1 Samuel 25 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

1 Samuel 25

The Death of Samuel

25:1 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah.

David and Abigail

Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite. 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So 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. 6 And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” 12 So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13 And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.

14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”

18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs¹ of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. 22 God do so to the enemies of David² and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25 Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal³ is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, because the LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the LORD your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince⁴ over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

32 And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! 34 For as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35 Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

36 And 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 very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. 37 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. 38 And about ten days later the LORD struck Nabal, and he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The LORD has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” 41 And she rose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives. 44 Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Footnotes

[1] 25:18 A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters
[2] 25:22 Septuagint to David
[3] 25:25 Nabal means fool
[4] 25:30 Or leader

Commentary

v1: David was in the wilderness of Paran, in the southern part of Judah; in this area were Maon, Carmel, Ziph, and En-Gedi. This sparsely populated area was liable to attacks from the Philistines, and from other nations. Nabal's servants testified that David and his men protected them (v15-16).

The writer refers to Samuel’s death in a verse; Israel mourned him, but David had little opportunity to do so.

v2-3: Nabal was very rich, but harsh and evil, and not generous. His servants described him as a "wicked man" (v17); and Abigail described him as a "fool" (v25). Nabal was a man without love for God. The devotion and commitment of Caleb had become self-interest and harshness in Nabal. In contrast Abigail was a beautiful woman of intelligence.

Nabal and Abigail make an unlikely pair. There was little real closeness between them; this was true also of David and Michal. It sometimes happens that only one partner is truly spiritual.

v4-8: David made a request for food from Nabal. Presumably, when bands of fighting men provided protection for local farmers, they would expect payment in kind.

v9-11: Nabal claimed not to know of David; perhaps in his selfishness, he had taken no interest in wider issues. In rejecting David's request, he referred to "my shearers", but it seems he had little real concern for them.

v12-13: The message was reported back to David. His reaction was uncharacteristically hasty. He was provoked to anger, even to murder; such a contrast with his gracious attitude towards Saul (ch 24 and 26). Beware the hasty word; Ps 141.3; Matt 12.36.

v14-17: One of Nabal's servants reported his words to Abigail. His mention of David indicates that David was known amongst the servants, see also Abigail’s words in v29-30.

v18-20: Abigail worked quickly to prepare a gift for David. The gift is quiet substantial; it was likely that she had provided for Nabal's many servants. It is significant that she did not tell Nabal of her plans.

v21-22: Even as Abigail was bringing her gift, David was urging his men on to kill Nabal and his servants.

v23-27: Abigail interceded for her large household; this was the only way to prevent death. Later David testified that her words had saved the lives of the household (v34). Abigail pleaded for the life of someone unworthy, and she relied upon David's mercy.

v28-31: Abigail also had some knowledge of David, in contrast to Nabal's ignorance. She recognised that he fought "the Lord's battles", and that another, that is Saul, was pursuing him. She prayed for deliverance and safety. Her confidence was that God's promises to David would be fulfilled.

Abigail was also concerned for David’s conscience, that he would not have to bear “the staggering burden of needless bloodshed.”

v32-35: God overruled, and the household of Nabal was preserved, and David was kept from serious sin.

At no stage did David avenge himself; he did avenge others, such as those who killed Ishbosheth and the man who claimed to have killed Saul. Later, Solomon avenged David, having David and Shimei killed.

v36-38: Nabal had been enjoying himself, ignorant of the events around him. He was shocked when Abigail explained what had happened.

There was no need for David to strike Nabal. In 26.10, David said, "the Lord Himself will strike him", of Saul. It seems that David maintained this principle, not attacking the people of Israel.

v39: David had been right to leave God to vindicate him. The prayer of Abigail was central to this turn of events. We must leave the Lord God to plead our cause, and to remove our reproach. We are not to fight for our own rights but trust God to change our circumstances..

v40-44: David took the opportunity to marry the now widowed Abigail. She was delighted to have the opportunity to "wash the feet of my master's servants". While others seek the honour of a great name, Abigail sought the place of service.