1 Samuel 25

Which was in tlio southern parts of Judea, near to Arabia: into which he might presently flee, if there were occasion. The Mahometan writers (as Hottingcr observes) make Paran a part of Arabia Dcscrta: so that now it was that David dwelt in the tents of Kedar: which was tho same with Paran, as our learned Fuller observes in his Miscellanies. A COMMENTARY UPON [chap. XXV. maid.] She still speaks as if she had been tho offender; because she desired none might suffer but herself. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house.] She prays him to’be good to her, as God would certainly be to him. Because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been foitnd in thee all thy days.] She puts him in mind of all his hcroical acts against the Philistines, and other enemies; and that hitherto he had been blameless, and done no hurt to the Israelites: and therefore hoped he would do hone to her, and her family.

1 Samuel 25:1

JjL’ND Samuel died. According to Josephus (lib. vii. latter end) he governed Israel after the death of Eli twelve years, and lived eighteen in the reign of Saul, and then died. But according to Sir J. Marsham, he judged Israel sixteen y.ears before Saul’s inauguration; and after he was made king lived eighteen. ■ I And all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him.] Such was his virtue, and such was the love the people bare to’ him, that the whole nation bewailed his loss, and that many days, as Josephus saith, Kal hti 7roXXac Vfilpag e»cAau(rev. [, And buried him in his house at Ramah.^ The place where he was born, and had long lived: where, it is likely, there was a place belonging to his house in which his family was interred. And David arose, and went into the wilderness ofParan.)

1 Samuel 25:2

And there was a man in Maori, whose possessioris were in Carmel. There were two Canucls: one in the north near the sea, in the confines of Asher and Zcbulun, to which Elijah was wont to resort; and another in the south near Hebron, in the tribe of Judah, which is here meant. Sec Josh. xv. 55. both concerning Maon and Carmel. And the man teas very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats.] A very wealthy man. And he was shearing his sheep in CarmeL] They pulled off the wool’ at Rome, and in the neighbouring countries (as Bochartus observes), but not in Greece, nor Judea; where they sheared it, as we do now.

1 Samuel 25:3

And the name of the man ivas Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail; and she was a woman of great ttnderstanding, and of a beautiful countenance:, but the man was churlish, and evil in his doings.] Uncharitable, and perhaps oppressive in his dealings. And he was of the house of Caleb.] Descended from a worthy ancestor, but very unlike him. In the Hebrew the word is Calebi, a Calebite, of the family of Caleb. But the word Caleb signifying a dog, some of the ancient interpreters understand the word here, as if the holy writer insinuated he was of dog-like dispositions and manners. Whence the LXX. translate it, 6 av$po>7roc kvvikoq, a dogged man, or a cynic. And so the Syriac and Arabic.

1 Samuel 25:4

And David heard in the tvildemess that Nabal did shear his sheep. For the wilderness of Paran was not far from Nabal’s house. •

1 Samuel 25:5

< And David sent out ten young men. To shew his great respect to him. And David said unto the young men, Get ye up to CarmeL] For it was a mountain, as the other Carmel was.. And go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.] Present his service to him, as we now speak; and wish him continued happiness, as it is in the following words. Ver. G. And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity.] In the Hebrew the words are only, to him that liveth: unto which we add in prosperity; because life in Scripture signifies happiness, as death signifies misery. Peace be both to thee, and peace be unto thy house, and peace to all that thou hast.] A most affectionate and comprehensive salutation; wherein he wishes well to him (both his soul and body), and to his whole family, and to all that he possessed, either at home or abroad: and some think in the first words he wishes all this might be perpetuated as long as he lived. There could not well be a higher compliment, as we now speak; for peace comprehends all manner of blessings, in the holy language. Ver; 7. And now I have heard that thou hast shearers.] Whom he entertained that day.. L Now, thy shepherds which were withus, ice hurt them not, neither ivas there aught missing to them all the while they wefe in Carmel.] He. represents the good demeanour of those who belonged to him, w r hile they were in his neighbourhood. And suggests, that he Mould not have had so many sheep to shear, if his men had been like others in their condition. But though they Merc soldiers, and in great necessity, they never took any thing from him.

1 Samuel 25:8

Ask thy young men, and they will sheto thee. He desires him to be informed of the truth of this from his own servants. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes (for we come in a good day); give, I pray thee, ivhatsoever cometh unto thy hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.] Most humble words, and full of respect: mixed with strong arguments; from their harmless and friendly living in his neighbourhood; and from the present festival which he kept, when men’s hearts use to be open and bountiful: and they did not desire dclicates, but any thing that was at hand, which he could spare.

1 Samuel 25:9

And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, and ceased. Added nothing of their own, but waited for his answer in silence, as Maimonides interprets it, in his More Nevoch. par. i. cap. 11G.

1 Samuel 25:10

Nabal ansicered David’s servants and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse?. A most rude and brutish answer to such a civil message and humble request. There be many servants now-a-days that break every man from his master.] He reproaches them all as a company of fugitives and vagabonds; and taxes David secretly, with infidelity to his master Saul.

1 Samuel 25:11

Shall I take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men whom I know not wlience they be?. A most foolish speech; when he hadjust before called David the son of Jesse: which shews he knew well enough who he was.

1 Samuel 25:12

And David’s young men turned their tvay, and went again, and told him all these sayings. They did not stand arguing with him, Or entreating him: but slighted him, as much as he did them.

1 Samuel 25:13

And David said tinto his men, Gird you on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword. Being resolved, in his passion, to be revenged on Nabal. And there whit up after David about four hundred men, and two hundred abode by the stuff.] For he had with him six hundred men in all; as we read before, xxiii. 13.,

1 Samuel 25:14

But one of the young men. Belonging unto Nabal. Told Abigail, NabaVs wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.] Some of his servants were wiser and better than he himself, which makes good that saying of Seneca (in his third book de Beneficiis), *< Nulli prseclusa est virtus, omnibus patet/’&c. Virtue is shut up from none; it lies open to all. It admits all, it invites all; freo men and servants, kings and exiles. It makes not choice of such a house, or of such an estate: but is content witli a man himself. — For who can choose but admire the M’isdbm and fidelity of this shepherd? who admonished his mistress of the danger her family was in; as he rationally concluded from the rude abuse that had been put upon David: whose merits he honestly set before her.

1 Samuel 25:15

But the mm were ver^y good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed any thing, as long as we were con-. versantwith them, when ive were in the fields. They confirm’J flrflwl wwV/l I CHAP. XXV.] THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. every word that David’s messengers had told their master, (ver. 7.)’. «r’ J

1 Samuel 25:16

They were a wall unto us, both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping sheep. They add more than David’s men had said of themselves, that they not only did them no hurt, but were a guard and defence to them* against robbers, and against wild beasts.

1 Samuel 25:17

Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household. This they understood, either from the young men whom David sent, who let fall some words signifying how highly he would resent the indignity done to him; or they concluded it from what they had observed of the nature of David; who was very kind, but would not put up rude affronts. For he.issuch a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.’] So wilful and obstinate, that they durst not speak to him of this matter: fearing he would be more insolent to them than he had been to David. Vcr.18. Tlien Abigail made haste.] Forshe was so prudent a woman as not to neglect the good advice of a servant. And took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them upon asses.] This shews he Ayas a great man, who had such plenty of provisions in his house. For it is not to be imagined, that she would rob the shearers of a festival day to gratify David.

1 Samuel 25:19

And said unto her servants y Go before me: behold, I come after you. They carried the present; that David beholding it,.might be a little mitigated before she came to him. But site told not Iter husband Nabah] Who, it is likely, would have persisted in his folly: or been so long before ho would have been persuaded to be wiser, that it would have been too late to prevent the danger.

1 Samuel 25:20

And it was so, as she rode upon the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hilL. By a way full of bushes, so that pavid saw not her, nor she him, till they met together. And, behold, David and his men came down against her,] From another hill, I suppose. And she met them.] In the bottom, between the two hills.

1 Samuel 25:21

(Now David luzd said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missing of all that pertained to him; and he hath requited me evil for good.] This he said to himself: or to his men, as soon as the messengers came back; or as they were upon the road to NabaFs house.

1 Samuel 25:22

So and more also do God unto the enemies of David. He means to himself: but being unwilling to pronounce his own name, or any other whom he respected, together with a curse, he transfers it to an enemy: by a figure called euphemismus. Or, as some take it, the meaning is, let my enemy destroy me, if I let Nabal and his family escape. But the former is the plainest interpretation; it being common in the Jewish language (as Joh. Cocceius observes), when they speak of any evil to themselves, to translate it to another person. Of which he gives instances out of Maccoth, and Bava Bathra. (See him upon the GemaraSanhedrin, cap. 4. sect. 18. annot. 1.) If I leave to him before the morning light.] He intended to fall upon them in the night, when they were in a dead sleep, after great jollity. Any that pisseth against the wall.)] That is (as the generality of interpreters think), so much as a dog; this being, they take it, like that saying of Aurelian, mentioned by Vopiscus, who, going to a city, and finding the gates shut against him, said in his wrath, " Canem in hoc oppido non relinquam;" I will not leave a dog in this town. But Bochartus excepts to this interpretation, that all dogs do not piss against the wall, but only the males; and that not till they be six or eight months old, as Aristotle and others observe. And therefore (to omit his other reasons) he takes this phrase to be a periphrasis of a man, as the Hebrews expound it, particularly Ralbag. So that it is as much as to say/ / will not leave a man alive.

1 Samuel 25:23

And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. Both out of reverence to him as a great man, and as an humble supplicant, for pardon of a great offence.

1 Samuel 25:24

And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be. She applies herself to him, in a speech full of art and prudence; and first begs, like a kind wife, that she might suffer, not her husband, who was pot so wise as he should be. And let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audi-: ence, and hear the ivords of thy handmaid.] She desires him patiently to hear her reasons. v

1 Samuel 25:25

Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal if his name, and folly is with him. She represents him as a man that offended out of folly rather than malice; which might a little excuse his rudeness. There are many such allusions in Scripture, as there is here of Nebala and Nabal. (See Gen. v. 25. xlix. 8. 16. 19. Zeph. ii.’ 4.) But I, thine handmaid, saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.] If any were to be, punished, she.had desired it might be herself; yet she had this to say in her own behalf, that she knew nothing of the message sent by David.

1 Samuel 25:26

Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand. This is wonderfully artificial, to presume so much upon his goodness and clemency, as already to conclude, she had diverted him from his purpose: or rather, that God had interposed, by his good providence, to hinder him from shedding blood.’ Noto let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.] That is, may thou have no worse enemy than he. Or, may thy enemies have no more poAv^r to hurt thee, than Nabal hath. This is another argument to persuade him to mercy; that Nabal was so inconsiderable, that, as.he would do him no good, so he could do him no evil. -

1 Samuel 25:27

And now this blessing. That is, this present or gift. The same phrase in xxx. 26. 2 iCings] v. J5. Which thine handmaid hath brottglit unto my lord, let it even be given to tl\e young men that follow my lord. ^ To jippeaso their anger: or, as unworthy of David’s acceptance..

1 Samuel 25:28

I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine hand*

1 Samuel 25:29

Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and tq seek thy soul. Saul she means restlessly endeavoured to take away his life. ■ ■ But the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God.] Be preserved. For those things which we would not have lost, nor scattered about, we are’wont to bind up in bundles. And the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.] As we bind up things to preserve them from being thrown about, and lost; so we put things into a sling, that they may be cast out of sight, or a great way from us.

1 Samuel 25:30

And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel. Nothing could be more obliging than this, at every word to call him her lord, and to acknowledge his title to the kingdom; and her belief that he would certainly enjoy it.‘Ver. 31. Tliat this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart to my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless,- or that my lord hath avenged himself] She reserves the most Divine argument to the last; that he would have a clear and quiet conscience, and not be disturbed with a remembrance that he had shed the blood of the innocent, or otherwise avenged himself: which belonged unto God. *’ And when the Lord hath dealt well with my lord, remember thine handmaid.] Thou wilt thank me for my advice.

1 Samuel 25:32

And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me. He was so moved with this pathetical speech, that, in the first place, he acknowledges the good providence of God, which directed her to come so seasonably to prevent the effects of Tiis anger. Whereby he was absolved from his oath, which he had sWorn, to cut off Nabal’s family. And indeed it was null in itself; for no man can oblige himself to do an evil thing; as this would have been: there being a double guilt in it, as Philo observes, if he had shed their blood. To which may be applied the words of Seneca, that insuch cases, " scelus est fides," to keep one’s word, is a wicked thing. Sec Grotius de Jure Belli et Pacis, lib. ii. cap. 13. sect. 6. where he observes, that Cicero mentions the like case with this in the vow of Agamemnon. And Procopius Gazocus here well resolves, that this oath of David was the effect of anger; but his sparing Nabal the effect of reason and prudent counsel.

1 Samuel 25:33

And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with my oivn hand. Next he commends her, and her wise counsel; for which he beseeches God to bless her: for she had preserved him from a very g outrageous piece of revenge; wikich might have afflicted him all his days.

1 Samuel 25:34

For in very deed, as the I^ord God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had. not been left unto Nabal, by the morning light, any that pisseth against the wall.] It may seem strange, that his anger should not cool in so much time as passed between the return of his messengers and Abigail’s meeting him: but the affront was great, and his soldiers it is likely inflamed his rage, and he resolved to make Nabal an example to others, not to use him so rudely.

1 Samuel 25:35

So David received of her hand that which she brought, and said unto her, Go in peace unto thy house: for I hearkened unto thy voice, and accepted thy person. Both she herself, and what she said, and what she brought, were most welcome to him. So happy a thing it is (as Euripides speaks in his Heraclidae, ver. 359.) to fall into the hand of a wise, and not a foolish enemy. For the latter, if he get the better, exercises nothing but cruelty: butwith the former there is room for mercy, justice, moderation, and pardon. Such an enemy Abigail met withal; unto whom Nabal’s offence was not more provoking to the destruction of his family, than the admiration of Abigail’s virtue to its preservation.

1 Samuel 25:36

And Abigail came to Nabal; and y behold, he held a feast in his house like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken. Had eaten and drank too liberally, at a very great feast, which he made for his shearers. Wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, till the morning light.] Said not a word of what had passed, because he was not capable to understand the mercy of God to him.

1 Samuel 25:37

But it came to pass in the morning, ivhen the wine was gone out of Nabal. AVhcn he had slept himself sober. And his wife told him of these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.] He fainted away, and was as cold as a stone; out of the dread of the danger which he imagined still hung over him. For it is a frigid interpretation of Rasi and Kirachi, that he was troubled to hear of the great present that his wife had made to David.

1 Samuel 25:38

And it came to pass, that about ten days after, the Lord smote Nabal, that he died. It seems he lay so long dispirited, in a stupid senseless condition; and then God put an end to his life, either by some disease, or by a sudden stroke.

1 Samuel 25:39

And when David heard that Nabal teas dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord, tvho hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal vpon his own head.] He doth not rejoice so much in his death (who was a worthless wretch) as in the justice of God: who shewed him, that, if men would have patience, they should see right done them^ so that they need not go about to avenge themselves. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.] Being a woman of admirable prudence, as well as beauty, (ver.- 3.) and one that expressed a high esteem of him, he sent some to treat with her about marriage with him.

1 Samuel 25:40

And when the servants of David ivere come to Abigail to Carniel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent lis unto thee, to take theeunto him to wife. This was their business: which, no doubt, they delivered in many more words; which signified the great esteem and affection which David had for her; whom he knew to he a woman of such great wisdom, that she had respect not merely to his present, but to his future condition. Otherwise he would not have adventured, being now very poor, to court one that had such riches.

1 Samuel 25:41

And she arose, and bowed her self ivith her face to the earth. In reverence to the very name of David: whom she highly honoured, as a man of an heroic spirit; and who she was fully persuaded should be king of Israel, (ver. 30.) And she said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.’] She sent him an answer in these words; which shew her humility to be as great as her other virtues: for to wash one’s feet was the lowest sort of service.

1 Samuel 25:42

And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her. That she might come attended suitable to her quality and his. (See Grotius, Gen. xxx. 3.) And she went after the messengers of David.] Though she did not long deliberate about the matter, but soon consented, yet it is not likely she followed them immediately: but stayed some decent time before she went to David. And became his wife.] She had a strong faith in God to marry a man who had nothing to live upon, but was forced to wander from place to place, and beg the assistance of his friends. But she verily believed he would at last come to the throne, as she had before expressed:. and could make some provision for him out of her own-estater *

1 Samuel 25:43

David also took Ahinoam of Jezr eel, and they were also both of them his wives. At the same time: according to the corrupt custom of those days, wherein they had perverted the law of nature, which is admirably expressed by Euripides in his Andromache, (ver. 177, &c.) ovdl yap KaXbv, Avtrtv yvvaiKoiv avSp* Iv r)via^ tx^v, &C, It is not good for one husband to govern two ivives: but he should be content with one, who would live happily. And again, (ver. 909.) KaKbv ST ZXgag, hi avdpa SW l X ziv \i X n- Tliou hast said, it is an evil thing for one man to have two wives. For where there arc more than one they seldom agree, but breed great trouble to their -husband. It is commonly thought, that Ahinoam was his wife before he married Abigail. (See upon xxvii. 3.)

1 Samuel 25:44

And Saul. Or rather,/or Saul, the particle vau being often so used.. Had given Michal his daughter, David?$ wife, to Phalti the son ofLaish.J Here is the reason why David took another wife; because Saul had deprived him of his former: but it was no good reason for taking two, which were more than he had before. He was not forced from Michal, and therefore we read afterward that he took her again. And the Jewish doctors are of opinion, that this Phalti was a very pious man, and would never touch her, because she was another man’s wife: which was the reason David received her again. (See 1 Sam. iii. 15.).,. Which teas of Gallim.] A town near Accaron, as Eug£- bius and St. Jerome tell us: which had its tiame from Gal, a heap of stones; it being, I suppose, a stony place.