Abishag of Shunem (fl. 1000 BCE)

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Abishag of Shunem (fl. 1000 bce)

Biblical woman. Flourished around 1000 bce; Shunammite woman taken by David to comfort him in his old age.

The First Book of Kings tells of King David's last days, when the young beauty Abishag of Shunem was brought to serve him and keep him warm in bed, though they had no sexual relations. She became one of his wives (1 Kings 1:3, 4, 15). After David's death, his son Solomon ascended to the throne. His half-brother Adonijah persuaded Bathsheba , Solomon's mother, to entreat the king to permit him to marry Abishag. Solomon, who suspected in this request a craving for the throne, had Adonijah put to death.

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