Abigail and David

When Abigail's nasty husband Nabal refuses David his due, Abigail mollifies the future king with beasts laden with food (1 Samuel 25:1-35). Consistent with Lucas van Leyden's taste for novelty, he depicted the moment before their meeting, with David still bent on retaliation, and he relegated a key scene (Abigail's intercession) to an obscure location, at right. Historically, Abigail prefigured the Virgin as intercessor to Christ. But in the 16th century, she became a model of prudent quick thinking.