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1 Samuel 25

ARC · Chapter 25/31

1E falleceu Samuel, e todo o Israel se ajuntou, e o prantearam, e o sepultaram na sua casa, em Rama. E David, se levantou e desceu ao deserto de Paran.

2E havia um homem em Maon, que tinha as suas possessões no Carmelo: e era este homem mui poderoso, e tinha tres mil ovelhas e mil cabras: e estava tosquiando as suas ovelhas no Carmelo.

3E era o nome d'este homem Nabal, e o nome de sua mulher Abigail; e era a mulher de bom entendimento e formosa, porém o homem era duro, e maligno nas obras, e era da casa de Caleb.

4E ouviu David no deserto que Nabal tosquiava as suas ovelhas,

5E enviou David dez mancebos, e disse aos mancebos: Subi ao Carmelo, e, vindo a Nabal, perguntae-lhe, em meu nome, como está.

6E assim direis áquelle prospero: Paz tenhas, e que a tua casa tenha paz, e tudo o que tens tenha paz!

7Agora, pois, tenho ouvido que tens tosquiadores: ora os pastores que tens estiveram comnosco; aggravo nenhum lhes fizemos, nem coisa alguma lhes faltou todos os dias que estiveram no Carmelo.

8Pergunta-o aos teus mancebos, e elles t'o dirão; estes mancebos pois achem graça em teus olhos, porque viemos em bom dia: dá pois a teus servos e a David, teu filho, o que achares á mão

9Chegando pois os mancebos de David, e fallando a Nabal todas aquellas palavras em nome de David, se calaram.

10E Nabal respondeu aos creados de David, e disse: Quem é David, e quem o filho de Jessé? muitos servos ha hoje, que cada um foge a seu senhor.

11Tomaria eu pois o meu pão, e a minha agua, e a carne das minhas rezes que degolei para os meus tosquiadores, e o daria a homens que eu não sei d'onde veem?

12Então os mancebos de David se tornaram para o seu caminho: e voltaram, e vieram, e lhe annunciaram tudo conforme a todas estas palavras.

13Pelo que disse David aos seus homens: Cada um cinja a sua espada. E cada um cingiu a sua espada, e cingiu tambem David a sua: e subiram após David uns quatrocentos homens, e duzentos ficaram com a bagagem.

14Porém um d'entre os mancebos o annunciou a Abigail, mulher de Nabal, dizendo: Eis que David enviou mensageiros desde o deserto a saudar o nosso amo; porém elle se lançou a elles.

15Todavia, aquelles homens teem-nos sido muito bons, e nunca fomos aggravados d'elles, e nada nos faltou em todos os dias que conversámos com elles quando estavamos no campo.

16De muro em redor nos serviram, assim de dia como de noite, todos os dias que andámos com elles apascentando as ovelhas.

17Olha pois, agora, e vê o que has de fazer, porque já de todo determinado está o mal contra o nosso amo e contra toda a sua casa, e elle é um tal filho de Belial, que não ha quem lhe possa fallar.

18Então Abigail se apressou, e tomou duzentos pães, e dois odres de vinho, e cinco ovelhas guisadas, e cinco medidas de trigo tostado, e cem cachos de passas, e duzentas pastas de figos passados, e os poz sobre jumentos.

19E disse aos seus mancebos: Ide adiante de mim, eis que vos seguirei de perto. O que, porém, não declarou a seu marido Nabal.

20E succedeu que, andando ella montada n'um jumento, desceu pelo encoberto do monte, e eis que David e os seus homens lhe vinham ao encontro, e encontrou-se com elles.

21E disse David: Na verdade que em vão tenho guardado tudo quanto este tem no deserto, e nada lhe faltou de tudo quanto tem, e elle me pagou mal por bem.

22Assim faça Deus aos inimigos de David, e outro tanto, se eu deixar até á manhã de tudo o que tem, mesmo até um menino.

23Vendo pois Abigail a David, apressou-se, e desceu do jumento, e prostrou-se sobre o seu rosto diante de David, e se inclinou á terra.

24E lançou-se a seus pés, e disse: Ah, Senhor meu, minha seja a transgressão; deixa pois fallar a tua serva aos teus ouvidos, e ouve as palavras da tua serva.

25Meu senhor, agora não faça este homem de Belial, a saber, Nabal, impressão no seu coração, porque tal é elle qual é o seu nome. Nabal é o seu nome, e a loucura está com elle, e eu, tua serva, não vi os mancebos de meu senhor, que enviaste.

26Agora, pois, meu senhor, vive o Senhor, e vive a tua alma, que o Senhor te impediu de vires com sangue, e de que a tua mão te salvasse: e, agora, taes quaes Nabal sejam os teus inimigos e os que procuram mal contra o meu senhor.

27E agora esta é a benção que trouxe a tua serva a meu senhor: dê-se aos mancebos que andam após das pisadas de meu senhor.

28Perdôa pois á tua serva esta transgressão, porque certamente fará o Senhor casa firme a meu senhor, porque meu senhor guerreia as guerras do Senhor, e não se tem achado mal em ti por todos os teus dias

29E, levantando-se algum homem para te perseguir, e para procurar a tua morte; comtudo a vida de meu senhor será atada no feixe dos que vivem com o Senhor teu Deus; porém a vida de teus inimigos se arrojará ao longe, como do meio do concavo de uma funda.

30E ha de ser que, usando o Senhor com o meu senhor conforme a todo o bem que já tem dito de ti, e te tiver estabelecido chefe sobre Israel,

31Então, meu senhor, não te será por tropeço, nem por pezar no coração, o sangue que sem causa derramaste, nem tão pouco o haver-se salvado meu senhor a si mesmo: e quando o Senhor fizer bem a meu senhor, lembra-te então da tua serva.

32Então David disse a Abigail: Bemdito o Senhor Deus de Israel, que hoje te enviou ao meu encontro.

33E bemdito o teu conselho, e bemdita tu, que hoje me estorvaste de vir com sangue, e de que a minha mão me salvasse.

34Porque, na verdade, vive o Senhor Deus d'Israel, que me impediu de que te fizesse mal, que se tu não te apressaras, e me não vieras ao encontro, não ficaria a Nabal pela luz da manhã nem mesmo um menino.

35Então David tomou da sua mão o que tinha trazido, e lhe disse: Sobe em paz á tua casa; vês aqui que tenho dado ouvidos á tua voz, e tenho acceitado a tua face

36E, vindo Abigail a Nabal, eis que tinha em sua casa um banquete, como banquete de rei; e o coração de Nabal estava alegre n'elle, e elle já mui embriagado, pelo que não lhe deu a entender palavra alguma, pequena nem grande, até á luz da manhã

37Succedeu pois que pela manhã, havendo já saido de Nabal o vinho, sua mulher lhe deu a entender aquellas palavras: e se amorteceu n'elle, o seu coração, e ficou elle como pedra.

38E aconteceu que, passados quasi dez dias, feriu o Senhor a Nabal, e este morreu.

39E, ouvindo David que Nabal morrera, disse: Bemdito seja o Senhor, que pleiteou o pleito da minha affronta da mão de Nabal, e deteve a seu servo do mal, fazendo o Senhor tornar o mal de Nabal sobre a sua cabeça. E mandou David fallar a Abigail, para tomal-a por sua mulher.

40Vindo pois os creados de David a Abigail, no Carmelo, lhe fallaram, dizendo: David nos tem mandado a ti, para te tomar por sua mulher.

41Então ella se levantou, e se inclinou com o rosto em terra, e disse: Eis aqui a tua serva servirá de creada para lavar os pés dos creados de meu senhor.

42E Abigail se apressou, e se levantou, e montou n'um jumento com as suas cinco moças que seguiam as suas pisadas: e ella seguiu os mensageiros de David, e foi sua mulher.

43Tambem tomou David a Achinoam de Jizreel: e tambem ambas foram suas mulheres.

44Porque Saul tinha dado sua filha Michal, mulher de David, a Phalti, filho de Lais, o qual era de Gallim.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Samuel dies. The rich but rude Nabal insults David by refusing to help him, provoking vengeful fury. His wife Abigail intervenes with wisdom and generosity, preventing bloodshed. After Nabal's death, she marries David.

Explanation

The contrast between Nabal ('fool,' the literal meaning of his name) — wealthy, rude, and ungrateful despite the protection David's men had freely given his shepherds — and his wife Abigail, described as wise and beautiful, illustrates how practical wisdom can avert the tragedies that arrogance provokes. Abigail's courageous and diplomatic intervention, acting without her own husband's knowledge to appease David's justified anger with generous gifts and wise words, kept David from bearing the guilt of a vengeful massacre driven by personal rage rather than true justice. David's immediate recognition that God had used Abigail to keep him from sinning shows growing spiritual maturity — the ability to recognize and accept wise correction, even from a woman, in a society that did not typically value female voices in matters of war.

Fun facts

  • The name Nabal literally means 'fool' or 'senseless' in Hebrew, and the text itself makes a direct play on words when Abigail tells David, 'Nabal is his name, and folly is with him' (v.25).
  • The brief mention that Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to another man named Palti (v.44) sets up a complicated situation that would be tensely resolved years later in 2 Samuel 3, when David demands her return.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Samuel 25:1Samuel’s death marks the end of an era: the prophet who anointed both Saul and David will no longer be present for either of them for the rest of their conflict.
  2. 1 Samuel 25:2Owning thousands of animals placed Nabal among the wealthiest men in the region — sheep-shearing season was traditionally also a time of feasting and generosity, which makes his coming refusal all the more shocking.
  3. 1 Samuel 25:3The name Nabal itself means “fool” or “senseless” in Hebrew — the narrator gives away the character’s nature before even showing his actions.
  4. 1 Samuel 25:4News of the shearing reaches David out in the wilderness, showing that he kept track of what was happening in the region even while living as a fugitive.
  5. 1 Samuel 25:5Sending ten messengers for a simple courtesy greeting already signals that David expected some generous recognition in return for the protection his men had provided.
  6. 1 Samuel 25:6The elaborate greeting of peace, repeated three times, followed a formal protocol of courtesy before any request — politely paving the way for the favor about to be asked.
  7. 1 Samuel 25:7David reminds Nabal of a real, concrete service: his men had protected the flocks in the wilderness without charging or stealing anything, an implicit favor that now justified a request.
  8. 1 Samuel 25:8Calling himself “thy son David” was a humble way to ask, acknowledging Nabal’s higher social standing — a polite request, not a demand.
  9. 1 Samuel 25:9Finishing the message and waiting quietly for a reply followed the normal protocol for a formal request — nothing in this approach suggested a threat or undue pressure.
  10. 1 Samuel 25:10Nabal sneers at David, calling him just some runaway servant, deliberately ignoring his fame as a warrior and anointed future king — a calculated insult, not mere casual rudeness.
  11. 1 Samuel 25:11Nabal treats David’s men like total strangers, deliberately erasing the real months of protective service they had provided in the wilderness.
  12. 1 Samuel 25:12Reporting the answer word for word made sure David understood the full extent of the contempt he had received, not some softened version.
  13. 1 Samuel 25:13David’s immediate, armed reaction shows how deeply Nabal’s insult, combined with his ingratitude for the protection given, landed as an affront serious enough to justify violence.
  14. 1 Samuel 25:14It is a servant, not Nabal himself, who warns Abigail of the danger — suggesting the household staff already recognized their master’s problematic behavior before she even knew the details.
  15. 1 Samuel 25:15The testimony of Nabal’s own servants confirms exactly what David’s messengers had claimed — reinforcing that David’s request was fair and grounded in real facts.
  16. 1 Samuel 25:16Being “a wall unto us” describes David’s men functioning as constant protection against thieves and wild animals — a real, valuable security service, not a symbolic gesture.
  17. 1 Samuel 25:17The servant already recognizes that Nabal cannot be reasoned with directly — so he turns to Abigail, the only person in the household capable of acting wisely in the crisis.
  18. 1 Samuel 25:18The generous, varied amount of food, far more than David’s original request called for, shows Abigail understood the gravity of the situation and acted with urgency matching the danger.
  19. 1 Samuel 25:19Acting without her own husband’s knowledge shows Abigail’s independence and discernment in a crisis that he himself had caused and was incapable of resolving.
  20. 1 Samuel 25:20The meeting happens right on the road, before David and his men even get near Nabal’s property — Abigail’s precise timing averts the tragedy by a narrow margin.
  21. 1 Samuel 25:21David sums up his grievance plainly: all the protection given for free was repaid with contempt, an injustice he had already decided to correct with violence before meeting Abigail.
  22. 1 Samuel 25:22David’s oath, rendered in the KJV as sparing not “any that pisseth against the wall,” uses a blunt Hebrew euphemism for every male in Nabal’s household — not just young boys.
  23. 1 Samuel 25:23Abigail’s extreme gesture of humility, bowing completely to the ground before David, contrasts sharply with the arrogance of the very husband who caused the crisis.
  24. 1 Samuel 25:24Abigail personally takes the blame for Nabal’s offense, even though she bears no real responsibility for his rudeness — a calculated strategy of humility meant to disarm David’s anger.
  25. 1 Samuel 25:25Abigail explicitly distances herself from her own husband, almost publicly disowning him, and reveals she did not even learn of David’s messengers’ arrival in time to step in sooner.
  26. 1 Samuel 25:26Abigail reads her own well-timed arrival as divine intervention, sparing David from committing a bloody act of revenge he would later regret.
  27. 1 Samuel 25:27Abigail formally offers the gifts as a peace offering, correcting on her own the failure of generosity her husband should have shown from the start.
  28. 1 Samuel 25:28Abigail shows surprising knowledge of David’s future as king — speaking with a prophetic confidence that not even Saul, at this point, had admitted so openly.
  29. 1 Samuel 25:29Abigail uses the image of grain bound into bundles to say David’s life will be kept safe and gathered up by God, unlike his enemies’ lives, hurled away like a stone from a sling — a common farming metaphor for lasting protection.
  30. 1 Samuel 25:30Abigail already speaks of David becoming “ruler over Israel” as a near-certain fact, showing that word of the secret anointing, or of God’s promise, was already circulating among those paying attention.
  31. 1 Samuel 25:31Abigail argues with sharp political wisdom: killing Nabal and his household in personal revenge would be a stain David would carry forever as future king, damaging his own reputation.
  32. 1 Samuel 25:32David immediately recognizes the providential hand behind Abigail’s arrival, crediting God, not chance, for the meeting that averted tragedy.
  33. 1 Samuel 25:33David specifically praises Abigail’s practical wisdom — admitting that he himself had been on the verge of a serious mistake without her intervention.
  34. 1 Samuel 25:34David openly admits the scale of the violence he had planned — a complete massacre of Nabal’s household, narrowly averted thanks to Abigail’s speed.
  35. 1 Samuel 25:35Formally accepting Abigail’s gifts and plea brings the conflict to a peaceful end — David agrees to spare Nabal’s entire household because of her intervention.
  36. 1 Samuel 25:36Abigail wisely waits for Nabal’s drunkenness to wear off before telling him what happened — avoiding confronting him in a state where he could not grasp how serious it was.
  37. 1 Samuel 25:37Nabal’s extreme physical reaction, described as his heart “became as a stone,” suggests some kind of shock or physical collapse brought on by the delayed terror of realizing how close he came to losing everything.
  38. 1 Samuel 25:38The ten-day gap between the initial collapse and his death suggests a prolonged state of incapacity, perhaps something like a stroke — the text credits the final outcome directly to God’s action.
  39. 1 Samuel 25:39David sees Nabal’s death as divine justice carried out without him having to dirty his own hands — exactly the outcome Abigail had argued God would provide.
  40. 1 Samuel 25:40The marriage proposal arrives through messengers, following the same formal protocol used in the earlier dealings between David and Nabal’s household.
  41. 1 Samuel 25:41Abigail’s extreme humility, offering even to do the lowliest task of washing feet, continues the same pattern of respectful submission she had already shown at her first meeting with David.
  42. 1 Samuel 25:42Abigail’s speed in accepting and setting out mirrors the same readiness to act she had already shown when she rushed to prevent the massacre of her own household.
  43. 1 Samuel 25:43David’s polygamy, common among kings and leaders of the time, begins to expand here — a pattern that will keep growing throughout his life and bring family complications later on.
  44. 1 Samuel 25:44Michal, David’s wife, is here given by Saul to another man — probably to sever any legal tie between David and the royal family, since Saul now regarded him as a fugitive traitor.

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