References (18)
The man's name was Naval, and his wife's name was Abigail [meaning "my father's joy"], and the woman was wise (Hebr. tóv sechel) and beautiful, but the man was cruel and evil in his deeds. He was of the house of Caleb.
[The Calebites were a respected tribe in Judah who, among other things, built Bethlehem, David's hometown, see . Naval means fool or wicked. Abigail is described with the word understanding, whose verb form is used in 1 Sam 18:5 about David. This gives a subtle hint that there is a connection between them. This is reinforced by the phrase "brutal and wicked" driving a wedge between Naval and his wife, who is "good in understanding."]
While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
So David sent ten young men and said to the young men, "Go up to [the village of] Carmel and go to Nabal and greet him in my name.
When David's young men arrived, they repeated all the words to Naval in David's name. Then they waited (were silent).
But Naval answered David's servants and said, "Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who have forsaken their masters,
But one of the young men [in Nabal's house] told Abigail, Nabal's wife, and said, "Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our lord, and he snorted at them (snorted, insulted them).
And she said to her young husband, "Go on ahead of me, and I will follow you." But she did not tell her husband Naval anything.
Please, my lord, do not pay attention to this man, to Habanel, for he is like his name, that is what he is like. Habanel is his name, and he is harsh, greedy, and buffoonish, but I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.
And now, my lord, the Lord (Yahweh) lives, and your soul lives, see, the Lord (Yahweh) has kept you from bloodguilt and from avenging yourself with your own hand, therefore let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord be like Naval.
But nevertheless (a sharp emphasis and contrast between something that was and something that is – Hebr. olam) as the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Israel (Elohim), lives, he who has restrained my hand from harming you. Had you not come so quickly to meet me, by the light of dawn not one male would have been left of all the men of Nabal." [The same derogatory expression as in is used again.]
When Abigail returned to Nabal, he had prepared a feast in his house, like a king's feast. Nabal's heart was merry [in good spirits], and he was very drunk, so she told him nothing, little or great, until the morning light.
And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine had left (gone out of) Naval, that his wife told him these things. Then his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. [This may describe a heart attack, stroke, or that he fell into a coma.]
And it came to pass about ten days after that the Lord (Yahweh) smote Naval, and he died. [David interprets this as God's judgment on Naval.]
When David heard that Naval was dead, he said, "Blessed be the Lord (Yahweh) who has executed my cause from Naval's hand and has restrained his servant from evil, and the evil Naval, the Lord (Yahweh) has repaid upon his own head." David then sent (an envoy) and spoke to Abigail about taking her as his wife.
And David stayed with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, even David with his two wives, the Jezreelite Ahinoam [] and Abigail [short form of Abigail], the Carmelite wife of Naval [].
David's two wives were also taken captive—Ahinoam of Jezreel [] and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel. [, ]
[The grief and bitterness of the people soon turned to anger and found a focus in David. After all, it was his fault that this had happened. In , wives, sons, and daughters are all written in the plural. In , son is in the singular and daughters in the plural. Perhaps this emphasizes the thoughts and fears of how the youngest son of the men and their daughters who had remained at home were now being treated by the Amalekites. David, who was grieving himself, but now also facing death threats, did as he usually did and sought strength from the Lord, see .]
So David went up there, and his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel, went with him. []
and his second [son] was Chilab [meaning "his father's image," also called Daniel, see ] – [born] of Abigail [short form of the name Abigail], the wife of Naval the Carmelite [widow whom David later married];
and the third, Avshalom (Absalom) – the son of Maacah,
daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur [region in Syria],
