The accounts in
1 Samuel 24 and
26 report David's refusal to kill Saul as God's anointed, but in this chapter, he was almost guilty of killing many innocent people in the household of
Nabal and
Abigail who lived in Maon. Nabal (in Hebrew meaning 'fool') was a 'surly and mean' man, but his wife Abigail was 'clever and beautiful', personifying the fool and the virtuous wife in wisdom literature. The first part of the narrative (verses 2–12) detailed how Nabal foolishly refused David's request for provision, which was carefully structured in verses 5–8: • the offer of peace and friendship to Nabal and his house • a reminder that Nabal's shepherds were not harmed when they were with David's men (easily verifiable) • there is a request for supplies, as a compensation for David's protection to Nabal's shepherds. Nabal behaved arrogantly with his two questions in verse 10 dismissing David as a nonentity and providing hints that he knew about David's breach with Saul ('men who come from I do not know where'). The reference to Nabal as ''ben blliya'al'' in verse 17 may classify him with those who despised Saul when he was king-elect (1 Samuel 10:27) and suggest that Nabal also was rejecting a king-elect and refusing to pay him tribute. In anger of the humiliation, David was in danger of taking matters in his own hand and not relying on YHWH, but he was saved from taking foolish action through the interference of Abigail, Nabal's wife, who was informed of the situation by one of Nabal's servants, who liked David and was critical of his own master's rash response (verses 14–18). Abigail intercepted David as he was on his way to annihilate the house of Nabal (verse 22), without consulting her husband, who she counted as a fool (verse 25). She carried provisions to David and his men, among which were
bread,
wine, clusters of
raisins and
cakes of figs, which assuaged the wrath of David's men. Without Abigail's intervention David would have become guilty of 'blood-guilt' and would have 'taken vengeance' with his own hand instead of restraining himself and trusting God, as detailed in Abigail's words (verses 26–31) and David's response (verses 32–34). When Nabal died of sickness, David remembered Abigail (verse 30) and decided to take her as his wife, which also gave David another advantage, for the house of Nabal was a prominent member of the Calebite clan and had control over Hebron, so marrying Nabal's widow would give David control of that particular territory (cf. marrying
Ahinoam of
Jezreel as another wife), that would also be significant when David later was declared king at Hebron (2 Samuel 2:1–4).
Verse 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. • "
Carmel": was the same place where Saul built a monument for himself (1 Samuel 15:12), so Nabal could actually be a supporter of Saul.
Verse 39 :
So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the , who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head." :
And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife. • "
Abigail" became David's third wife, after marrying
Michal (who has been given to marriage to another man by Saul; 1 Samuel 25:44) and Ahinoam of Jezreel. ==See also==