Abishag
Abishag (Hebrew Avishag אבישג) was a young woman of Shunem, distinguished for her beauty. She was chosen to be a helper and servant to David in his old age. Among Abishag's duties was to lie next to David and keep him warm ("they put covers on him, but he could not get warm"); however, David did not have sexual relations with her (1 Kings 1:4).
The Interpreter's Bible notes that
After David's death Adonijah (David's fourth son), persuaded Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, to entreat the king to permit him to marry Abishag. Solomon suspected in this request an aspiration to the throne, and therefore caused Adonijah to be put to death (1 Kings 2:17–25). (In the earlier story of Absalom's rebellion, it is noted that having sex with the former king's concubine is a way of proclaiming oneself to be the new king.) He may have married her, at the pressure of his mother.
Some scholars point to the possibility that Abishag is the female protagonist in the Song of Songs.
See also
Shunamitism
References
