1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:1 Samuel died and was buried IN HIS HOUSE. Burial in a house was common in some ancient cultures, though unusual in Israel. Perhaps David went to PARAN because he feared that Samuel’s death might turn Saul against him again. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagN... [ Continue Reading ]
1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:2 “The wilderness of Paran” (v. 1 Samuel 25:1) usually refers to the northeastern part of the Sinai peninsula (Numbers 10:12). If the “stronghold” of 1 Samuel 24:22 is Masada, David would not have had to travel very far. CARMEL is not the mountain in the north of Israel... [ Continue Reading ]
1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:3 NABAL means “foolish” or “boorish” (see v. 1 Samuel 25:25). Since it is unlikely that someone would be given a name with that meaning, it may have originated from another Hebrew word that is now unknown. CALEBITE may mean a descendant of Caleb, one of the scouts who wa... [ Continue Reading ]
1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:4 Sheepshearing was a time of festivity (v. 1 Samuel 25:8) as well as work. David addresses Nabal politely and respectfully. Sending TEN YOUNG MEN suggests that he was asking for a substantial handout, but hardly enough to feed 600 men. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getEl... [ Continue Reading ]
1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:10 Nabal refuses David’s polite request (which might have been justifiable), and he treats David’s men with contempt. Like Saul and Doeg (1 Samuel 20:27, 1 Samuel 20:30; 1 Samuel 22:8, 1 Samuel 22:9, 1 Samuel 22:13), Nabal seems to use THE SON OF JESSE as an insult.... [ Continue Reading ]
1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:22 GOD DO SO TO THE ENEMIES OF DAVID AND MORE ALSO is a common conditional curse formula (as in 1 Samuel 3:17 and 1 Samuel 14:44). The word MALE in this verse translates a Hebrew phrase that literally means “one who urinates at a wall.” In the Bible, the phrase always re... [ Continue Reading ]
1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:23 ABIGAIL warns David not to shed innocent blood. It would not be good for the future king to have killed fellow Israelites. He must let God remove his enemies, not take vengeance himself. THE BUNDLE OF THE LIVING (v. 1 Samuel 25:29), or “the document of the living,” is... [ Continue Reading ]
1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:32 For David to give up taking vengeance meant breaking the vow he made in v. 1 Samuel 25:22. If one vows to sin, however, it is better to break the vow than to commit the sin vowed. Indeed, the very act of making a rash vow is a sin (Leviticus 5:4). Jephthah (Judges 11:... [ Continue Reading ]
1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:35 GO UP IN PEACE TO YOUR HOUSE is more than just a conventional greeting. David is telling Abigail that her household is safe. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:37 Abigail’s words had a devastating effect on Nabal. Whether he had a heart attack (HIS HEART DIED WITHIN HIM) or a stroke (HE BECAME AS A STONE), TEN DAYS LATER THE LORD STRUCK NABAL, AND HE DIED. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0,... [ Continue Reading ]
1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:43 Because AHINOAM is always mentioned first, David probably married her before he married Abigail (v. 1 Samuel 25:42). Ahinoam was the mother of David’s eldest son, Amnon (2 Samuel 3:2; 2 Samuel 13:1). Abigail became the mother of David’s little-known second son Chileab... [ Continue Reading ]
1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 SAMUEL 25:44 David had probably not seen his first wife, MICHAL, since she helped him escape from Saul in 1 Samuel 19:11. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]