Biblical Meaning of the Name Abigail: My Father Is Joy
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Where the name comes from
Abigail is Hebrew, Avigayil, joined from av, "father", and gil, "joy". It means "my father is joy" or "father of joy"; some render it "my father's joy", and all of these stay close to the Hebrew. Abby and Gail both began as short forms of it.
Abigail in the Bible
Two women in the Bible bear the name. The best known is the wife of Nabal, "a woman of good understanding". When David set out in anger against her foolish husband, she rode out to meet him with gifts and wise words and turned him back from bloodshed, and David blessed God for sending her. After Nabal died, she became David's wife. The other Abigail was David's sister.
Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:
A blessing for Abigail
Abigail, may joy stay close to you all your life: the joy of a Father who delights in you. May you have Abigail's good understanding and her courage, and may your words bring peace wherever there is anger.