David, King of Israel, is alive and well. 

The book of 1 Kings opens with a rather complicated story that also has a clear gossipy element: "Now King David was old and advanced in years, and they covered him with clothes so that he could not get warm. His servants said to him, 'Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king, and let her stand before the king and be his nurse, and let her lie in your bosom and be warm for my lord the king.' So they sought a beautiful young woman throughout all the borders of Israel, and they found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. And the young woman was exceedingly beautiful, and she became the king's nurse and served him, but the king did not know it."

Why did the Bible find it appropriate to describe the precarious physical condition of King David, the former conqueror of women, in his miserable old age? Why was it important to bring him a virgin girl, and why was a heated brick in his bed, which was an acceptable means before electric sheets, not enough? And why does the biblical narrator, who does not indulge in intimate descriptions, make it clear that the beautiful virgin girl lay in his lap but he did not know it? Does he intend to mock the grotesque image of the former conqueror of women's impotence?

Even today, we know this, even in our country, even though the public's right to know and freedom of expression are sacred in democracies, citizens do not share with us the health problems of their leaders. But in the Bible?

There is no doubt that the contrast between the old king and the young, fresh, virgin Abishag illustrates the old age of King David, who is helpless and apparently in need of someone to warm his body.

The aging Bathsheba is, of course, not suitable for the role of agent, and the giving of Abishag to David can also be seen as a kind of experiment: Will his strength withstand the presence of a young, extremely beautiful, virgin girl in his arms? In the ancient world, great importance was attributed to the king's strength. His influence was evident as long as he was alive, and the absence of his life also posed an existential danger to society as a whole. This is perhaps what the biblical narrator is alluding to. David, the revered king, who loved to sing, failed the experiment and was likened to death, in comparison, for example, to Moses, of whom it is said that until the day of his death at the age of 120, "his eye did not dim, nor did he look for a stranger" (Deuteronomy 34).

According to ancient popular belief, intimate contact with a virgin girl, even if it does not involve sexual contact, can renew a man's strength. However, if there was such an attempt on the part of David's servants, it failed and the story constitutes a layer in legitimizing the need for a new leader, even if this is not explicitly stated.

The very search "throughout the borders of Israel" for the suitable girl testifies to the great interest the subject had gained among the people. Thus, of course, it became known to everyone that the old king was suffering from a cold, was helpless, perhaps even secluded in his palace, lonely, that his sons and wives ignored his suffering, and only his servants cared for him and initiated the idea of ​​bringing the virgin girl.

By the way, we do not hear David's response to his servants' proposal at all. Does he not respond because he no longer has the strength to respond? The lack of response is interpreted by the servants, who use somewhat crude language when they choose to speak to the king in the second person and say to him: "And she shall lie in your bosom," as opposed to the third person in which they address the king, as a tacit agreement to their proposal. Perhaps in his old age David also lost the ability to speak?

And the emphasis in the story of Abishag the Shunammite's virginity is clear, for a girl, according to the biblical view, as in patriarchal societies today, must maintain her virginity until marriage. Therefore, mentioning Abishag's virginity is important because there is a possibility, which later turns out to be false, that Abishag will become the king's wife, and perhaps even bear him additional heirs.

It seems that Abishag, who joins a large group of silent women in the Bible, remains an unknown figure whose feelings and desires are completely unrepresented. What was the reaction and feelings of the beautiful young girl who was taken from Shunam, near Afula, and brought to the king's court in Jerusalem? What did she feel when she was laid in the arms of the elderly man, shivering with cold? 

It is reasonable to assume that the emphasis on the fact that the king did not know Abishag is important for the continuation of the story about Adonia's rebellion. Adonia, as we recall, desires a girl and must rebel against David in order to win her. Thus, without her saying a word, Abishag forms the focus of one of the most important biblical episodes, and is, in fact, the reason for Adonia's murder.