Beyond Today Bible Commentary: 1 Kings

Undoubtedly, all of David's existing wives were too old themselves to provide the type of 'round-the-clock nursing care that Abishag was able to provide as David lay suffering from lack of body heat. "Using a healthy person's body warmth to care for a sick person is a medical procedure noted by the second-century Greek physician Galen and the Jewish historian Josephus" (Nelson Study Bible, note on verses 1-3). Abishag was a Shunammite, making her from the town of Shunem—probably the same town, in the territory of Issachar (Joshua 19:18), at which the Philistines gathered before they attacked and killed Saul (1 Samuel 28:4). That would also be the town of the family the prophet Elisha later stayed with frequently during his ministry (2 Kings 4:8).