XXV. (1 Samuel 25:1) The Death of Samuel — The Story of Nabal and Abigail — An Incident illustrative of the Life which David led when a Captain of Outlaws — Abigail becomes his Wife. EXCURSUS J: ON THE ESPECIAL VALUE OF THE EPISODE OF ABIGAIL AND NABAL (1 Samuel 25). We perhaps ask, What were the... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SAMUEL DIED. — At this period — namely, about the time when Saul and David met at En-gedi — died Samuel, full of years and honour — perhaps rather than _honours,_ for a long time the old prophet had lived apart from the court, and alienated from the king he had chosen and anointed. Since Moses,... [ Continue Reading ]
MAON. — Maon mentioned above was in the hill country of Judah. The Carmel here mentioned is not the famous Mount Carmel in the north, but the small town, the modern Kurmeel, near Maon, of which we read in 1 Samuel 15:12, when Saul set up a place or monument after the war with Amalek. AND THE MAN WAS... [ Continue Reading ]
NABAL. — The word “Nabal” means “fool,” connected with _naval,_ to fade away. The name was probably a nickname given him on account of his well-known stubborn folly. ABIGAIL. — The famous beautiful woman who afterwards became David’s wife seems to have been, as Stanley calls her, “the good angel of... [ Continue Reading ]
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 acro... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THUS SHALL YE SAY. — On such a festive occasion near a town or village, an Arab sheik of the neighbouring 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 the transcript of that of David. — Robinson, _Palestine,... [ Continue Reading ]
NEITHER WAS THERE OUGHT MISSING UNTO THEM. — These words doubtless refer to the protection which David’s armed band had afforded to the herdsmen against the frequent raids of the neighbouring people — the Philistines and other more savage and unscrupulous tribes who dwelt on the borders of Palestine... [ Continue Reading ]
AND CEASED. — Better rendered, _and they sat down._ The Hebrew word here has been variously translated. Bunsen suggests, “and they waited modestly for an answer;” the Vulg., followed by some scholars, has “and they were silent.”... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE BE MANY SERVANTS NOW A DAYS THAT BREAK AWAY. — This evident insult indicates that Nabal was of the faction of Saul at this time — was reckoned among those who hated David. It was the report of these words, doubtless, which so furiously excited David. In Nabal, the rich sheep-master, the churli... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTO MEN, WHOM I KNOW NOT. — In other words, “Shall I give largesse to the enemies of my king — to a band of rebel freebooters?” MY WATER. — The LXX., instead of “water,” read “wine.” This is one of the countless alterations this version arbitrarily makes in the original sacred text. The Greek tran... [ Continue Reading ]
GIRD YE ON EVERY MAN HIS SWORD. — The formal preparation and the largeness of the force told off for the work showed how terribly David was in earnest, and how bent he was on wiping out the insult of Nabal in blood. From the view we have taken of the transaction above, David’s anger is quite to be a... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT ONE OF THE YOUNG MEN TOLD ABIGAIL. — The servant of Nabal — accustomed, no doubt, to his master’s wild and ungovernable displays of temper had heard the insulting words which Nabal spoke to the armed messenger of the famous outlaw captain; and probably gathering from the angry demeanour of these... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE MEN WERE VERY GOOD UNTO US. — The “young man” in question who spoke thus to his mistress, Abigail, was evidently one in high authority in the sheep farms of Nabal. His testimony in 1 Samuel 25:15, respecting David is clear and decisive, and occurring as it does in the heart of an episode mos... [ Continue Reading ]
A SON OF BELIAL. — Belial was not a proper name, though it subsequently came to be considered one. It signifies simply worthlessness; here a “son of Belial” is an expression for a bad, worthless fellow.... [ Continue Reading ]
FIVE MEASURES. — The LXX. alter the measure into five ephahs, thinking the quantity in the text ridiculously small for such an host as followed David. Ewald too, would change 5 into 500; but the truth is that Abigail in her haste, thinking rightly that no time must be lost, as the danger was pressin... [ Continue Reading ]
THE COVERT OF THE HILL. — Keil explains the words _sether hahar — _literally, _a hidden part of the mountain_ — as probably signifying a hollow between two peaks of the mountain; thus each of the advancing parties would “come down” — Abigail, who approached on one side, and David, who came on the ot... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW DAVID HAD SAID. — This verse and the following (22nd) must be understood as a kind of parenthesis in the narrative. They express what David felt, and, as it were, his justification in his own mind for the violent and vengeful act he was about to carry out. The argument was, Nabal had returned in... [ Continue Reading ]
SO AND MORE ALSO. — This is an unusual variation of the common form of imprecation, “God do so to me and more also, if, &c, &c.” The Syriac and Arabic Versions, followed by some commentators, instead of “enemies of David,” read “his servant David.” The LXX., as usual, boldly cuts the knot by leaving... [ Continue Reading ]
FELL BEFORE DAVID. — This act of obeisance, and, in fact, the whole tone of the wise wife of Nabal in her address to David, seems to betoken her consciousness that she was addressing the anointed of Jehovah, the future king — at no distant date — of Israel. Her worst fears she found realised when sh... [ Continue Reading ]
SEEING THE LORD HATH WITHHOLDEN. — This passage, as the _Speaker’s Commentary_ rightly observes, “since the oath affirmed nothing, should be rendered, ‘And now my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, it is the Lord that hath withholden thee.’ Literally, _As true as that the Lord liveth,... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS BLESSING. — That is to say, _gift._ Of this Abigail makes little account — it was simply an expression of her homage and good will. It was not intended, of course, for David, but for his company; but she brought it, as is the custom in the East where an inferior approaches a superior, whether a... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TRESPASS OF THINE HANDMAID. — Abigail again takes upon herself the wrong; the gracious act of forgiveness, of which she feels assured beforehand, she reminds David, will be shown _to her._ Thus all the chivalry of David’s character — if we may use a term which belongs to another age — was brough... [ Continue Reading ]
A MAN IS RISEN. — She here refers, of course, to Saul, but with exquisite courtesy and true loyalty refrains from mentioning in connection with evil the name of her king, the “Anointed of Jehovah.” SHALL BE BOUND IN THE BUNDLE OF LIFE. — This is one of the earliest and most definite expressions of a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SHALL HAVE APPOINTED THEE RULER OVER ISRAEL. — The wife of Nabal here speaks of the outlaw captain’s future rule over Israel as king as a matter of absolute certainty. This she, in common with other religious persons of the people, had doubtless heard through the Prophetic Schools. We may fairly... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN REMEMBER THINE HANDMAID. — With exquisite grace Abigail wound up her earnest simple words to the king of the future with a reference to the period when those happy days, to which she looked forward with such certainty, should have arrived — _then_ David must have no deeds of violence, of furiou... [ Continue Reading ]
AND BLESSED BE THY ADVICE. — David, with his usual frank generosity, allows he has been in the wrong in giving way to wild, ungovernable passion, and openly confesses that if Abigail had not met him and reasoned with him, he would have carried out his purpose, and stained his fair fame for ever with... [ Continue Reading ]
HE HELD A FEAST IN HIS HOUSE. — This completes the picture of the wealthy sheep-master. The contrast between him and his wife, the high-minded and wise Abigail, is very striking. The husband, churlish, obstinate, a friend of Saul and the old disorderly state of things, haughty, unyielding, selfish,... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THE WINE WAS GONE OUT. — Simply, when the brutish, selfish reveller had become sober by lapse of time. HIS HEART DIED WITHIN HIM. — These words are generally understood as signifying that an attack of apoplexy had seized the intemperate man. Commentators are a little divided as to the immediate... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD SMOTE NABAL. — That is to say, that after ten days had passed the Lord put an end to the base life by a second apoplectic stroke. Although the death was a sequel to the selfishness, the passion, and the intemperance, it does not appear that anything more than the operation of natural causes... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THE SERVANTS OF DAVID WERE COME TO ABIGAIL. — The time that had elapsed between the death of Nabal and this mission of David to Abigail is not specified. The legal time of mourning was fixed at only seven days, but a very considerable period may have elapsed in this case. S. Ambrose allegorises... [ Continue Reading ]
DAVID ALSO TOOK AHINOAM OF JEZREEL. — Jezreel is not the city in Issachar (Joshua 19:18), but a town in the southern part of Canaan, situate in the hill country of Judah, near Maon. The fatal results of this disastrous and unhappy Oriental custom of polygamy, as time went on, showed themselves in Ki... [ Continue Reading ]
MICHAL HIS DAUGHTER. — The marriage of the Princess Michal to Phalti (Michal, we read, “loved David,” 1 Samuel 18:20) had taken place probably some time before. This high-handed act showed on the part of Saul a fixed determination to break utterly and for ever with David. Phalti was presumably a chi... [ Continue Reading ]