Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

1 Samuel 25

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Introduction

1  Samuel dies.
2  David in Paran sends to Nabal.
10  Provoked by Nabal's churlishness, he minds to destroy him.
14  Abigail understanding thereof,
18  takes a present;
23  and by her wisdom,
32  pacifies David.
36  Nabal hearing thereof, dies.
39  David takes Abigail and Ahinoam to be his wives.
44  Michal is given to Phalti.
Verse 1

And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
A. M. 2944. B.C. 1060. An. Ex. Is 431. Samuel
28:3
lamented
Genesis 50:11, Numbers 20:29, Deuteronomy 34:8, Acts 8:2
in this house
7:17, 1 Kings 2:34, 2 Chronicles 33:20, Isaiah 14:18
the wilderness
Genesis 14:6, 21:21, Numbers 10:12, 12:16, 13:3,26, Psalms 120:5
Verse 2

And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
Maon
23:24
possessions were
or, business was. Carmel. Not the famous mount Carmel, in the north of Canaan, and in the tribe of Asher; but a city, on a mountain of the same name, in the south of Judah, which seems to have given name to the surrounding territory. Eusebius and Jerome inform us, that there was in their time a town called Carmelia, ten miles east from Hebron, where the Romans kept a garrison, whose position well agrees with this Carmel.
man
Genesis 26:13, 2 Samuel 19:32, Psalms 17:14, 73:3-7, Luke 16:19-25
three thousand
Genesis 13:2, Job 1:3, 42:12
shearing
This was a very ancient custom, and appears to have been always attended with festivity. The ancient Romans, however, used to pluck off the wool from the sheep's backs; and hence a fleece was called vellus, a vellendo, from plucking it off. Pliny says, that in his time sheep were not shorn every where, but in some places the wool was still plucked off.
Genesis 38:13, 2 Samuel 13:23,24
Carmel
30:5, Joshua 15:55
Verse 3

Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
good
Proverbs 14:1, 31:26,30,31
was churlish
10,11,17, Psalms 10:3, Isaiah 32:5-7
and he was
Wehoo calibbee, literally, "and he was a Calebite;" but as the word cailev signifies a dog, the Septuagint has understood it as implying a man of canine disposition, and translated it, [kai anthropov kunikos] "and he was a doggish man." It is understood in the same way by the Syriac and Arabic.
Verse 4

And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.
did shear
Genesis 38:13, 2 Samuel 13:23
Verse 5

And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:
greet him, etc
Heb. ask him in my name of peace.
17:22, Genesis 43:23
Verse 6

And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.
liveth
1 Thessalonians 3:8, 1 Timothy 5:6
Peace be both
2 Samuel 18:28; *marg:; 1 Chronicles 12:18, Psalms 122:7, Matthew 10:12,13, Luke 10:5, John 14:27, 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Verse 7

And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.
thy shepherds
In those times, and at the present day, wandering Arabs, under their several chiefs, think that they have a right to exact contributions of provisions, etc., wherever they come. But David, though he lived in the wilderness like the Arab emirs, had not adopted their manners: one of them, at the head of 600 men, would have demanded, from time to time, some provision or present from Nabal's servants, for permitting them to feed at quiet; and would have driven them away from the watering place upon any dislike. David had done nothing of this kind; but had protected them against those who would.
we hurt
Heb. we shamed.
15,16,21, 22:2, Isaiah 11:6-9, Luke 3:14, Philippians 2:15, 4:8
Verse 8

Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.
a good day
Nehemiah 8:10-12, Esther 9:19, Ecclesiastes 11:2, Luke 11:41, 14:12-14
thy son
3:6, 24:11
Verse 9

And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
ceased
Heb. rested. or, became quiet.
Genesis 8:4, 2 Kings 2:15, 2 Chronicles 14:7
Verse 10

And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.
Who is David
20:30, 22:7,8, Exodus 5:2, Judges 9:28, 2 Samuel 20:1, 1 Kings 12:16, Psalms 73:7,8, Psalms 123:3,4, Isaiah 32:5,7
there be
22:2, Ecclesiastes 7:10
Verse 11

Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?
Shall I then
3, 24:13, Deuteronomy 8:17, Judges 8:6, Job 31:17, Psalms 73:7,8, 1 Peter 4:9
flesh
Heb. slaughter. give it.
Ecclesiastes 11:1,2, Galatians 6:10
whom
14,15, John 9:29,30, 2 Corinthians 6:9
Verse 12

So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.
came
2 Samuel 24:13, Isaiah 36:21,22, Hebrews 13:17
Verse 13

And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
Gird ye
Joshua 9:14, Proverbs 14:29, 16:32, 19:2,11, 25:8, James 1:19,20
David also
24:5,6, Romans 12:19-21
two hundred
30:9,10,21-24
Verse 14

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.
railed on them
Heb. flew upon them.
Mark 15:29
Verse 15

But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:
very good
7,21, Philippians 2:15
hurt
Heb. shamed.
Verse 16

They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
a wall
Exodus 14:22, Job 1:10, Jeremiah 15:20, Zechariah 2:5
Verse 17

Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.
evil
20:7,9,33, 2 Chronicles 25:16, Esther 7:7
a son of Belial
25, 2:12, Deuteronomy 13:13, Judges 19:22, 2 Samuel 23:6,7, 1 Kings 21:10,13, 2 Chronicles 13:7
that a man
20:32,33, 2 Kings 5:13,14
Verse 18

Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
made haste
34, Numbers 16:46-48, Proverbs 6:4,5, Matthew 5:25
took two
The Eastern bread is generally both thin and small; and answers to our cakes.
Genesis 32:13-20, 43:11-14, 2 Samuel 17:28,29, Proverbs 18:16, 21:14
two bottles
That is, two goatskins' full.
five sheep
Not one sheep to one hundred men.
clusters
Heb. lumps. Raisins dried in the sun.
2 Samuel 16:1
cakes of figs
Figs cured and then pressed together. Now all this provision was a matter of little worth; and had it been granted in the first instance, it would have perfectly satisfied David, and secured his good offices.
Verse 19

And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.
Go
Genesis 32:16,20
But
Proverbs 31:11,12,27
Verse 20

And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.
rode
2 Kings 4:24
she came down
David was coming down mount Paran; Abigail was coming down from Carmel.
Verse 21

Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.
Surely
13, Job 30:8, Psalms 37:8, Ephesians 4:26,31, 1 Thessalonians 5:15, 1 Peter 2:21-23, 3:9
he hath requited
Genesis 44:4, Psalms 35:12, 38:20, 109:3-5, Proverbs 17:13, Jeremiah 18:20, Romans 12:21, 1 Peter 2:20, 3:17
Verse 22

So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
So and more
Nothing can justify this conduct of David, which was rash, unjust, and cruel in the extreme. David himself condemns it, and thanks God for being prevented from executing this evil. (ver. 32-34.)
3:17, 14:44, 20:13,16, Ruth 1:17
if I leave
any that pisseth, etc
This seems to have been a proverbial expression among the Israelites; and may with the utmost propriety be read "any male."
1 Kings 14:10, 16:11, 21:21, 2 Kings 9:8
Verse 23

And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,
lighted
Joshua 15:18, Judges 1:14
fell
20:41, 24:8
Verse 24

And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.
fell
2 Kings 4:37, Esther 8:3, Matthew 18:29
Upon
28, Genesis 44:33,34, 2 Samuel 14:9, Philemon 1:18,19
let thine
Genesis 44:18, 2 Samuel 14:12
audience
Heb. ears.
Verse 25

Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
regard
Heb. lay it to his heart.
2 Samuel 13:33, Isaiah 42:25, Malachi 2:2
man of Belial
17,26
Nabal
that is, fool.
Verse 26

Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
as the Lord liveth
34, 22:3, 2 Kings 2:2, 4:6
and as thy
1:26
the Lord hath
33, Genesis 20:6
from
Romans 12:19,20
avenging thyself
Heb. saving thyself.
Psalms 18:47,48, 44:3
now let
2 Samuel 18:32, Jeremiah 29:22, Daniel 4:19
Verse 27

And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.
blessing
or, present.
30:26, Genesis 33:11, 2 Kings 5:15, 2 Corinthians 9:5
follow
Heb. walk at the feet of.
42; *marg:; Judges 4:10, 2 Samuel 16:2
Verse 28

I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.
forgive
the Lord
15:28, 2 Samuel 7:11,16,27, 1 Kings 9:5, 1 Chronicles 17:10,25, Psalms 89:29
fighteth
17:47, 18:17, 2 Samuel 5:2, 2 Chronicles 20:15, Ephesians 6:10,11
evil hath
24:6,7,11,17, 1 Kings 15:5, Psalms 119:1-3, Matthew 5:16, Luke 23:41,47
Verse 29

Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.
bound
The metaphors in this verse are derived from the consideration, that things of value are collected together, and often tied up in bundles, like sheaves of corn, to prevent their being scattered and lost, and that whatever is put into a sling is not intended to be preserved, but to be thrown away.
2:9, Genesis 15:1, Deuteronomy 33:29, Psalms 66:9, 116:15, Malachi 3:17, Matthew 10:29,30
with the Lord
John 10:27-30, 14:19, 17:21,23, Colossians 3:3,4, 1 Peter 1:5
sling out
Jeremiah 10:18
as out of the middle of a sling
Heb. in the midst of the bow of a sling.
Verse 30

And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel;
according
13:14, 15:28, 23:17, Psalms 89:20
Verse 31

That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.
grief
Heb. staggering, or, stumbling.
Proverbs 5:12,13, Romans 14:21, 2 Corinthians 1:12
avenged
33, 24:15, 26:23, 2 Samuel 22:48, Psalms 94:1, Romans 12:19
remember
40, Genesis 40:14, Luke 23:42
Verse 32

And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:
Genesis 24:27, Exodus 18:10, Ezra 7:27, Psalms 41:12,13, 72:18, Luke 1:68, 2 Corinthians 8:16
Verse 33

And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.
blessed
Psalms 141:5, Proverbs 9:9, 17:10, 25:12, 27:21, 28:23
which hast
avenging
26,31, 24:19, 26:9,10
Verse 34

For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
kept me back
hasted
18, 11:11, Joshua 10:6,9
there had
Verse 35

So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.
Go up
20:42, 2 Samuel 15:9, 2 Kings 5:19, Luke 7:50, 8:48
accepted
Genesis 19:21, Job 34:19
Verse 36

And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
a feast
2 Samuel 13:23, Esther 1:3-7, Luke 14:12
merry
2 Samuel 13:28, 1 Kings 20:16, Proverbs 20:1, 23:29-35, Ecclesiastes 2:2,3, 10:19, Isaiah 28:3,7,8, Jeremiah 51:57, Daniel 5:1-5, Nahum 1:10, Habakkuk 2:15,16, Luke 21:34, Romans 13:13, Ephesians 5:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:7,8
she told him
19, Psalms 112:5, Matthew 10:16, Ephesians 5:14
Verse 37

But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
had told him
22,34
his heart
Deuteronomy 28:28, Job 15:21,22, Proverbs 23:29-35
Verse 38

And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died.
the Lord
33, 6:9, Exodus 12:29, 2 Kings 15:5, 19:35, 2 Chronicles 10:15, Acts 12:23
Verse 39

And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.
Blessed
32, Judges 5:2, 2 Samuel 22:47-49, Psalms 58:10,11, Revelation 19:1-4
pleaded
Proverbs 22:23, Lamentations 3:58-60, Micah 7:9
kept his servant
26,34, Hosea 2:6,7, 2 Corinthians 13:7, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 2 Timothy 4:18
hath returned
2 Samuel 3:28,29, 1 Kings 2:44, Esther 7:10, Psalms 7:16
to take her
It is probable that David had heard that Saul, to cut off his pretensions to the throne, had married Michal to Phalti; and this justified him in taking Abigail, it not being then unlawful for a man to have several wives. This conduct of David's corresponds with the manner in which the Oriental princes generally form their matrimonial alliances. "The king of Abyssinia," says Mr. Bruce, "sends an officer to the house where the lady lives, who announces to her that it is the king's pleasure she should remove instantly to the palace. She then dresses herself in the best manner, and immediately obeys. Thenceforward he assigns her an apartment in the palace, and gives her a house elsewhere in any part she chooses."
Proverbs 18:22, 19:14, 31:10,30
Verse 40

And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.
David sent
Genesis 24:37,38,51
Verse 41

And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.
thine
Ruth 2:10,13, Proverbs 15:33, 18:12
to wash
Genesis 18:4, John 13:3-5, 1 Timothy 5:10
Verse 42

And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.
Abigail
Genesis 24:61-67, Psalms 45:10,11
after her
Heb. at her feet.
Verse 43

David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives.
Jezreel
Joshua 15:56, 2 Samuel 3:2
both
Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5,8
his wives
27:3, 30:5, 2 Samuel 5:13-16
Verse 44

But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.
But Saul
Rather, "For Saul," etc., as the particle [Vâv] wav, frequently signifies; this being the cause why David took another wife.
Michal
18:20,27
Phalti
2 Samuel 3:14,14
Phaltiel
Gallim. This town appears to have been situated in the tribe of Benjamin, as it is mentioned in Isa 10:30, with Michmash, Geba, etc.

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