Abital
Abital was one of King David's wives and the mother of his son Shephatiah.
Biography
Abital was among the wives of King David during his reign in Hebron, and she bore him his fifth son, Shephatiah (2 Samuel 3:4; 1 Chronicles 3:3). Her name, likely meaning "my father is dew", evoking the refreshing, life-giving quality of morning dew, reflects the poetic naming traditions of the ancient Near East. Abital appears alongside David's other Hebron wives in two parallel genealogical lists, where her son Shephatiah is consistently numbered among David's sons. Though she has no individual narrative scenes in Scripture, her place in David's household situates her within one of the most politically complex and consequential periods of Israelite history, when the transition from Saul's dynasty to David's was still being contested.
Significance
Abital's mention in the Davidic genealogies affirms that God's covenant with David encompassed a royal house of genuine historical depth and breadth. David's multiple wives and their sons represented not only personal relationships but political alliances and dynastic complexity. The births of sons like Shephatiah kept alive the awareness that royal succession was never simple, a reality that would surface dramatically in the later rivalries among David's heirs. Abital thus belongs to the background of that larger story, reminding readers that even less prominent figures shaped the human context within which God's promises were working themselves out.
Verse Appearances (2)
2 Samuel
1 Chronicles
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]