1 Samuel 25:2-8

David’s request of Nabal 25:2-8

Both Maon and Carmel ("Garden Spot") stood about 14 miles west of Engedi and about 7 miles south-southeast of Hebron. The reference to Nabal’s 3,000 sheep may be an allusion to Saul’s 3,000 soldiers (1 Samuel 24:2). As the story unfolds, we will discover many similarities between Nabal and Saul, and the writer may have dropped this and other clues to help the reader compare the two men. He used a literary device called narrative analogy in which ironic parallelisms abound. [Note: Robert P. Gordon, "David’s Rise and Saul’s Demise: Narrative Analogy in 1 Samuel 24-26," Tyndale Bulletin 31 (1980):42-43.]

"Nabal" must have been a nickname since it means "fool" in Hebrew. Nabal was a descendant of Caleb who had received Hebron and its environs as his inheritance from Joshua (Joshua 15:13). Nabal was unlike his ancestor in many ways. He was foolish, but Caleb was wise. Nabal did not take God into account, but Caleb counted on God’s promises. Nabal opposed God’s purposes and died prematurely, but Caleb cooperated with God and lived long.

The Old Testament prophets regarded those who are ungodly, namely, those who do not take God into account, as fools (Psalms 14:1; Proverbs 18:2; Proverbs 18:7; Isaiah 32:6). God promised to punish the ungodly (Deuteronomy 28), and He will punish fools (1 Samuel 25:25-26).

The contrast between Nabal and Abigail could not be clearer. He was foolish; she was wise. He was evil; she was good. He was repulsive; she was attractive. He was arrogant; she was humble. He was ungodly; she was godly. He was antagonistic; she was peacemaking. They were one of the mismatched odd couples of the books of Samuel along with Hannah and Elkanah, and David and Michal. The rabbis considered Abigail one of seven women in the Old Testament whom the Holy Spirit had graced unusually. [Note: Jon D. Levenson, "1 Samuel 25 as Literature and as History," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 40 (1978):231.]

"The story of the stupid sheepherder with a beautiful and intelligent wife is one of the most delightful in Samuel. Its purpose is to lay one more brick in the edifice of David’s legitimacy, however, and not to entertain." [Note: Heater, "Young David . . .," p. 56.]

David’s armed followers had been patrolling the wilderness of Paran in Judah where Nabal’s shepherds had been tending his flocks. They had made that area safe from raiding Amalekites, Philistines, and occasional wild animals that might have harassed Nabal’s shepherds. It was only common courtesy that wealthy Nabal would have expressed his appreciation to David by providing some food for David’s men. Sheep-shearing was a happy time for shepherds and usually involved feasting (cf. 2 Samuel 13:23-24). [Note: Baldwin, p. 147. Cf. 1 Samuel 25:8.] We can see in these verses that David, as one committed to the Mosaic Law and as the Lord’s anointed, was a blessing and an indirect source of fertility to his companions.

By referring to himself as Nabal’s "son" (1 Samuel 25:8) David was placing himself in a subordinate position to Nabal. David had earlier called Saul his "father" (cf. 1 Samuel 24:11; 1 Samuel 24:16). This is another clue that suggests that the writer wanted us to view Nabal as Saul’s alter ego. One writer suggested that David’s request for food and his reference to himself as Nabal’s "son" implied more.

"This would seem to be an instance of negotiation with an invitation to Nabal to enter into a regulated covenant with David." [Note: D. J. Wiseman, "’Is it peace?’-Covenant and Diplomacy," Vetus Testamentum 32:3 (1982):318.]