with courtesy and discreetly accepted what, once David had made his choice, must have been seen as inevitable. She was in no position to refuse him. On the other hand the fact that she hurried to respond may suggest great willingness. After all, she knew that he was the heir apparent to the throne of Israel.
Her response should not be taken too literally. To wash the feet of someone's servants was the job of the meanest slave. It was merely an exaggerated way of accepting David's offer and expressing her willingness to obey him in all things.
‘ And Abigail hurried herself, and arose, and rode on an ass, with five damsels of hers who followed her, and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.'
In the same way as Abigail had hurried to set out in order to appease David in 1 Samuel 25:18, so now she hurried to go to meet him as her future husband, taking with her five maidens for company, and travelling in the company of David's men. And once she had arrived at his camp she became his wife, no doubt through the ministry of Abiathar.
‘ David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they became both of them his wives.'
We should probably translate as ‘had taken' for 2 Samuel 3:2 suggests that Ahinoam was David's first wife after Michal. She came from Jezreel which was also in the hill country of Judah (Joshua 15:55). Whether consciously or unconsciously David was by this preparing the way for the future, for by these marriages he was establishing his identity among the southern tribes and their allies and gaining family rights over large areas of land. It would do him no harm once the throne of Israel/Judah became vacant.
‘ And Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.'
We are then informed why David needed further wives. It was because Michal had been taken from him by Saul and had been married to another. Having made David an outlaw, and having determined on his death, he wanted his daughter removed from such a parlous situation. Saul also probably had the aim of scotching any idea that David could claim the throne as Saul's son-in-law. So many of Saul's wrong actions were the result of his passion to ensure the establishment of his own dynasty. Samuel's twofold rejection of him had bitten deeply into his life. We know nothing of Palti other than the fact that he came from Gallim (compare Isaiah 10:30) and was the son of Laish, and that he truly loved Michal and was heartbroken when after Saul's death David demanded that she be restored to him (2 Samuel 3:13).