Abishag

[4][5][6] Nonetheless, there are elements of Jewish exegetical tradition which maintain that David engaged in anal intercourse with Abishag and he was not totally impotent.

It is speculated that King David engaged in a multicoital act of intercourse with his wife Bathsheba in his old age precisely to prove his continued virility.

Modern commentaries and translators have variously described her as a "housekeeper", "hot-water bottle", "heating pad," "attendant" or "bedfellow", though she is twice referred to as a sokenet in the text of Kings.

[13] Abishag's experiences have provided inspiration for contemporary writers including Rainer Maria Rilke, Itzik Manger, Louise Gluck and Shirley Kaufman.

[11] The story is referred to allegorically at the end of the first part of the final volume (The Cross or in the original Norwegian, Korset) of Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset.