1 Samuel 25
25
The Death of Samuel
1 Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the desert of Paran.#tc The LXX reads “Maon” here instead of “Paran,” perhaps because the following account of Nabal is said to be in Maon (v. 2). This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT). The MT, however, reads “Paran,” a location which would parallel this portion of David’s life with that of the nation Israel which also spent time in Paran (Num 10:12). Also, the desert of Paran was on the southern border of Judah’s territory and would be the most isolated location for hiding from Saul.
David Marries Abigail the Widow of Nabal
2 There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy;#tn Heb “great.” he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The man’s name was Nabal,#sn The name נָבָל (Nabal) means “foolish” or “senseless” in Hebrew, and as an adjective the word is used especially of persons who have no perception of ethical or religious claims. It is an apt name for this character, who certainly typifies such behavior. and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise#tn Heb “good of insight”; KJV “of good understanding”; NAB, NIV, TEV “intelligent”; NRSV “clever.” and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.
4 When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 5 he#tn Heb “David”; for stylistic reasons the pronoun has been used in the translation. sent ten servants,#tn Or “young men.” saying to them,#tn Heb “and David said to the young men.” “Go up to Carmel to see Nabal and give him greetings in my name.#tn Heb “and inquire concerning him in my name in regard to peace.” 6 Then you will say to my brother,#tc The text is difficult here. The MT and most of the early versions support the reading לֶחָי (lekhai, “to life,” or “to the one who lives”). Some of the older English versions (KJV, ASV; cf. NKJV) took the expression to mean “to him who lives (in prosperity),” but this translation requires reading a good deal into the words. While the expression could have the sense of “Long life to you!” (cf. NIV, NJPS) or perhaps “Good luck to you!” this seems somewhat redundant in light of the salutation that follows in the context. The Latin Vulgate has fratribus meis (“to my brothers”), which suggests that Jerome understood the Hebrew word to have an alef that is absent in the MT (i.e., לֶאֱחָי, le’ekhay). Jerome’s plural, however, remains a problem, since in the context David is addressing a single individual, namely Nabal, and not a group. However, it is likely that the Vulgate witnesses to a consonantal Hebrew text that is to be preferred here, especially if the word were to be revocalized as a singular rather than a plural. While it is impossible to be certain about this reading, the present translation essentially follows the Vulgate in reading “my brother” (so also NJB; cf. NAB, RSV, NRSV). “Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours! 7 Now I hear that they are shearing sheep for you. When your shepherds were with us, we neither insulted them nor harmed them the whole time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come#tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading בָּאנוּ (ba’nu, “we have come”) rather than the MT’s בָּנוּ (banu, “we have built”). at the time of a holiday. Please provide us – your servants#tn This refers to the ten servants sent by David. and your son David – with whatever you can spare.”#tn Heb “whatever your hand will find.”
9 So David’s servants went and spoke all these words to Nabal in David’s name. Then they paused. 10 But Nabal responded to David’s servants, “Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters! 11 Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don’t even know where they came from!”
12 So David’s servants went on their way. When they had returned, they came and told David#tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity. all these things. 13 Then David instructed his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed David up, while two hundred stayed behind with the equipment.
14 But one of the servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet#tn Heb “bless.” our lord, but he screamed at them. 15 These men were very good to us. They did not insult us, nor did we sustain any loss during the entire time we were together#tn Heb “all the days we walked about with them when we were.” in the field. 16 Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks. 17 Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household.#tn Heb “all his house” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “his whole family.” He is such a wicked person#tn Heb “he is a son of worthlessness.” that no one tells him anything!”
18 So Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers#tn Heb “skins.” of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs#sn The seah was a dry measure equal to one-third of an ephah, or not quite eleven quarts. of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred lumps of pressed figs. She loaded them on donkeys 19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead of me. I will come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
20 Riding on her donkey, she went down under cover of the mountain. David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she encountered them. 21 Now David had been thinking,#tn Heb “said.” “In vain I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the desert. I didn’t take anything from him. But he has repaid my good with evil. 22 God will severely punish David,#tc Heb “Thus God will do to the enemies of David and thus he will add.” Most of the Old Greek ms tradition has simply “David,” with no reference to his enemies. In OT imprecations such as the one found in v. 22 it is common for the speaker to direct malediction toward himself as an indication of the seriousness with which he regards the matter at hand. In other words, the speaker invites on himself dire consequences if he fails to fulfill the matter expressed in the oath. However, in the situation alluded to in v. 22 the threat actually does not come to fruition due to the effectiveness of Abigail’s appeal to David in behalf of her husband Nabal. Instead, David is placated through Abigail’s intervention. It therefore seems likely that the reference to “the enemies of David” in the MT of v. 22 is the result of a scribal attempt to deliver David from the implied consequences of this oath. The present translation follows the LXX rather than the MT here. if I leave alive until morning even one male#tn Heb “one who urinates against a wall” (also in v. 34); KJV “any that pisseth against the wall.” from all those who belong to him!”
23 When Abigail saw David, she got down quickly from the donkey, threw herself down before David, and bowed to the ground. 24 Falling at his feet, she said, “My lord, I accept all the guilt! But please let your female servant speak with my lord! Please listen to the words of your servant! 25 My lord should not pay attention to this wicked man Nabal. He simply lives up to his name! His name means ‘fool,’ and he is indeed foolish!#tn Heb “and foolishness is with him.” But I, your servant, did not see the servants my lord sent.#tn Heb “my lord’s servants, whom you sent.”
26 “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, it is the Lord who has kept you from shedding blood and taking matters into your own hands. Now may your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord be like Nabal. 27 Now let this present#tn Heb “blessing.” that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the servants who follow#tn Heb “are walking at the feet of.” my lord. 28 Please forgive the sin of your servant, for the Lord will certainly establish the house of my lord, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord. May no evil be found in you all your days! 29 When someone sets out to chase you and to take your life, the life of my lord will be wrapped securely in the bag#tn Cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “bundle”; NLT “treasure pouch.” of the living by the Lord your God. But he will sling away the lives of your enemies from the sling’s pocket! 30 The Lord will do for my lord everything that he promised you,#tn Heb “according to all which he spoke, the good concerning you.” and he will make#tn Heb “appoint.” you a leader over Israel. 31 Your conscience will not be overwhelmed with guilt#tn Heb “and this will not be for you for staggering and for stumbling of the heart of my lord.” for having poured out innocent blood and for having taken matters into your own hands. When the Lord has granted my lord success,#tn Heb “and the Lord will do well for my lord.” please remember your servant.”
32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praised#tn Heb “blessed” (also in vv. 33, 39). be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me! 33 Praised be your good judgment! May you yourself be rewarded#tn Heb “blessed.” for having prevented me this day from shedding blood and taking matters into my own hands! 34 Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives – he who has prevented me from harming you – if you had not come so quickly to meet me, by morning’s light not even one male belonging to Nabal would have remained alive!” 35 Then David took from her hand what she had brought to him. He said to her, “Go back#tn Heb “up.” to your home in peace. Be assured that I have listened to you#tn Heb “your voice.” and responded favorably.”#tn Heb “I have lifted up your face.”
36 When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time#tn Heb “and the heart of Nabal was good upon him”; NASB, NRSV “Nabal’s heart was merry within him”; NIV “he was in high spirits”; NCV, TEV “was in a good mood”; CEV “was very drunk and feeling good.” and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing#tn Heb “and she did not tell him a thing, small or large.” until morning’s light. 37 In the morning, when Nabal was sober,#tn Heb “when the wine had gone out from Nabal.” his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed.#tn Heb “and his heart died within him and he became a stone.” Cf. TEV, NLT “stroke”; CEV “heart attack.” For an alternative interpretation than that presented above, see Marjorie O’Rourke Boyle, “The Law of the Heart: The Death of a Fool (1 Samuel 25),” JBL 120 (2001): 401-27, who argues that a medical diagnosis is not necessary here. Instead, the passage makes a connection between the heart and the law; Nabal dies for his lawlessness. 38 After about ten days the Lord struck Nabal down and he died.
39 When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal!#tn Heb “who has argued the case of my insult from the hand of Nabal.” The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.”#tn Heb “his servant he has held back from evil, and the evil of Nabal the Lord has turned back on his head.” Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife.
40 So the servants of David went to Abigail at Carmel and said to her, “David has sent us to you to bring you back to be his wife.” 41 She arose, bowed her face toward the ground, and said, “Your female servant, like a lowly servant, will wash#tn Heb “Here is your maidservant, for a lowly servant to wash.” the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 Then Abigail quickly went and mounted her donkey, with five of her female servants accompanying her.#tn Heb “going at her feet.” She followed David’s messengers and became his wife.
43 David had also married#tn Heb “taken.” Ahinoam from Jezreel; the two of them became his wives. 44 (Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.)
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1 Samuel 25
25
Samuel’s Death
1Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him. They buried him at his house at Ramah. Then David got up and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
David and Abigail
2Now there was a man in Maon, whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich and owned#Literally “there were for him” three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. Now#Literally “And it happened” the shearing of his sheep was taking place in Carmel. 3The name of the man was Nabal,#The name “Nabal” means “foolish” and the name of his wife was Abigail.#The name “Abigail” means “my father delights” Now the woman was wise and beautiful, but the man was stubborn and mean,#Literally “bad of deeds” and he was as his heart.#The Masoretic Hebrew text (Kethib) reads “as his heart,” whereas the reading tradition (Qere) reads “Calebite” 4David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5So David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal; you will greet him in my name.#Literally “you will ask for him in my name as far as peace” 6Then you must say to him, ‘Long life to you, and may it go well with you, with your house, and with all that is yours.#Literally “you are peace and your house is peace and all that is yours is peace” 7Now I have heard that you have shearers.#Literally “shearing is for you” Now while your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and nothing of theirs was missing, all the days they were in Carmel. 8Ask your servants#Or “young men” and they will tell you! Let the young men#Or “the servants”; “young men” is used here to connect with v. 5 find favor in your eyes because we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have on hand#Literally “what your hand finds” for your servants and for your son David.”
9So David’s young men came and they spoke all these words to Nabal in the name of David. Then they waited. 10But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Today, there are many servants breaking away from the presence of their masters. 11Should I take my bread and my water and my meat which I have slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men whom I do not know where they are from? 12So David’s young men turned on their way and returned and came and told him according to all these words. 13Then David said to his men, “Each man strap on his sword!” So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.
14But a young man of the servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Look, David sent messengers from the desert to greet#Hebrew “bless” our master, but he addressed them angrily, 15even though the men were very good to us; we were not mistreated and did not miss anything all the days we went about with them while we were#Literally “at our being” in the field. 16They were a wall to us both night and day, all the days we were#Literally “the days of our being” with them keeping the sheep. 17And so then, know and consider#Literally “see” what you should do, for evil has been decided against our master and against all his household, and he is such a wicked man,#Literally “a son of uselessness” nobody can reason with him!”#Literally “from speaking to him”
18Then Abigail quickly took#Literally “hastened and took” two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and she put them on the donkeys. 19Then she said to her servants, “Go ahead before me; look, I am coming after you,” but she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20And then,#Literally “And it happened” as she was riding on the donkey and was going down the ravine of the mountain, David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she met them. 21Now David had said, “Surely in vain#Literally “for the vanity” I guarded all that this fellow had in the desert. And nothing was missed of all that was his, but he returned evil against me in place of good! 22May God severely punish the enemies of David#Literally “May God do so to the enemies of David”; following the LXX some English versions omit the words “the enemies of” and again do thus if I leave behind anything that is his#Literally “from all that is for him” until the morning, not even one male!”#Literally “from one urinating against a wall” 23When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell on her face before David’s anger,#Literally “the nostrils of David” and she bowed down to the ground. 24She fell at his feet and said, “On me, my lord, be the guilt! Please let your female servant speak to you personally!#Literally “in your ears” Hear the words of your female servant! 25Please do not let my lord set his heart against this worthless man,#Literally “this man of wickedness” Nabal; for as his name, so is he. Nabal is his name, and stupidity is with him! But I, your female servant, did not see the young men#Or “the servants” of my lord whom you sent. 26So then, my lord, as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives,#Literally “the life of Yahweh and the life of your soul” since Yahweh restrained you from bloodguilt by taking matters into your own hand,#Literally “saving your hand for you” so then, may your enemies be like Nabal, even those who seek to do my lord harm.#Literally “the seeking to my lord evil” 27So then, this gift which your female servant has brought to my lord, may it be given to the young men who follow my lord.#Literally “the ones going about at the feet of my lord” 28Please forgive the transgression of your female servant, because Yahweh will certainly make a lasting house#That is, a lasting dynasty for my lord, because my lord is fighting the battles of Yahweh, and evil will not be found in you as long as you live.#Literally “from your days” 29Should a man arise to pursue you and to seek your life, may the life of my lord be wrapped in the pouch#Or “bag” of the living with Yahweh your God. But as for the life of your enemy, he will sling it from within#Hebrew “in the midst of” the pocket of the sling! 30And then#Literally “And it will happen” when Yahweh has done for my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you as leader over Israel, 31then this will not be an obstacle for you or a stumbling block of conscience for my lord either by the shedding of blood without cause or by my lord taking matters into his own hands.#Literally “the saving of my lord for himself” And when Yahweh does good to my lord, then remember your female servant.”
32Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be Yahweh the God of Israel who has sent you this day to meet me! 33And blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you who have prevented me this day from bloodguilt and from delivering myself by my own hand. 34But as Yahweh lives,#Literally “the life of Yahweh” the God of Israel who has prevented me from harming you, if you had not hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been one male#Literally “one urinating against a wall” left alive for Nabal by the light of morning!” 35Then David took from her hand what she had brought for him, and he said to her, “Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to your voice, and I have granted your request.”#Literally “lifted up your face”
36Then Abigail went to Nabal, and look, he was holding a feast#Literally “a feast was for him” in his house like the feast of the king. Nabal was enjoying himself,#Literally “the heart of Nabal was good on him” and he was very drunk, so she did not tell him a thing, nothing at all,#Literally “small or large” until the light of morning. 37And then#Literally “And it happened” in the morning when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these words. Then his heart died within him,#Literally “in his midst” and he became like a stone. 38And then,#Literally “And it happened” about ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal and he died.
39When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Blessed be Yahweh who has vindicated the case of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and he has kept back his servant from evil; but Yahweh has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke with Abigail to take her for his wife. 40So the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, and they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you for his wife.” 41She got up and bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “Here is your female servant, as a slave to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42Then Abigail quickly got up#Literally “hastened and got up” and rode on the donkey, along with five of her maidservants who attended her,#Literally “the ones going about at her feet” and she went after the messengers of David and became his wife.
43David had also taken Ahinoam from Jezreel, and both of them became his wives. 44(Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.)
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