Abagail

Abagail is an Americanized respelling of the name Abigail, a name with Hebrew origins. From an etymological perspective, the Hebrew Avigayil (אֲבִיגָיִל) means “father’s joy” or “my father is joy”. Abigail is a name borne from the Bible, specifically in the Old Testament. She first appears in 1 Samuel 25:3 as the wife of a wealthy man named Nabal: “And she was a prudent and a very comely woman, but her husband was churlish, and very bad and ill natured.” In other words, Abigail was both intelligent and beautiful – in fact; she’s considered one of the most beautiful women in Jewish history. According to the Bible, David’s servants watched over Nabal’s shepherds and sheep, protecting them from harm while the shepherds were shearing Nabal’s large flock in the desert of Carmel. Shortly thereafter, David sent a message to Nabal respectfully requesting supplies and provisions for his men in exchange for their efforts. But Nabal refused. Angered at this rejection, and taking it as a personal affront, David prepared his soldiers for battle intent on killing Nabal. Enter Abigail. Hearing of her husband’s stinginess, she quickly amassed a large amount of food and supplies and raced to meet David with her offerings. In 1 Samuel 25:23-31, Abigail begs David to forgive her “naughty” husband, “for according to his name, he is a fool” (Nabal is Hebrew for “fool”) and beseeches David not to take up arms against Nabal. David thanked Abigail, realizing that she managed to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, which would have been a sinful act in the eyes of Yahweh. When Abigail returned and told Nabal what she had done, his heart turned to stone (in other words, he died from a heart attack). Now with Nabal out of the picture, David sent a messenger to Abigail asking for her hand in marriage. Utterly humbled, Abigail tells the servant: “Behold, let thy servant be a handmaid, to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” (1 Samuel 25:41). In other words, Abigail sees herself as almost too honored to call herself David’s wife – so much so, she’s willing to subjugate herself to his servants. This type of modesty appealed to the dissenting religious groups of the 17th century, and so the Puritans adopted the name Abigail as their own. Interestingly, it is also a common name in 17th century literature for a lady’s maid or servant (given the Biblical Abigail’s willingness to wash the feet of David’s servants). She, and her name, essentially became symbolic of humility. Abigail is currently a very popular name among English speaking nations. It’s a top favorite in the United States and Canada – but it’s also very common in Great Britain, Australia and Ireland. The spelling of “Abagail” is not a common one.