his dynasty long lasting, and David sinless and divinely protected; as a result of her actions, David recognized that he is about to sin and calls off his threat and sends Abigail home in peace. Abigail does not tell Nabal about what she has done until the following day, as, when she returns, Nabal is drunk and high spirited due to a kingly banquet, but when she does tell Nabal he has a heart attack, or possibly a stroke, and dies ten days later. The account ends with David hearing about the death, recognizing that it was a punishment from Yahweh, and asking for, and receiving, the hand of Abigail in marriage. Abigail's character Abigail is described in the account as being beautiful and intelligent, and the aggadah treats Abigail as being one of the four most beautiful women in Jewish history (the other three being Sarah, Rahab, and Esther); in the aggadah it is claimed that David nearly fell in love with her while she was still the wife of Nabal, but Abigail's moral strength and dignity prevented any liaisons, although she is also criticized for stating remember your handmaid, as in the agaddah's view this was unbecoming of a married woman. Textual features and origin The root meaning of the name Nabal is wilt, and came to mean failure, and so gained the figurative meaning of being shamelessly improprietous; in the Nabal narrative, he is described as living up to his name, in addition to being surly and mean. Traditionally Nabal is euphemistically translated as fool, for which a Hebrew synonym is kesil (literally meaning fool); scholars regard it as possible that some features of the Nabal narrative derive from primitive mythology, and it is notable that kesil particularly referred to the constellation of Orion, and was translated as Orion by the Septuagint. Nabal (נבל) may be a deliberate satirical corruption of the name Nadab (נדב); if this is an eponym then it probably referred originally to Jehonadab (which is just a theophory of nadab), and thus represent the Rechabites. In the genealogical lists of the Books of Chronicles, there is a man named Nadab, whose brother is married to a person named Abihail; it is possible that the name Abigail (אבגיִל) is a corruption of Abihail (אֲביִהיִל), so that it more closely describes the character of the wife, since Abigail roughly means joy of my father, suggesting