WOMEN OF THE BIBLE - ABISHAG THE SHUNAMMITE

 Abishag The Shunammite

According to the Bible, Abishag (Hebrew אבישג) was a young woman of Shunem, distinguished for her beauty. She was chosen to be a helper and servant to David in his old age. Among Abishag's duties was to lie next to David and keep him warm; however, David did not have sexual relations with her (1 Kings 1:4). After David's death Adonijah persuaded Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, to entreat the king to permit him to marry Abishag. Solomon suspected in this request an aspiration to the throne, and therefore caused Adonijah to be put to death (1 Kings 2:17-25). It is possible that Abishag became one of Solomon's wives, as part of his heritage. Some scholars point to the possibility that Abishag is the female protagonist in the Song of Songs.

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The term comes from a root skn, "attend to," "take care," and its noun forms can be applied to high officials in Hebrew (Is. 22:15) Abishag's role was of a lower status. She served as bed companion to David in the hope that her fresh beauty would induce some warmth in the old man (I Kings 1:1–4, 15), and as his housekeeper. The notice (1:4) that "the king knew her not" serves less to impute decrepitude to David than to inform the audience that there would be no other claimants to David's throne than Solomon and Adonijah. When Solomon became king, *Adonijah, whose life Solomon had spared although he knew him to be a dangerous rival, asked *Bath-Sheba, Solomon's mother, to intercede on his behalf for permission to marry Abishag. Solomon correctly interpreted this request for the former king's concubine as a bid for the throne (See II Sam 12:8; 16:20–23), and had Adonijah killed (I Kings 2:13–25). Some see in Abishag, who is described as "very fair" (I Kings 1:4), the Shulammite of the Song of Songs (Shulammite being regarded as the same as Shunammite).