David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. Tell him, ‘Long life to you! Peace be to you! Peace be to your house! Peace be to all that you have! Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds have now been with us, and we didn’t harm them. Nothing was missing from them all the time they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let the young men find favor in your eyes; for we come on a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand, to your servants, and to your son David.’ ”
When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal all those words in the name of David, and waited.
Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants who break away from their masters these days. Shall I then take my bread, my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who I don’t know where they come from?”
So David’s young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him all these words.
David said to his men, “Every man put on his sword!” Every man put on his sword. David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David, and two hundred stayed by the baggage.
But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to Greet our master; and he insulted them. But the men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, and we didn’t miss anything, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields. They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what you will do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house; for he is such a worthless fellow that one can’t speak to him.”
Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five seahs of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. She said to her young men, “Go on before me. Behold, I am coming after you.” But she didn’t tell her husband, Nabal. As she rode on her donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them.
Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him. He has returned me evil for good. God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.”
When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got off her donkey, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. She fell at his feet, and said, “On me, my lord, on me be the blame! Please let your servant speak in your ears. Hear the words of your servant. Please don’t let my lord pay attention to this worthless fellow, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, didn’t see my lord’s young men, whom you sent. Now therefore, my lord, as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, since Yahweh has withheld you from blood guiltiness, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies, and those who seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. Now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For Yahweh will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights Yahweh’s battles. Evil will not be found in you all your days. Though men may rise up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies, as from the hollow of a sling. It will come to pass, when Yahweh has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel, that this shall be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. When Yahweh has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”
David said to Abigail, “Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me! Blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, who have kept me today from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand. For indeed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there wouldn’t have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.”
So David received from her hand that which she had brought him. Then he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. Behold, I have listened to your voice, and have granted your request.”
Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told him nothing until the morning light. In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 Hebrew, of peace.
Hebrew, of peace.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–37 1Sa 25:4 And David heard in the wilderness that…
1Sa 25:4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.
Ver. 4. That Nabal did shear his sheep.] At which time the Jews used to make great feasts, in remembrance of their forefathers that were shepherds, saith Lyra.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 Which times were celebrated with feasting and jollity. See…
Which times were celebrated with feasting and jollity. See 2Sa 13:23,24.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv12, 18, 32, 36 Here is, I. The report made to David of…
Here is, I. The report made to David of the abuse Nabal had given to his messengers (Sa1 25:12): They turned their way. They showed their displeasure, as became them to do, by breaking off abruptly from such a churl, but prudently governed themselves so well as not to render railing for railing, not to call him as he deserved, much less to take by force what ought of right to have been given them, but came and told David that he might do as he thought fit. Christ's servants, when they are thus abused, must leave it to him to plead his own cause and wait till he appear in it. The servant showed his lord what affronts he had received, but did not return them, Luk 14:21.
II. David's hasty resolution hereupon. He girded on his sword, and ordered his men to do so too, to the number of 400, Sa1 25:13. And what he said we are told, Sa1 25:21, Sa1 25:22. 1. He repented of the kindness he had done to Nabal, and looked upon it as thrown away upon him. He said, "surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness. I thought to oblige him and make him my friend, but I see it is to no purpose. He has no sense of gratitude, nor is he capable of receiving the impressions of a good turn, else he could not have used me thus. He hath requited me evil for good." But, when we are thus requited, we should not repent of the good we have done, nor be backward to do good another time. God is kind to the evil and unthankful, and why may not we? 2. He determined to destroy Nabal and all that belonged to him, Sa1 25:22. Here David did not act like himself. His resolution was bloody, to cut off all the males of Nabal's house, and spare none, man nor man-child. The ratification of his resolution was passionate: So, and more also do to God (he was going to say to me, but that would better become Saul's mouth, Sa1 14:44, than David's, and therefore he decently turns it off) to the enemies of David. Is this thy voice, O David? Can the man after God's own heart speak thus unadvisedly with his lips? Has he been so long in the school of affliction, where he should have learned patience, and yet so passionate? Is this he who used to be dumb and deaf when he was reproached (Psa 38:13), who but the other day spared him who sought his life, and yet now will not spare any thing that belongs to him who has only put an affront upon his messengers? He who at other times used to be calm and considerate is now put into such a heat by a few hard words that nothing will atone for them but the blood of a whole family. Lord, what is man! What are the best of men, when God leaves them to themselves, to try them, that they may know what is in their hearts? From Saul David expected injuries, and against those he was prepared and stood upon his guard, and so kept his temper; but from Nabal he expected kindness, and therefore the affront he gave him was a surprise to him, found him off his guard, and, by a sudden and unexpected attack, put him for the present into disorder. What need have we to pray, Lord, lead us not into temptation!
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III. The account given of this matter to Abigail by one of the servants, who was more considerate than the rest, Sa1 25:14. Had this servant spoken to Nabal, and shown him the danger he had exposed himself to by his own rudeness, he would have said, "Servants are now-a-days so saucy, and so apt to prescribe, that there is no enduring them," and, it may be, would have turned him out of doors. But Abigail, being a woman of good understanding, took cognizance of the matter, even from her servant, who, 1. Did David justice in commending him and his men for their civility to Nabal's shepherds, Sa1 25:15, Sa1 25:16. "The men were very good to us, and, though they were themselves exposed, yet they protected us and were a wall unto us." Those who do that which is good shall, one way or other, have the praise of the same. Nabal's own servant will be a witness for David that he is a man of honour and conscience, whatever Nabal himself says of him. And, 2. He did Nabal no wrong in condemning him for his rudeness to David's messengers: He railed on them (Sa1 25:14), he flew upon them (so the word is) with an intolerable rage; "for," say they, "it is his usual practice, Sa1 25:17. He is such a son of Belial, so very morose and intractable, that a man cannot speak to him but he flies into a passion immediately." Abigail knew it too well herself. 3. He did Abigail and the whole family a kindness in making her sensible what was likely to be the consequence. He knew David so well that he had reason to think he would highly resent the affront, and perhaps had had information of David's orders to his men to march that way; for he is very positive evil is determined against our master, and all his household, himself among the rest, would be involved in it. Therefore he desires his mistress to consider what was to be done for their common safety. they could not resist the force David would bring down upon them, nor had they time to send to Saul to protect them; something therefore must be done to pacify David.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv4–37 And David heard in the wilderness,.... In the wilderness…
And David heard in the wilderness,.... In the wilderness of Paran, where he was, and a wilderness it was to him, being in want of food, as the following relation shows:
that Nabal did shear his sheep; when there was generally good living, and so a proper person, and a proper time, for David to apply for the relief of his wants.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 17, 18, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37 Shear sheep - Which times were celebrated with feasting.
Shear sheep - Which times were celebrated with feasting.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 8, 10, 18, 20, 22, 28, 29, 37 Verse 6. Peace be both to thee] This is…
Verse 6. Peace be both to thee] This is the ancient form of sending greetings to a friend: Peace to THEE, peace to thy HOUSEHOLD, and peace to all that THOU HAST. That is, May both thyself, thy family, and all that pertain unto thee, be in continual prosperity!
Perhaps David, by this salutation, wished Nabal to understand that he had acted so towards him and his property that nothing had been destroyed, and that all had been protected; see 1Sa 25:15-17.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv4, 7, 10, 14, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 35, 37 1Sa 25:4-6. Nabal did shear his sheep — Which…
1Sa 25:4-6. Nabal did shear his sheep — Which times were celebrated with feasting. That liveth in prosperity — In the Hebrew it is, To him that liveth, but the word life in Scripture often signifies happiness, as death signifies misery. By speaking thus, David both congratulates Nabal’s felicity, and tacitly intimates to him the distress in which he and his men were.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv6, 11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 26, 28, 29, 37 That liveth in prosperity - The Hebrew is obscure,…
That liveth in prosperity - The Hebrew is obscure, and is variously interpreted. The simplest rendering is, “And ye shall say thus about (his) life,” i. e., with reference to his life, health, circumstances, etc.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37 Molested them. This deserved some acknowledgment, as they might…
Molested them. This deserved some acknowledgment, as they might have done it with impunity. But David had also been of service to Nabal’s men, as one of them told Abigail, ver. 16---21.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4, 10, 13, 14, 19, 23, 25, 26, 29, 32, 36, 37 Nabal did shear his sheep, and David sent out…
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].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv6, 8, 9, 16, 17, 20, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 36, 37 6. That liveth in prosperity — It is better…
6. That liveth in prosperity — It is better to regard the word לחיas a salutation, For life! that is, Health! Prosperity! Then render: Thus shall ye say, Health! Peace be both to thee, etc.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37 6. to him that liveth in prosperity] The meaning…
6. to him that liveth in prosperity] The meaning of the single Heb. word thus rendered is exceedingly obscure. It seems best to explain it as an exclamation, “Hail!” literally, “For life!”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 36, 37 (4) And David heard in the wilderness.—The question of…
(4) And David heard in the wilderness.—The question of the support of the large band of devoted followers who obeyed David must have been usually a very anxious one. No doubt, contributions from the farmers and sheep-masters materially aided the supplies David and his men derived from their raids across the Philistine borders. It is likely enough that some of these contributions were not always willingly made; still, there is no doubt that the presence of the armed band of David during the latter years of Saul afforded considerable protection to the border land. His position resembled that of a modern Arab sheik of a friendly Bedaween tribe, and it is clear that on the whole his career as head of an army of free lances tended to popularise him among the southern tribes of Israel. Nabal’s conduct appears to have been more than churlish and foolish, for David, according to the showing of Nabal’s own shepherds, had on many occasions been of substantial service to them as they tended their flocks in exposed and dangerous localities. The testimony of these shepherd folk may be accepted generally as the popular estimate of David and his acts during this rough and sorely tried period of his life.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18, 21, 23, 26, 28, 29, 32, 36 Vers. 4, 5. Though David had gone some distance…
Vers. 4, 5. Though David had gone some distance southward of Carmel, yet it was worth his while to send men to Nabal"s sheep shearing, as the maintenance of his numerous force must have been a continual difficulty. The large number, ten, also shows that he expected a liberal gift of food. Probably such missions were not uncommon, and the large sheep masters were glad to supply the wants of one who guarded their flocks and defended them from the incursions of the desert tribes.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv4, 11, 17, 29, 32 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did…
1Sa_25:4-13
And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.
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Nabal, the churl
David never made a wiser choice, and he never said a truer thing, than when he exclaimed, Let me fall now into the hand of the Lord (for His mercies are great), and let me not fall into the hand of man. The history of Davids collision with Nabal furnishes us with a twofold confirmation of the truth of Davids assertion and the wisdom of his decision. David, in a season of feebleness, sought to rest himself upon Nabals gratitude, and he found that be was trusting in the staff of a broken reed which pierced him. In his necessity he made an appeal to Nabals generosity, and he found it was as vain as trying to quench his thirst with the waters of Marah. On the other hand, Nabals ingratitude and unkindness met with no charity at first on the part of David. While Nabal was utterly destitute of brotherly kindness, David failed for a time in the love which is not easily provoked. Whether it be for the relief of our necessities, or for the pardon of our transgressions, let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great. Everything around Nabal was calculated to make him a happy, thankful, sweet-tempered, and kindhearted man. He had good blood in his veins; and by the memories of his noble and godly ancestor he ought to have been restrained from all that was mean and graceless. The inspired writer alludes be his ancestry as if that increased the guilt of his conduct. he was of the house of Caleb; but he was a bad branch growing out of a good stock, for he was churlish and evil in his doings. Alas! he was neither the first nor the last of those who have come into possession of many of the temporal results of their fathers piety, but have shamefully repudiated the godliness which brought the golden harvest. The Bible makes the nobleness of a mans ancestry one more reason why he should serve the Lord and cleave to Him with full purpose of heart. The prophet Jeremiah went with words of sharp rebuke and heavy condemnation to one who was proving himself a degenerate son of a godly sire, Did not thy father eat, and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. Nabal had what many would deem a far more substantial reason for personal goodness than the fact that he belonged to the house of Caleb. The wealth which had come down to him had evidently been increased by the Divine blessing on his own endeavours, and he stood forth conspicuous above all his neighbours for the splendour and luxury with which he could surround himself. The man was very great, but his prosperity hardened his heart and filled his spirit with haughtiness. The arrogance of spirit, and coarseness of speech, and niggardliness of heart, which Nabal displayed, were unmistakable proofs that in his prosperity he had forgotten the God to whom he was indebted for it. Hence that which should have made his lowliness to grow and blossom like a lily of the valley, did only serve to make his poisonous pride flourish like the deadly nightshade, and that which should have filled him with grateful love to God and generous love to men, only helped to increase his self-indulgence and his self-idolatry. There was another reason why better things might have been reasonably expected of Nabal. God had given him a true help-meet--a woman who, if he had yielded to her influence, would have done much to lift him out of his roughness and wickedness into refinement and godliness. It is one of the marvels of human nature that some rough and selfish men can live for year after year in fellowship with gentle and self-denying women, and yet be no more impressed and improved by them than the dead heart of Absalom was moved by the tears and wailings of his disconsolate father. If such men die impenitent and unpardoned, surely for them condemnation will be heavy and perdition will be deep! David was in danger of perishing for lack of a little of that of which Nabal had such an abundance, and therefore the appeal for relief was sent. Amongst the Jews, and other Eastern peoples, the time of sheep shearing was commonly the season of special liberality. Beside the force of good old customs, there was another reason why on that particular day Davids solicitation was seasonable. It was partly on the ground that his men had been guardians of the flocks that David rested his appeal, and there could not be a better time for that appeal than the season when the flocks were counted and the fleeces were gathered. Many have thought that the prudence and policy of Davids conduct, were more obvious than its dignity. Did he not in some measure demean himself, they ask, by setting forth so fully the services he had rendered? It is not usual, they say, be do a man a good turn, and then to go and tell him all about it, and ask for some grateful recognition of it. Before we blame David for being undignified, let us try to realize his position and his temptations, he must have been in great straits, or he would never have sent in such a way to a man like Nabal. There are people whom you cannot fully know until you ask them for something. While no direct appeal is made to their supposed benevolence, their real character is masked; but the moment you press them to be generous, despite all their efforts to wear it still, the severing drops off, and they stand forth in all their native unsightliness. To what a revelation of Nabals heart the prayer of David led! Nabal could not say it was the wrong day for charity, so he said this was a wrong case. Such people are never destitute of reasons for not giving, and are not ashamed to try and cover their niggardliness with excuses so flimsy that even the sight of a bat would be strong enough to pierce them. If he had been placed in circumstances like Abraham, and angels had come to partake of his hospitality, he would probably have cried out, Give my bread and flesh to people with wings! What next, I wonder! The provocation to David must have been great, and we are more grieved than surprised that at once his soul was all on fire with wrath. David forgot how much God had done for Nabal, what ingratitude God had received at Nabals hand, and yet how patiently God had borne with him for many years, and how lavishly God had blessed him despite all his guiltiness. We might have hoped that, instead of fostering human vengeance, David would have striven to imitate Divine long-suffering; but, the wisest men are not always wise, and the best men are not always consistent. The history shows, what is very credible, that Nabal was a great coward as well as a coarse blusterer. When he heard of Davids indignation his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. It would seem as if the weight of his own craven fears helped to sink him into the grave. Possibly his own cowardice was the instrument with which the Lord smote him; and the terrors of his guilty spirit were the disease of which he died. This much is certain, he perished for his sins. The very day wherein he refused relief to those who had befriended him, he held a feast in his house like the feast of a king. He was utterly wanting in meekness and gentleness, courtesy and kindness. He would indulge himself even to gluttony and drunkenness, and yet refused his bread to those who were ready to perish. His name has become imperishable by being written in the book which is to be translated into every tongue and read in every land; but the immortality which Scripture has given him is an immortality of infamy. (C. Vince.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv14, 36 Abigail’s Tact and Prudence
Abigail’s Tact and Prudence
v. 14. But one of the young men, of the servants of Nabal, told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them, drove over them, flew on them in a rage.
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v. 15. But the men, namely, those of David, were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, injured, made subjects of shame and contempt, neither missed we anything as long as we were conversant with them, during all the time of their fellowship with them, when we were in the fields;
v. 16. they were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep, their presence had proved a powerful protection against the wild beasts as well as against the robbers of the desert.
v. 17. Now, therefore, know and consider what thou wilt do, Abigail was to find some way to avert a probable calamity;for evil is determined against our master and against all his household, this they might count on as firmly settled; for he, Nabal, is such a son of Belial, bad, foolish, and profitless, that a man cannot speak to him. That was the estimate in which Nabal was held by his household and by his servants.
v. 18. Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, the skins used for this purpose in the Orient, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, more than forty quarts of roasted gram, and an hundred clusters of raisins, in the form of cakes made of pressed raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, also in the pressed form, and laid them on asses.
v. 19. And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. Like Jacob, Gen 32:13-20, she sent the presents of reconciliation ahead of her. But she told not her husband Nabal, who would probably have interfered very decidedly.
v. 20. And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, probably a depression or pass between two peaks, hidden from sight at any distance, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.
v. 21. Now, David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, in protecting his wealth in flocks, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him; and he hath requited me evil for good. David had been bitterly disappointed in his expectation of receiving any recognition whatever on the part of Nabal and had now flared up in passionate anger, which was not right.
v. 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 much as a single person. David wrongly considered the act of Nabal a manifestation of enmity against the cause of Jehovah.
v. 23. And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, in an attitude of supplication and subjection, and bowed herself to the ground,
v. 24. and fell at his feet, humbling herself more and more before him, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me, let this iniquity be, the blame or guilt for this unfortunate affair; and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. He was to consider her alone as the foolish and guilty person with whom he was to deal.
v. 25. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal, he should not take his behavior to heart; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal (fool) is his name, and folly is with him; but I, thine handmaid, saw not the young men of my lord whom thou didst send. Having drawn attention to her own person, she proceeds with her arguments.
v. 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, literally, "into blood-guiltiness," and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, by saving or procuring help for himself, thus making himself guilty of a serious crime, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal, sons of folly, the correlate of godlessness, which invariably brings the punishment of God upon the sinner. To these two points Abigail now adds the third argument, in offering her gift.
v. 27. And now this blessing, the present which she had sent before her, which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord, these words showing that she was a skilful diplomat. It is only now that she asks for pardon and forbearance.
v. 28. I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid, the guilt which she had taken upon herself by her own confession; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, as a reward of his magnanimity in this case, because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days, that is, bad luck, misfortune.
v. 29. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee and to seek thy soul, or, "Should a man arise and pursue," for she delicately omits a direct reference to Saul; but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord, thy God, said of the sure protection which the children of God enjoy in the merciful fellowship of the Lord here on earth; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall He sling out, as out of the middle of a sling, the pan of the sling where the missile is placed before it is shot. It is a strong expression for the total rejection which should strike the enemies of David by the divine punishment.
v. 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, for she knew that God had chosen and called David to be king of Israel, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel,
v. 31. that this shall be no grief unto thee nor offense of heart unto my lord, a stumbling-block or vexation, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself, bloodshed and self-help being the double sin that he would have been guilty of; but when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid, not to forget her entirely in his own prosperity.
v. 32. And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me, for David ever acknowledged himself to be under divine guidance;
v. 33. and blessed be thy advice, her tactful wisdom, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand, thus accepting the correction in the two points which she made.
v. 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, by tomorrow morning, any that pisseth against the wall.
v. 35. So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, the presents in food, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house, without anxiety; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person, her petition had been favorably regarded by him. Like David, all believers will find many an occasion for thanking the Lord for mercifully keeping them from some severe transgression, often in the very nick of time.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30, 32, 34, 36, 37 shearing his sheep
shearing his sheep
"shaving the wool off his sheep"
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greet him in my name
"greet him as I would greet him if I were there"
Live in prosperity
"I desire that you may live in prosperity." The abstract noun "prosperity" can be translated as a verb. AT: "I desire that you possess many good things as long as you live" (See: Abstract Nouns)
Peace to you and peace to your house, and peace be to all that you have
"I desire that peace may come to you, your household and your possessions"
translationWords
David
desert
send
life
peace
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 10, 21, 26, 28, 29, 36, 37 25:8 Sheep-shearing time for herdsmen was like harvest time…
25:8 Sheep-shearing time for herdsmen was like harvest time for farmers, a time of celebration and thankfulness for blessings.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.