1 Samuel 25

the courtesy and prudence of Abigail saved the whole; and her present suffering was recompensed with promotion to be the wife of David. That Nabal was guilty of ingratitude and folly, as well as churlishness, cannot be doubted; for his own servants bear witness that David’s troops had been “a wall” of protection to his property, and especially his sheep; it was ungrateful, therefore, and, in a time of special festivity, cruel to refuse a supply of food in their necessities; and it was no less foolish to refuse such supply to a troop of six hundred men, who had the means of enforcing as a demand, what they at first solicited only as a favour. Whether David had a moral right to make such a demand, is another question; but he was certainly justified by the custom of the times and of the country, and what difficult would it be to justify the threat of putting to the sword all Nabal’s family, for a fault personally his alone.

But we are called neither to justify the laws of war, nor the morals of an undisciplined army. There is something, however, very much like the Christian in David’s expression of thankfulness to Abigail, as having been the means of saving him from shed-

Notes on the verses

Chap. XXV. Ver. 2. Carmel.—{Not the famous mount Carmel, in the north of Canaan, and in the tribe of Asher; but a city on a mountain of the same name, in the south of Judah, which seems to have given name to the surrounding territory. Eusebius and Jerome inform us, that there was in their time a town called Carmelia, ten miles east from Hebron, where the Romans kept a garrison, whose position well agrees with this Carmel.—Shearing his sheep.—This was a very ancient custom; and appears to have been always attended with festivity. ‘The ancient Romans, however, used to pluck off the wool from the sheeps’ backs; and hence a fleece was called vellus, a vellendo, from plucking it oft. Pliny says, that in his time sheep were not shorn everywhere, but in some places the wool was still plucked off.

—Bagster. ys Ver. 3. Churlish.—| Wehoo calibbee, literally, “and he was a Calebite;” but as the word caleb, signifies a dog, the Septuagint have understood it as implying a man of a canine disposition, and translated it, “and he was a doggish man.” It is understood in the same way by the Hebrew and Arabic. }–#. _ Ver. 7. Thy shepherds.—[In those times, and at the present day, wandering tribes, under their several chiefs, think that they have a right to exact contributions of provisions, &c. wherever they come. But David, though he lived in the wilderness like the Arab emirs, had not adopted their manners; one of them, at the head of 600 men, would have commanded, from time to time, some provision or other presents from Nabal’s servants, for permitting them to feed at quiet; and would have driven them away from the watering-place upon any dislike.

David had done nothing of this kind; but had protected them against those who would. See Harmer.—Bagster. Ver. 8. To thy servants, and to thy son David.—Ward remarks, “This mode of address is not unfrequent among the Hindoos: a poor man will often say to a rich man, Oh father! fill the belly of thy son; he is in distress.” Ver. 18. Two hundred loaves.—(The eastern bread is generally both thin and small; and answers to our cakes.)—Bagster.—Two bottles of wine.—This, to our ears, may see very disproportionate to the other articles; but the bottles here must either have been large skin bottles, or earthen jars.—Cakes of figs.—|Figs cured and then pressed together. Now all this provision was a matter of little worth; and had it been granted in the first instance, it would perfectly have satisfied David, and secured his good offices.

]—Bagster. } = - As is his name, so is he.—That is, his name signifies folly, and he is a fool. Ver. 29. Bound up in the bundle of life.—The — is here figurative, and may refer to binding corn. Our Lord tells us, that in the last great day, the wicked shall be “bound up” in bundles, like tares for the; these are the bundles of death; but the righteous shall be like sheaves of wheat, gathered into the garner of the husbandman; these are “the bundles of life;” and so shall they be for “ever with the Lord.” (Matthew 13:30).—Sling out, &c.—This is another beautiful image; the wicked shall be “cast forth” from the divine presence with “violence,” as a stone is cast forth from a sling. See ver. X.