1And Samuel died; and all Israel gathered together and mourned for him, and buried him at his home at Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very great. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings. And he was of the house of Caleb. 4When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 5David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and when you have come to Nabal, and asked after his welfare in my name, 6you shall say to him: Long life and peace to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! 7Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we have not hurt them, nor has there been anything missing from them all the days they were in Carmel. 8Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let the young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a pleasant day. Please give whatever your hand finds to your servants and to your son David. 9And when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, and waited. 10And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days breaking away each one from his master. 11Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from? 12So David's young men turned around on their way, returned and came and reported to him all these words. 13And David said to his men, Every man gird on his sword. So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, and two hundred stayed with the supplies. 14Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David had sent messengers from the wilderness to bless our master; and he yelled at them. 15But the men were very good to us, and we have not been shamed, nor have we missed anything all the days we have traversed with them, when we were in the fields. 16They have been a wall to us both by night and day, all the days we were with them keeping the sheep. 17Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his household. For he is a son of worthlessness, that no one can speak to him. 18Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already done, five measures of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19And she said to her servants, Go on before me; behold, I am coming after you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20And so it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill; and behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; and she met them. 21Now David had thought to himself, Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing has been missing of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good. 22God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave to him by morning light any of those who urinate against a wall. 23Now when Abigail saw David, she hastened to dismount from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and prostrated to the ground. 24And she fell at his feet and said: On me, my lord, on me be this iniquity! And please let your handmaid speak in your ears, and hear the words of your handmaid. 25Please, let not my lord set his heart on this man of worthlessness, Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I, your handmaid, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. 26Now therefore, my lord, as Jehovah lives and as your soul lives, since Jehovah has held you back from coming to blood and from delivering yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek evil upon my lord be as Nabal. 27And now this blessing which your handmaid has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who travel on foot with my lord. 28Please forgive the trespass of your handmaid; for Jehovah will bring about to prepare an established house for my lord, because my lord is fighting the battles of Jehovah, and evil is not found in you all your days. 29If a man arises to pursue you and seek your soul, the soul of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of life with Jehovah your God; and the souls of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling. 30And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, 31that this will not be a matter of conscience, nor stumbling of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has delivered himself. But when Jehovah has dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid. 32And David said to Abigail: Blessed is Jehovah the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33And blessed is your discernment and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to blood and from delivering myself with my own hand. 34For indeed, as Jehovah the God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hastened and come to meet me, surely by morning light there would not have been left to Nabal any who urinate against a wall! 35So David received from her hand what she had brought to him, and said to her, Go up to your house in peace. Behold, I have heeded your voice and respected your face. 36And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was exceedingly drunk; therefore she did not tell him a word, little or much, until morning light. 37And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, and his wife had informed him of these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. 38And it came to pass, after about ten days, that Jehovah struck Nabal, and he died. 39And when David heard that Nabal had died, he said, Blessed is Jehovah, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For Jehovah has returned the evil of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40And when the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, David has sent us to you to take you to him for a wife. 41And she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, Behold, your handmaid, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. 42And Abigail hurried and rose up and rode on a donkey, with five of her maidens going on foot; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; both of them were his wives. 44And Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 SAMUEL DIES. (
1Sam 25:1-9)
Samuel died--After a long life of piety and public usefulness, he left behind him a reputation which ranks him among the greatest of Scripture worthies.
buried him in his house at Ramah--that is, his own mausoleum. The Hebrews took as great care to provide sepulchers anciently as people do in the East still, where every respectable family has its own house of the dead. Often this is in a little detached garden, containing a small stone building (where there is no rock), resembling a house, which is called the sepulcher of the family--it has neither door nor window.
David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran--This removal had probably no connection with the prophet's death; but was probably occasioned by the necessity of seeking provision for his numerous followers.
the wilderness of Paran--stretching from Sinai to the borders of Palestine in the southern territories of Judea. Like other wildernesses, it presented large tracts of natural pasture, to which the people sent their cattle at the grazing season, but where they were liable to constant and heavy depredations by prowling Arabs. David and his men earned their subsistence by making reprisals on the cattle of these freebooting Ishmaelites; and, frequently for their useful services, they obtained voluntary tokens of acknowledgment from the peaceful inhabitants.
2 in Carmel--now Kurmul. The district takes its name from this town, now a mass of ruins; and about a mile from it is Tell Main, the hillock on which stood ancient Maon.
the man was very great--His property consisted in cattle, and he was considered wealthy, according to the ideas of that age.
3 he was of the house of Caleb--of course, of the same tribe with David himself; but many versions consider Caleb ("dog") not as a proper, but a common noun, and render it, "he was snappish as a dog."
4 Nabal did shear his sheep, and David sent out ten young men, &c.--David and his men lurked in these deserts, associating with the herdsmen and shepherds of Nabal and others and doing them good offices, probably in return for information and supplies obtained through them. Hence when Nabal held his annual sheep-shearing in Carmel, David felt himself entitled to share in the festival and sent a message, recounting his own services and asking for a present. "In all these particulars we were deeply struck with the truth and strength of the biblical description of manners and customs almost identically the same as they exist at the present day. On such a festive occasion, near a town or village, even in our own time, an Arab sheik of the neighboring desert would hardly fail to put in a word either in person or by message; and his message, both in form and substance, would be only a transcript of that of David" [ROBINSON].
10 THE CHURLISH ANSWER PROVOKES HIM. (
1Sam 25:10-13)
Nabal answered David's servants, . . . Who is David? &c.--Nabal's answer seems to indicate that the country was at the time in a loose and disorderly state. David's own good conduct, however, as well as the important services rendered by him and his men, were readily attested by Nabal's servants. The preparations of David to chastise his insolent language and ungrateful requital are exactly what would be done in the present day by Arab chiefs, who protect the cattle of the large and wealthy sheep masters from the attacks of the marauding border tribes or wild beasts. Their protection creates a claim for some kind of tribute, in the shape of supplies of food and necessaries, which is usually given with great good will and gratitude; but when withheld, is enforced as a right. Nabal's refusal, therefore, was a violation of the established usages of the place.
13 two hundred abode by the stuff--This addition to his followers was made after his return into Judah (see
1Sam 22:2).
14 ABIGAIL PACIFIES HIM. (1Sa. 25:14-35)
Then Abigail made haste--The prudence and address of Nabal's wife were the means of saving him and family from utter destruction. She acknowledged the demand of her formidable neighbors; but justly considering, that to atone for the insolence of her husband, a greater degree of liberality had become necessary, she collected a large amount of food, accompanying it with the most valued products of the country.
bottles--goatskins, capable of holding a great quantity.
parched corn--It was customary to eat parched corn when it was fully grown, but not ripe.
19 she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you--People in the East always try to produce an effect by their presents, loading on several beasts what might be easily carried by one, and bringing them forward, article by article, in succession. Abigail not only sent her servants in this way, but resolved to go in person, following her present, as is commonly done, to watch the impression which her munificence would produce.
23 she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face--Dismounting in presence of a superior is the highest token of respect that can be given; and it is still an essential act of homage to the great. Accompanying this act of courtesy with the lowest form of prostration, she not only by her attitude, but her language, made the fullest amends for the disrespect shown by her husband, as well as paid the fullest tribute of respect to the character and claims of David.
25 Nabal--signifying fool, gave pertinence to his wife's remark.
26 let thine enemies . . . be as Nabal--be as foolish and contemptible as he.
29 the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God--An Orientalism, expressing the perfect security of David's life from all the assaults of his enemies, under the protecting shield of Providence, who had destined him for high things.
32 David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord--Transported by passion and blinded by revenge, he was on the eve of perpetrating a great injury. Doubtless, the timely appearance and prudent address of Abigail were greatly instrumental in changing his purpose. At all events, it was the means of opening his eyes to the moral character of the course on which he had been impetuously rushing; and in accepting her present, he speaks with lively satisfaction as well as gratitude to Abigail, for having relieved him from bloodshed.
36 NABAL'S DEATH. (
1Sam 25:36-44)
he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king--The sheep-shearing season was always a very joyous occasion. Masters usually entertained their shepherds; and even Nabal, though of a most niggardly disposition, prepared festivities on a scale of sumptuous liberality. The modern Arabs celebrate the season with similar hilarity.
37 in the morning . . . his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him--He probably fainted from horror at the perilous situation in which he had unconsciously placed himself; and such a shock had been given him by the fright to his whole system, that he rapidly pined and died.
39 the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head--If this was an expression of pleasure, and David's vindictive feelings were gratified by the intelligence of Nabal's death, it was an instance of human infirmity which we may lament; but perhaps he referred to the unmerited reproach (
1Sam 25:10-11), and the contempt of God implied in it.
David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to wife--This unceremonious proceeding was quite in the style of Eastern monarchs, who no sooner take a fancy for a lady than they despatch a messenger to intimate their royal wishes that she should henceforth reside in the palace; and her duty is implicitly to obey. David's conduct shows that the manners of the Eastern nations were already imitated by the great men in Israel; and that the morality of the times which God permitted, gave its sanction to the practice of polygamy. His marriage with Abigail brought him a rich estate.
44 Michal--By the unchallengeable will of her father, she who was David's wife was given to another. But she returned and sustained the character of his wife when he ascended the throne.