Mediate Like Abigail

The life of Abigail is given in 1 Samuel 25. In our introduction to her, we are told that she is intelligent and beautiful, a description that should not be taken lightly. Growing up I heard about Abigail maybe once or twice, but we never really discussed her in detail nor the implications of her behavior on the expectations of being a woman of God.

Beauty and Brains

Each translation has a slightly different word choice in the description of Abigail, but using the context of the passage I believe she was being described as wise and clever. When it comes to Abigail's beauty, I think it's interesting that the author creates a juxtaposition between intelligence with beauty and being mean and surly. It almost implies that one cannot be intelligent and mean or mean and beautiful. This implication hold with other passages in the Bible that tell us man looks outward while God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7) and that beauty is fleeting (Proverbs 31:30). Since it is the Holy Spirit that is inspiring this passage, I opften wonder if the word beauty is describing her heart or her physcality, or possibly both. Another interesting point about her description is that her intelligence is mentioned first. Usually the first thing listed is the most pronounced or the more important matter.

Saving the Day

We only get one chapter about Abigail but it's pretty powerful. When her husband, Nabal, is rude to David, Abigail sets things right by doing going behind her husband's back to do the right thing. She provides the hospitality that David desereved, intercedes on her husband's behalf—complete with an appology where she takes the blame for her husbands rude behavior and an isult to her husband's character—and tops it off with a little chastizing of David, as well. Abigail's actions are bold and very different from what the church typically teaches about the Godly woman's behavior.

Prepared

So, one thing the church pushes on women that Abigail does display is hospitality. The amount of food Abigail just has lying around to be given away is astonishing. Even with a grocery store 5 minutes from my house, I don't know that I could acquire that much food in the time Abigail did. Of course it is importatn to point out here that Abigail had servants to help her with this task. She did not prepare all this on her own! It is this preparedness, however, that allows her to make ammends. If I were in Abigails shoes, everyone would have died, because even if I'd thought to do what she did, I would not have had the means. It is important for us as believer to anticipate what is needed. A simple example is leaving the house early because you anticipate traffic to cut down on road rage and crazy driving.

Behind Her Husband's Back

Where things get interesting is that Abagail did not submit to her husband's decision. The way the church harps on submission, you would think the "appropriate" action would have been to stay out of it, or to ask for permission to to give David the food. Abigail does neither and is praised for being intelligent. Also, her actions save the lives of many people, since David's reaction was to kill Nabal's household. Personally, I believe this goes back to something I said at the beginning of this series: we're only required to submit to a Godly husband. In Ephesians 5, where women are told to submit, the whole relationship is compared to that of Christ and the Church. Christ is the perfect husband, He would never lead you to harm, nor ask you to do what is wrong. Christ loves His bride. Nabal did not exhibit the fruit of the Spirit and thus wasn't Christ-like, and we see Abigail praised for chosing Christ-like behavior over submission to her husband. That says something.

Correction

Not only does Abigail go behind her husband's back, she corrects David. David's revenge scheme wasn't Godly either. Abigail reminds him that vengence is for the Lord. She says o in a polite manner, but she is in fact correcting a man, the future king of Israel no less. She was not silent by any means. Upon being corrected, David—the man after God's own heart—thanks her for her correction. He recognizes his wrongness and acknowledges that she is correct. Think about that.

Happily Ever After?

After Abigail saves her household, she tells her husband what she has done—no secrets!—and upon hearing this news, he has a stroke or heart attack. Within a few days Nabal is dead. Remember, during this time, women weren't afforded many rights, so with her husband dead and seemingly no son to take care of her, Abigail was possibly placed in a difficult predicament when Nabal died. It's posssible that she had family who would have seen to her needs but likely she would have been destitute. Fortunately, David was impressed by Abigail (or felt obligated, the Bible doesn't say exactly). When he hears that Nabal is dead, he sends for Abigail and makes her one of his wives. The Bible names another woman as also being taken as a wife for David so I'm not sure if Abigail was his second or third wife, but at this point in David's life, Saul had taken David's first wife, Michal, from him. Therefore it is possible that for a time Abigail served as the first wife (meaning she would have had the most influence and power). That being said, we know David had many many wives, so I'm not sure this was a love marriage.

The Life of Leah

The Bible doesn't give us much to work with when it comes to the life of Leah, first wife of Jacob, but there are definitely tidbits to be gleaned. As one of the most relatable women in the Bible, I think it's important we look at her story and try to understand it from all angles.

Was Leah Ugly?

Many people assume Leah was ugly because when she is introduced, she is contrasted to her sister's beauty.

Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. Genesis 29:17 KJV

There are actually several reasons the author could have made this contrast, some of which don't end with Leah being "ugly." In fact, it might not even be a contrast! Below are some thoughts and research on this particular verse.

Dominant Attributes

Have you ever been in an interview where they ask you to describe yourself? Or better yet, they ask you how your friends would describe you? Think of someone you know well; what is the first word that pops in to your head to describe them? Now, thinking more broadly, if you did this exercise for everyone you know, how many times would beautiful be the first word that came to mind? Just because that isn't the descriptor that first comes to mind doesn't mean the person is ugly; it simply means other adjectives are more prominent. Even for someone as high profile as Beyoncé, this first thought that pops in to my head is not beautiful (it's along the lines of her dedication to putting on a high quality show). What we can say for a fact is that the most distinguishing feature for Rachel was beauty, but something else shined brighter for Leah.

Comparisons

Speaking of Beyoncé, can you imagine being Solange? I could definitely see someone penning a sentence like "Beyonce was beautiful, but Solange was deep." Both women are beautiful and perhaps both women are deep, but Solange is known more for her sound than her looks. Most people are average looking (that's the definition of average after all). Each of us would be the Solange to Beyoncé, but that doesn't mean we're ugly. Fortunately, most of us aren't surrounded by models, which means it's not as obvious how average we are.

What Was With Her Eyes?

Granted, a lot of speculation hinges on just want Leah's descriptor means. There's no ambiguity in the description of Rachel as beautiful, but what does it mean to be "tender eyed" (KJV)? Some translations render this as "weak eyes" (NIV, NASB). One translation actually says "Leah had lovely eyes" (Good News Translation). So what does that actually mean?

Weak eyes sounds like someone with vision trouble to me. Someone in my Sabbath school kept saying she had a lazy eye (I'm not sure where the person deciphered that). Tender eyed makes me think of someone who is gentle and meek being contrasted with someone who is more "in your face." Of course I wouldn't be me if I didn't suggest we go straight to the source!

The Hebrew text uses two words to describe Leah: רַךְ and עַיִן.

רַךְ can mean anything from tender to fainthearted. The official definition says that it means tender or soft, which by implication means weak.[1] Note that this isn't weak in the sense of failing, but weak in the sense of gentle. The same word is used in Deuteronomy 28:56 to describe dainty women and in 2 Samuel 3:39 to describe David as vulnerable. Another example is in Proverbs 15:1: the word rendered "soft" is the same in Hebrew.

The second word (עַיִן) is usually translated as "eye" but it is also translated as face, color, or presence in some places—sometimes it's even translated as fountain or well![2]

The phrase could mean anything from she had a soft presence to she had poor sight (or a lazy eye). What's more is that using Hebrew grammar and the use of the letter "waw" to join the clauses, an argument can be made to tranlsate the verse to use the disjunctive "but" or the conjective "and." Given the latter, the text would read, "Lead was tender eyed and Rachel was beautiful."< a href="#three">[3] Combining that with the ambiguity of the original text, it could actually read "Leah was of soft presence and Rachel was beautiful." We really don't know...

There are several theories about what this phrase actually means, and some of them include a belief that Leah was also beautiful.[4]

Marriage to Jacob

One of the biggest mysteries in the Bible (in my opinion) is how Leah ended up married to Jacob in the first place. There are so many questions:

1. Israelite weddings have several part—like the marriage feast. Presumably these traditions either date all the way to Hebrew traditions (meaning Laban would have honored them too) or are some combination of Egyptian and Caananite traditions with the Hebrew traditions. Either way, during that time, weddings were more than just the one day of feasting and ceremony, so did Leah have her face covered for every part of the celebration?
2. Where was Rachel? If you have identical twins and swap them, it makes sort of makes sense that the groom doesn't know the one he wants to marry is in the audience, but if they aren't identical twins, wouldn't Jacob have looked out in the audience and seen Rachel?
3. If Rachel didn't look enough like Leah to pass as being Leah in the audience, why didn't Jacob wonder were Leah was? Surely the sister of the bride would be in attendance to your wedding, right?
4. Did Rachel know the wedding was happening? Why didn't she say anything?
5. Why did Leah agree to marry a man who wanted to marry her sister? Did she have a choice?

I'm sure there are other questions to be asked, but these are the ones that popped in to my head immediately. There are equally as many scenarios that could have lead to this union.

• Jacob could have known what was happening and chosen to go alog with the cherade, knowing Laban would have to give him Rachel eventually. This would imply he also wanted Leah as a wife.
• Leah could have had feelings for Jacob despite his desire for Rachel.
• Leah may not have had any suitors and it may have been her only shot at marriage.
• The same way Abraham and Isaac sent for wives from among their own people, Laban may have thought the other men were not worthy of his daughters and thus desired both be married to a near kinsman.
• The Red Tent (a fictional novel inspired by Jacob's family and his only named daughter, Dinah) postulates that Rachel asked Leah to take her place because Rachel was afraid

Getting to Know Leah

Not much is said about Leah, but we do get a glimpse of her thoughts as she names her children.

Birth Order (to Leah)	Birth Order (to Jacob)	Name	Meaning	Leah's Comment
1	1	Rueben	Behold a son	Surely God has looked on my affliction (Genesis 29:32)
2	2	Simeon	Heard	Because the LORD has heard I was hated (Genesis 29:33)
3	3	Levi	Joined to	Now this time will my husband be joined to me (Genesis 29:34)
4	4	Judah	Praised	Now I will praise to the LORD (Genesis 29:35)
5	9	Issachar	There is recompense	God has given me my hire (Genesis 30:18)
6	10	Exalted	Zebulun	Now will my husband dwell with me (Genesis 30:20)
7	11?	Dinah	Judgment	-

There are a couple interesting things here. The main thing is that after all but one of her sons' births she makes reference to her posistion with Jacob. The inference being that she thought Jacob would love her if she gave him a son or that she was being rewarded for not being loved through children. Note that in that time (really even through modern day) a woman's only value was her ability to provide a male heir. The one child she seems to have for herself and simply praises God for without mentioning Jacob is Judah. It is from Judah that we get Boaz, David, Solomon, and eventually the Messiah. It is from Judah that we have the lineage of kings! It is from Judah that the southern region of Israel inherited the name Judea and it's inhabitants would eventually be known as Jews...

Also from Leah is the tribe of Levi, the priests of Israel. All other tribes of Israel were "lost" to Assyria;[5] so we only know of Leah's descendants today and only Leah's descendants are carrying on the legacy.

Happily Ever After?

Based on the expressions she has after each child, it would seem that Jacob never cared for Leah, but when you look at the overall story, I'm not so sure. We know that Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin, her second child and Jacob's 12th son. How long after that did Leah live? It's possible that their relationship thrived after the death of Rachel.

I make this observation because it is Leah, not Rachel, who is buried in the family tomb. Jacob chose to be buried with Leah instead of Rachel which I find odd.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that just because Jacob favored Rachel, it doesn't mean he mistreated Leah. The fact that Leah had seven children proves that something was going on between them. Now sure, it could have been "duty," but if Leah was "ugly" and truly hated Jacob could have neglected to sleep with Leah. Do you really think Solomon slept with all 1000 of his wives regularly?

I don't know that we'll ever know the exact situation for Leah, but I like to think that even though she wasn't Jacob's favorite, she still managed to live a happy life.

References and Footnotes

1. "H7390. רַךְ". Blue Letter Bible; visited May 20, 2022
2. "H5869. עַיִן". Blue Letter Bible; visited May 20, 2022
3. Paul Tanner, ThM, PhD. Hebrew Syntax. 1997-2004; visited May 20, 2022
4. John J. Parsons. "Leah's Weak Eyes". Hebrew 4 Christians; visited May 20, 2022
5. I put lost in quotations because there is a verse that says people from the other tribes moved to the southern kingdom during the split, and the tribe of Benjamin also resided there. Thus, technically these tribes still existed, but it is generally thought that they were absorbed in to Judah and Levi.

Who Was Jezebel?

The Jezebel Spirit

Someone once told me that heels, specifically stilettos, where part of the Jezebel Spirit. If you grew up in the church, especially if you're a woman, you've probably heard of the Jezebel Spirit. Ususally it is applied to women who seem "loose" or promiscious. It is a spirit of haughtiness and sexual immorality, said to be derived from the evil queen who ruled the Northern Kingdon of Israel for a time.[3][4]

Although sexual immorality is a sin, thus making the spirit of sexual immorality a legitimate concern, the Jezebel Spirit is often used by members of the church to attack anything that they perceive as representing female sexuality. Not only have I seen heels associated with the spirit, but jewelry and makeup, as well. While adornment and the concept of modesty are whole topics in and of themselves, they are entangled with the concept of the Jezebel Spirit. Anything that people perceive as a woman doing to seduce a man is often lumped in with the Jezebel Spirit. And while many (probably even most) woman are not thinking about men when they put on their jewelry or do their makeup, those who consider it part of the Jezebel Spirit see it as being done to beautify oneself for the purpose of seduction.

The Jezebel Trope and Racism

We know that Jezebel is often used as a slur or deragatory to refer to women, but as a black woman I also associate Jezebel with a trope that has been used to exploit black women. In media, black people are usually pigeon holed in to a handful of roles. For black women you typically have the Mamie figure (e.g., all the women in The Help), the magical Negro (e.g., Bonnie Bennett in The CW's The Vampire Diaries), the strong black woman (e.g. almost any role played by Janet Jackson or Gabrielle Union), and the Jezebel (e.g. any hip hop music video), just to name a few. In modern society, the Jezebel role is quite popular. When attributed strictly to prostitution, Halle Berry's role in Monster's Ball comes to mind first (she even won an Academy Award for the role). LisaRaye in The Player's Club also comes to mind. Usually, however, it's not outright prostitution but a hyper sexualization of the actress and character. Here, I think of many of Megan Good's roles, such as in Think Like A Man. The movie Cuties, though supposedly a commentary on hypersexuality, not only sexualizes young girls, but puts a young black girl at the forefront of this 'sexual discovery.' Nicki Minaj, in general, but specifically in the movie Barbership: The Next Cut. This topic is too large to cover here, but I did want to point out that the Jezebel Spirit is often pointed toward black women disporportionately.[9][1]

Modern Arguements Against The Jezebel Spirit

Naturally, today's society pushes back on this concept. Many people seek to redefine Jezebel and repair her damaged repuation.[5][6][7][8] Some compare the smearing of Jezebel's character by associating her with prositution to modern sexism. They argue that because she was powerful, those who opposed her countered by attacking her sexuality. Others argue that it's a case of Biblical authors being taken too literally, as sexual immorality is often used as a desciptor when talking about Israel's idolatry. So, I asked myself, "Who was Jezebel, really?"

Who Was Jezebel

The first thing I did was look up the origin and meaning of "Jezebel." In Hebrew the name is actually Izevel and it is linked to Ba'al worship. Likely it means "unexalted" or "where is the prince?"—the latter being a reference to Ba'al worship.[1][2]

The second thing I did was use the search feature in a digital Bible to find all the references pertaining to Jezebel in the Bible. To my surprise, there are actually two Jezebels mentioned in the Bible: one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament.

Old Testament Jezebel

Jezebel of the Old Testament is introduced in 1 Kings 16:31 as the daughter of a king who marries Israel's king. She and her husband worship the Canaanite god Ba'al and lead Israel to do the same. The most significant things attributed to Jezebel during her life are the following:

1. Turning the people away from YHWH and toward Ba'al
2. Murder of the prophets of God (1 Kings 18:4)
3. Antagonizing Elijah the Prophet (1 Kings 19)
4. Having Naboth killed so her husband can take Naboth's property (1 Kings 21)

None of these seem related to sexual immorality, which is why people have started to quesiton the concept of the Jezebel Spirit.

There are, however, a few verses in 2 Kings 9 that seem to explain the link. Jehu says Jezebel has a cult of prostitution (and witchcraft). Also, when Jezebel sees Jehu approaching, she puts on makeup and adorns her head—eye makeup is only ever referenced in the Bible in conjunction with rebellion. This would explain why some pastors denounce makeup and jewelry as part of the Jezebel spirit, and is the only link between Queen Jezebel and sexual immorality.

While a case could be made that this is in fact the origin and root of the Jezebel Spirit, I have to point out two important things before you build a case for this as doctrine. Number one: prostitution, harlotry, and adultery are often used to describe Israel when the nation turns away from God (Hosea is the perfect example of this). Knowing that Jezebel did in fact lead Israel astray and that she is being associated with witchcraft, prostitution may not be a reference to literal prostitution and physical sex, but a statement of her treachery toward The Most High God. Number two: although Jezebel puts on makeup and adorns her head, there is no indication that she does this to seduce anyone or for sexually immoral reasons. Remember she is the queen of a nation and sees a dignitary approaching. This isn't much different than if you were to see someone approaching you door and you brushed your hair or changed into more appropriate clothes. As queen, it's likely that there was an expected look that she felt the need to convey when Jehu arrived.

New Testament Jezebel

Arguably, the Jezebel mentioned in the New Testament (Revelation 2:20-23) could actually be a reference back to Queen Jezebel of the Old Testament. The NIV, CSB, ESV, KJV, NKJV, NASB all read as though the author is speaking of a woman named Jezebel. However, the CJB and NLT read as though the woman in question is being called a Jezebel.

If the woman is actually being called a Jezebel, this would be evidence that the concept of the Jezebel Spirit was present during the early church and is not a modern invention. It would also solidify the notion that it references the infamous queen of Israel. However, it is also possible that this is a woman named Jezebel who has no relation to the aforementioned Jezebel.

Either way, it is this Jezebel that is explicitly said to have committed acts of sexual immorality and led the people to commit sexual imorality. It seems to me this is where the concept of the Jezebel Spirit, specifically relating to "looseness" and "sexual immorality" gets its origin.

That being said, it is possible that yet still this isn't about literal sex. As mentioned above, the Bible intertwines the concept of idolatry and adultery (sexual immorality). Not only is the Jezebel of Revelation linked with false doctrine and idolatry by way of consuming meat sacrificed to idols, she is being discussed in Revelation, a book full of symbolism. If you step back just one chapter you will see a brillant description followed by an explanation of symbols. Sometimes in Revelation the symbol definitions are in the book (as in Revelation 1), but other times the symbols are given in other books (such as Daniel). Throughtout the Bible a woman represents a church. In Revelation we already see two women contrasted to represent the true Church and remnant (Revelation 12) versus the apostate church and antichrist powers (the Whore of Babylon). The woman spoken of in Revelation 2 could reference a splinter church or sect within the church that was teaching false doctrine. In this case, sexual immorality might not be literal but a reference to idolatry.

Conclusion

As a believer in the Most High God and a servent of the Messiah, my duty is to seek truth, not to follow the trends or what I desire to be true. My goal is to please the Father, not society and not myself. As a millennial and US citizen, my upbringing naturally biases me against the concept of The Jezebel Spirit. This is something I have to be aware of as I read the text and must constantly pray over to ensure I hear God's voice clearly. When I studied this topic, I tried to study from both points of view and in the end, I do believe there is a seductive spirit in our world. Whether this spirit should be attributed to Queen Jezebel or the false prophetess Jezebel, I'm not sure. I do not think all aspects of female sexuality should be lumped in with this spirit, either. God created both male and female as sexual beings to enjoy each other sexually (in marriage); therefore, female sexuality is natural. That being said, I do believe there are things best left for intimacy (re: strictly between a woman and her husband). My conclusion would be that each person should search themselves for motive. Do I behave this way or dress this way because it's who I am and it's comfortable, or becasue I seek attention or validation or because I'm mimicking the people I see on TV? If the Holy Spirit is convicting me, then I'm probably wrestling with a sexual spirit. However, if I pray and the Spirit does not convict me, it is not a sexual spirit (or I've grieved the Holy Spirit away and all hope is lost...but let's assume none of us are doing that!).

References

1. "Strong's H348. ". Blue Letter Bible; visited March 12, 2022
2. Mike Campbell. "Jezebel". Behind the Name; visited March 12, 2022
3. "What is the Jezebel spirit?". GotQuestions.org; visited March 12, 2022
4. Hope Bolinger. "What is the Jezebel Spirit". Christianity.com. February 7, 2022
5. Aysha Winstanley Musa. "Don’t believe The Handmaid’s Tale: the original Jezebel has been much maligned". The Conversation. July 18, 2017
6. Wednesday Martin. "Who Exactly Was the Original Jezebel?". Lit Hub. September 20, 2018
7. Nyasha Junior. "Jezebel Isn’t Who You Think She Is". Dame Magazine. November 5, 2019
8. Heather Donckels. "Book asserts Jezebel was anything but a prostitute". The Spokesman-Review. November 10, 2007
9. Janet Howe Gaines . "How Bad Was Jezebel?". Biblical Archaeology Society. March 24, 2021
10. "The Jezebel Stereotype" Ferris State University; visited March 12 ,2022
11. "Mammy, Jezebel and Sapphire: Stereotyping Black women in media". Al Jazeera. July 26, 2020