David Meeting Abigail

The pair of paintings entitled The Return of Jephthah of Gilead and David Meeting Abigail form pendant paintings. The first shows Jephthah who approaches his house and notes his only daughter dancing toward him. Jephthah is crushed with sorrow because he had made a vow to the Lord that if he conquered the Ammonites he would offer Him a flaming sacrifice of the first person to exit his house to greet him. The pendant composition David Meeting Abigail respects the arrangement of the scene used in the Return of Jephthah: David is shown arriving from the right at the head of a company of soldiers, whereas Abigail, surrounded by her retinue carrying gifts, kneels in front of David. The common subject of the pair of paintings here is the theme of humility and obedience.