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1 Samuel 25

BLIVRE · Chapter 25/31

1E morreu Samuel, e juntou-se todo Israel, e o choraram, e o sepultaram em sua casa em Ramá. E levantou-se Davi, e se foi ao deserto de Parã.

2E em Maom havia um homem que tinha sua riqueza no Carmelo, o qual era muito rico, que tinha três mil ovelhas e mil cabras. E aconteceu achar-se tosquiando suas ovelhas no Carmelo.

3O nome daquele homem era Nabal, e o nome de sua mulher, Abigail. E era aquela mulher de bom entendimento e de boa aparência; mas o homem era duro e de maus feitos; e era da linhagem de Calebe.

4E ouviu Davi no deserto que Nabal tosquiava suas ovelhas.

5Então enviou Davi dez criados, e disse-lhes: Subi ao Carmelo, e ide a Nabal, e saudai-lhe em meu nome.

6E dizei-lhe assim: Que vivas e seja paz a ti, e paz à tua família, e paz a tudo quanto tens.

7Há pouco soube que tens tosquiadores. Agora, aos pastores teus que estiveram conosco, nunca lhes maltratamos, nem lhes faltou algo em todo aquele tempo que estiveram no Carmelo.

8Pergunta a teus criados, que eles te dirão. Portanto que estes criados achem favor em teus olhos, pois viemos em um bom dia; rogo-te que dês o que tiveres à mão a teus servos, e a teu filho Davi.

9E quando chegaram os criados de Davi, disseram a Nabal todas estas palavras em nome de Davi, e se calaram.

10E Nabal respondeu aos criados de Davi, e disse: Quem é Davi? e quem é o filho de Jessé? Muitos servos há hoje que fogem de seus senhores.

11Tomarei eu agora meu pão, minha água, e minha carne que matei para meus tosquiadores, e a darei a homens que não sei de onde são?

12E virando-se os criados de Davi, voltaram por seu caminho, e vieram e disseram a Davi todas estas palavras.

13Então Davi disse a seus homens: Cinja-se cada um sua espada. E cingiu-se cada um sua espada: também Davi cingiu sua espada; e subiram atrás Davi como quatrocentos homens, e deixaram duzentos com a bagagem.

14E um dos criados deu aviso a Abigail mulher de Nabal, dizendo: Eis que Davi enviou mensageiros do deserto que saudassem a nosso amo, e ele os insultou.

15Mas aqueles homens nos foram muito bons, e nunca nos maltrataram, nem nenhuma coisa nos faltou em todo aquele tempo que convivido com eles, enquanto estivemos no campo.

16Eles nos foram por muro de dia e de noite, todos os dias que estivemos com eles apascentando as ovelhas.

17Agora, pois, entende e olha o que farás, porque o mal está de todo decidido contra nosso amo e contra toda sua casa: pois ele é um homem tão mau, que não há quem podia falar-lhe.

18Então Abigail tomou logo duzentos pães, e dois odres de vinho, e cinco ovelhas guisadas, e cinco medidas de grão tostado, e cem cachos de uvas passas, e duzentos pães de figos secos, e carregou-o em asnos;

19E disse a seus criados: Ide diante de mim, que eu vos seguirei logo. E nada declarou a seu marido Nabal.

20E sentando-se sobre um asno desceu por uma parte secreta do monte, e eis que Davi e os seus que vinham de frente a ela, e ela lhes foi ao encontro.

21E Davi havia dito: Certamente em vão guardei tudo o que este tem no deserto, sem que nada lhe tenha faltado de tudo quanto é seu; e ele me devolveu mal por bem.

22Assim faça Deus, e assim acrescente aos inimigos de Davi, que daqui à amanhã não tenho de deixar de tudo o que for seu nem ainda macho.

23E quando Abigail viu a Davi, desceu prontamente do asno, e prostrando-se diante de Davi sobre seu rosto, inclinou-se à terra;

24E lançou-se a seus pés, e disse: Senhor meu, sobre mim seja o pecado; mas rogo-te fale tua serva em teus ouvidos, e ouve as palavras de tua serva.

25Não ponha agora meu senhor seu coração a aquele homem grosseiro, a Nabal; porque conforme seu nome, assim é. O se chama Nabal, e a loucura está com ele: mas eu tua serva não vi os criados de meu senhor, os quais tu enviaste.

26Agora, pois, senhor meu, vive o SENHOR e vive tua alma, que o SENHOR te impediu que viesses a derramar sangue, e vingar-te por tua própria mão. Sejam, pois, como Nabal teus inimigos, e todos os que procuram mal contra meu senhor.

27E agora esta bênção que tua serva trouxe a meu senhor, seja dada aos criados que seguem a meu senhor.

28E eu te rogo que perdoes a tua serva esta ofensa; pois o SENHOR de certo fará casa firme a meu senhor, porquanto meu senhor faz as guerras do SENHOR, e mal não se achou em ti em teus dias.

29Bem que alguém se tenha levantado a perseguir-te e atentar à tua vida, contudo, a alma de meu senhor será ligada no feixe dos que vivem com o SENHOR Deus teu, e ele atirará a alma de teus inimigos como de uma funda.

30E acontecerá que quando o SENHOR fizer com meu senhor conforme todo aquele bem que falou de ti, e te mandar que sejas chefe sobre Israel,

31Então, senhor meu, não te será isto em tropeço e turbação de coração, o que tenhas derramado sangue sem causa, ou que meu senhor se tenha vingado por si mesmo. Guarde-se, pois, meu senhor, e quando o SENHOR fizer bem a meu senhor, lembra-te de tua serva.

32E disse Davi a Abigail: Bendito seja o SENHOR Deus de Israel, que te enviou para que hoje me encontrasses;

33E bendito seja teu bom-senso, e bendita tu, que me impediste hoje de ir derramar sangue, e de vingar-me por minha própria mão:

34Porque, vive o SENHOR Deus de Israel que me defendeu de fazer-te mal, que se não te houvesses apressado em vir ao meu encontro, daqui a amanhã não lhe restaria a Nabal macho.

35E recebeu Davi de sua mão o que lhe havia trazido, e disse-lhe: Sobe em paz à tua casa, e olha que ouvi tua voz, e te atendi.

36E Abigail se veio a Nabal, e eis que ele tinha banquete em sua casa como banquete de rei: e o coração de Nabal estava alegre nele, e estava muito embriagado; pelo que ela não lhe declarou pouco nem muito, até que veio o dia seguinte.

37Porém à manhã, quando o vinho havia saído de Nabal, referiu-lhe sua mulher aquelas coisas; e se lhe amorteceu o coração, e ficou como pedra.

38E passados dez dias o SENHOR feriu a Nabal, e morreu.

39E logo que Davi ouviu que Nabal era morto, disse: Bendito seja o SENHOR que julgou a causa de minha afronta recebida da mão de Nabal, e preservou do mal a seu servo; e o SENHOR devolveu a malícia de Nabal sobre sua própria cabeça. Depois enviou Davi a falar a Abigail, para tomá-la por sua mulher.

40E os criados de Davi vieram a Abigail no Carmelo, e falaram com ela, dizendo: Davi nos enviou a ti, para tomar-te por sua mulher.

41E ela se levantou, e inclinou seu rosto à terra, dizendo: Eis que tua serva, para que seja serva que lave os pés dos servos de meu senhor.

42E levantando-se logo Abigail com cinco moças que a seguiam, montou-se em um asno, e seguiu os mensageiros de Davi, e foi sua mulher.

43Também tomou Davi a Ainoã de Jezreel, e ambas foram suas mulheres.

44Porque Saul havia dado sua filha Mical mulher de Davi, a Palti filho de Laís, que era de Galim.

📖 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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