Commentary on 1-2 Samuel by Herbert M. Wolf

Author:Herbert M. Wolf [Burge, Gary M. and Andrew E. Hill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Bible Commentary/Old Testament, REL006050, REL006060
ISBN: 9781493424474
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-10-24T00:00:00+00:00

The area of En Gedi, where David hides from Saul in 1 Samuel 23:29. Notice the caves in the cliffs and the greenery in the gorge, which indicates the water below.

25:1–44. To make matters worse for David, the prophet Samuel dies (25:1). The revered leader who has presided over the beginning of the monarchy and has anointed both Saul and David is gone. He was a great figure in Israel’s history, playing important spiritual and political roles in the tradition of Moses. Thus, David is left without one of his strongest supporters.

After his meeting with Saul, David continues to live in the region south of Hebron. The “Carmel” mentioned in verse 2 was near Ziph and Maon, not the Mount Carmel of Elijah near the Mediterranean Sea in the northern part of the country. While living in Carmel, David and his men work for a wealthy man named Nabal, protecting his flocks and herds (25:2–13). When sheepshearing time arrives, David expects to be given meat and bread in exchange for his labors. Normally this was a time of feasting for all the family and workers. When Nabal receives David’s request from the ten men he has sent, he refuses to give him anything, calling David a nobody, a deserter.

News of Nabal’s insulting remarks spurs David to action. If Nabal will not pay willingly, David will take his pay by force and kill Nabal’s family in the process. Bent on revenge, David sets out with four hundred men.

Nabal has an intelligent and beautiful wife named Abigail who is wiser than her stingy husband (25:14–22). When she hears what Nabal has said to David, she follows the advice of one of the servants and takes matters into her own hands. Quickly she prepares a sizable gift of meat, bread, raisins, and figs and sends them to David. She herself mounts a donkey and heads in the same direction. As she approaches, David has just invoked a curse on himself that will take effect if he does not put to death all the males in Nabal’s household (25:22).

When Abigail begins her plea for mercy, she immediately disassociates herself from her husband (25:23–35). She admits that he is a scoundrel and that he deserves to die. To reinforce her point Abigail makes a play on her husband’s name, which sounds like the Hebrew word meaning “fool.” (The name itself likely derived from a word meaning “noble,” or perhaps his real name was suppressed and “Nabal” was used because of the character of the man.) In spite of his wealth, no one has anything good to say about him, least of all his wife.

Nine times Abigail refers to David as “my lord” or “my master,” an indication of her deference to David. Abigail’s implicit assessment of David contrasts sharply with her explicit assessment of her husband. Thus Nabal serves as a foil for David, whose wisdom is touted throughout the passage. David’s wisdom and mercy on Nabal in this episode epitomize, in the historian’s view, the differences between Saul, the first king, and David, the eventual second king.

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