Bible Strands
1 Samuel 25:20
As Abigail came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming down toward her, and she met them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes Abigail riding her donkey into a mountain ravine as she encounters David and his men descending toward her. This occurs immediately after she secretly dispatched her servants ahead of her while concealing her departure from her husband Nabal.
The words — The Hebrew רֹכֶבֶת (ro.Khe.vet) literally means "was riding," and בְּסֵתֶר (be./Se.ter) translates to "in the cover of," describing her path through the ravine. These terms emphasize the physical concealment of her journey from Nabal.
The thread — The motif of a woman riding a donkey ahead of her household to intercept a crisis mirrors the Shunammite woman’s urgent departure in 2 Kings 4:24. Both accounts use the donkey ride to depict a woman acting independently to prevent disaster.
Why it lands — The text records Abigail’s physical approach to David before revealing her diplomatic speech, establishing the immediate tension of her intervention. A reader must observe her concealed departure and direct meeting to understand the practical steps she took to avert David’s violence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 4:24 Then she saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Drive onward; do not slow the pace for me unless I tell you.”