ABIGAIL IS a wonderful example of wisdom and diplomacy, who acted contrary to her husband’s wishes—but in his best interests.

Nabal—certainly not his name, since it means “fool”—insulted the messengers sent by David to ask for some supplies after protecting Nabal’s flocks and shepherds in the wilderness. Abigail wisely put together a caravan of gifts for David and his men, which stopped David from slaughtering everyone in Nabal’s household.

When Abigail told her husband what had happened, Nabal suffered a heart attack (or a stroke) and died ten days later. David sent to Abigail and made her his third wife (after Saul’s daughter Michal and Ahinoam of Jezreel).

Meanwhile, Saul continued to hunt for David, who spares the king’s life a second time. Not being stupid, David decided to take his followers and his new wives to the Philistines. This time, Achish, the king of Gath, took David in. This put David in an awkward position: On the one hand, Saul wouldn’t chase him into Philistine territory. On the other, David had to show loyalty to Achish without raiding and killing his fellow Israelites.