<P> Adele Berlin contrasts the story of Abigail with that of Bathsheba . In one, the wife prevents David from murdering her foolish and greedy husband . In the second, David orders the murder of a good man because he desires his wife . "In the Abigail story, David, the potential king, is seen as increasingly strong and virtuous, whereas in the Bathsheba story, the reigning monarch shows his flaws ever more overtly and begins to lose control of his family ." </P> <P> Levenson and Halpern suggest that Abigail may, in fact, also be the same person as Abigail, mother of Amasa . Richard M. Davidson, however, points out that "on the basis of the final form of Old Testament canon, references to Abigail in the biblical accounts indicate two different individuals ." </P> <P> Abigail's self - styling as a handmaid led to Abigail being the traditional term for a waiting - woman, for example as the waiting gentlewoman in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Scornful Lady, published in 1616 . Jonathan Swift and Henry Fielding use Abigail in this generic sense, as does Charlotte Brontë . Anthony Trollope makes two references to the abigail (all lower case) in The Eustace Diamonds, at the beginning of Chapter 42, whilst Thomas Mann makes the same reference at the start of the second chapter of Part 2 in Buddenbrooks (published in 1901). William Rose Benet notes the notoriety of Abigail Hill, better known as "Mrs Masham", a lady - in - waiting to Queen Anne . George MacDonald Fraser makes mention of "an abigail fussing about the room" in his novel Flashman from The Flashman Papers series . </P> <P> Abigail is a featured figure on Judy Chicago's installation piece The Dinner Party, being represented in one of the 999 tiles of the Heritage Floor . </P>

The story of abigail in the holy bible