1 Samuel 25:39
Praised <01288> [Blessed.]
vindicated <07378> [pleaded.]
kept ... servant <05650 02820> [kept his servant.]
repaid <07725> [hath returned.]
asked ...... wife <03947 0802> [to take her.]
It is probable that David had heard that Saul, to cut off his pretensions to the throne, had married Michal to Phalti; and this justified him in taking Abigail, it not being then unlawful for a man to have several wives. This conduct of David's corresponds with the manner in which the Oriental princes generally form their matrimonial alliances. "The king of Abyssinia," says Mr. Bruce, "sends an officer to the house where the lady lives, who announces to her that it is the king's pleasure she should remove instantly to the palace. She then dresses herself in the best manner, and immediately obeys. Thenceforward he assigns her an apartment in the palace, and gives her a house elsewhere in any part she chooses."
