Abishag

Abishag, Bathsheba, Solomon, and Nathan tend to the aging David, c. 1435

David and Abishag by Pedro Américo, 1879

According to the Old Testament, 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 (David's fourth son), 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 inheritance. Some scholars point to the possibility that Abishag is the female protagonist in the Song of Songs.

See also

• Shunamitism

This article incorporates text from the entry Abishag in Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.