In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Shunem chosen to be a helper and

servant A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...

to King

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

in his old age. Among Abishag's duties was to lie next to David and pass along her body heat and vigor because "they put covers on him, but he could not get warm".

Biblical narrative

1 Kings 1:4 notes that David did not engage in sexual intercourse with her. When brought to David, she was a ''na'arah'', which indicates youth or virginity but not necessarily both. Nonetheless, there are elements of Jewish exegetical tradition which maintain that David engaged in anal intercourse with Abishag and he was not totally impotent. It is speculated that King David engaged in a multicoital act of intercourse with his wife

Bathsheba Bathsheba (; , ) was an Kings of Israel and Judah, Israelite queen consort. According to the Hebrew Bible, she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, with whom she had all of her five children. Her status as the mother of Solomon ...

in his old age precisely to prove his continued virility. After David's death,

Adonijah According to 2 Samuel, Adonijah (, ''’Ǎḏōnīyyā''; "my lord is Yah") was the fourth son of King David. His mother was Haggith as recorded in the book of . Adonijah was born at Hebron during the long conflict between David and the House o ...

(David's fourth and eldest surviving son) persuaded

, King

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

's mother, to entreat the king to permit him to marry Abishag. Solomon suspected in this request an aspiration to the throne, since Abishag was considered David's concubine, and so ordered

's assassination (1 Kings 2:17–25). In the earlier story of

Absalom Absalom ( , ), according to the Hebrew Bible, was an Israelite prince. Born to David and Maacah, who was from Geshur, he was the only full sibling of Tamar. He is described in the Hebrew Bible as being exceptionally beautiful, as is his siste ...

's rebellion, it is noted that having sexual relations with the former king's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

is a way of proclaiming oneself to be the new king. Adonijah may have asked to marry her at the suggestion of his mother. Some scholars point to the possibility that Abishag is the female protagonist in the

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

. Later Jewish

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

ic and Christian traditions paid little attention to Abishag's role.

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

refers to her as a ''meḥomemet'', or "warmer". Modern commentaries and translators have variously described her as a "housekeeper", "hot-water bottle", "heating pad," "attendant" or "bedfellow", though she is twice referred to as a ''sokenet'' in the text of Kings. This term, when applied to a male (''soken''), is often translated "administrator" or "palace steward" in Isaiah 22:15, leading some to believe she may have had a broader role and responsibilities. Other commentaries describe her role as being a nurse to the frail King David. Abishag's experiences have provided inspiration for contemporary writers including

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

Itzik Manger Itzik Manger (30 May 1901, Czernowitz, then Austrian-Hungarian Empire – 21 February 1969, Gedera, Israel; ) was a prominent Yiddish language, Yiddish poet and playwright, a self-proclaimed folk bard, visionary, and 'master tailor' of the writ ...

, Louise Gluck and Shirley Kaufman. The story is referred to allegorically at the end of the first part of the final volume (The Cross or in the original Norwegian, Korset) of Kristin Lavransdatter by

Sigrid Undset Sigrid Undset (; 20 May 1882 – 10 June 1949) was a Danish people, Danish-born Norwegian people, Norwegian novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1928. Born in Den ...

. Abishag's name, although not her story, is invoked to begin Robert Frost's poem "Provide, Provide."

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 10th-century BC women 10th-century BCE Hebrew people Books of Kings people Women in the Hebrew Bible People from the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)

Biblical narrative

See also

References

External links