Tag Archives: 1 Samuel 25-27

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April 6, 2024 Bible Study — As an Outsider We May Not Fully Understand a Situation

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Samuel 25-27.

There are three accounts of David’s time on the run from King Saul in today’s passage.  I am going to start with my thoughts today on the first one and we will see if I write about the other two or not.  So, first we have the account of David’s interaction with Nabal and Nabal’s wife Abigail.  The first aspect of this account is the way Nabal answered the men David sent to him.  To me reading it today, it seems like David’s response to Nabal’s words is a bit over the top. Yes, it is dismissive of David and somewhat insulting, but is it really a harsh enough insult to justify bloodshed.  However, Nabal’s own servants apparently thought it was.  They went to Nabal’s wife Abigail and begged her to do something.  So, we should be careful about judging a situation from outside it.  To me, David seems to have overreacted, but to all of those who were there, his reaction was expected and considered justified.  There is one other piece of this account I want to point out.  Both Abigail and David expressed that they were pleased that David did not avenge himself on Nabal.  Neither seem to think that he would have been in the wrong to do so, but both thought it was better that he had not done so.  In the end, God avenged David against Nabal, and David was grateful that he had not done so himself.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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April 6, 2023 Bible Study — Insights Into How David Would Later Rule

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Samuel 25-27.

As I was reading the story of David and Nabal again, it struck me that, while the passage does not spell it out, David had an agreement with Nabal for David to provide security for Nabal’s men and Nabal’s property.  Nabal’s response to David’s men makes more sense if he had some sort of agreement with David beforehand, even if the agreement was more or less unspoken,  David’s anger at Nabal’s response also makes more sense.  Finally, the fear clearly expressed by Nabal’s servants when they went to Abigail makes more sense.  If there was no agreement of some type between Nabal and David, why didn’t Nabal just ignore David’s messengers?  On the other hand, if there was some sort of agreement, Nabal’s answer would seem to be, “I am not going to pay you.  What are you going to do, appeal to the government over breach of contract? Sure, go ahead and appeal to King Saul’s government.  Hasn’t the king put a price on your head?”  Nabal’s servants would have quickly seen the problem with Nabal’s response.  Sure, David could not appeal to King Saul over Nabal’s failure to keep his end of the bargain, but Nabal had entered into the agreement with David in the first place because King Saul was unable to protect him from raiders and bandits…and David’s men, who had provided protection from those raiders, could easily take that which they had prevented others from taking.   We see a little later in this passage that when David took his men over the the Philistines they became raiders (although exclusively against non-Israelites).  It could be that Abigail’s good business sense was the reason David chose to marry her after the death of Nabal.

I also want to write a bit about David sneaking into King Saul’s camp and taking his spear and water jug.  This story is the first account we have of David’s contentious relationship with the three sons of Zeruiah, who were his nephews.   On the one hand, Abishai volunteers to go with David to infiltrate King Saul’s camp.  On the other hand, he also suggests that David allow him to kill King Saul, despite the fact that David had declined to kill Saul when he had previously had the opportunity.  In fact, on that previous occasion David had expressed feeling guilt about the threat implied by cutting the hem off of Saul’s cloak.  So, we see that Abishai was loyal to David, but failed to share David’s reluctance to kill his fellow Israelites (even when he might have been justified in doing so).  I am not sure what lessons we should take from this passage, but we see here the first indication that while Abishai and his brothers were fiercely loyal to David, they did not fully share his values.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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April 6, 2022 Bible Study — Respecting Those Whom God Has Put Into Positions Of Authority

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Samuel 25-27.

Usually when I read today’s passage I focus on David’s encounter with Nabal and Abigail.  Today I want to focus on David’s refusal a second time to take King Saul’s life.  On both occasions when David refused to take King Saul’s life he did so for the same reason, Saul was God’s anointed king over Israel.  He did this despite the fact that Samuel had anointed him to take Saul’s place as king over Israel.  However, despite Saul’s promise that he would not harm David, David knew that it was just a matter of time until King Saul set forth once more with his army to kill David and his men.   We can take a lesson here on respect for those whom God has put into positions of political authority.  David refused to take any action against King Saul because God had made Saul king.  David did this despite having been chosen by God to replace Saul as king.  David honored Saul as king until God removed him from the throne.  We should have a similar respect for those whom God has placed in positions of authority over us, even those who fail to honor God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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April 6, 2021 Bible Study Nabal And Abigail, Which One Was Really In Charge?

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Samuel 25-27.

Every time I read the story of David and Nabal, David’s reaction seems excessive.  Yet, it is clear that Nabal’s men expected that reaction.  At one time I thought that Nabal’s answer was a deadly insult which just does not translate into modern language and culture.  However, I have come to believe over time that David had an agreement with Nabal, whether it was an agreement they had entered into, or one which was understood from common usage, to protect Nabal’s men and herds from raiders and bandits (which were apparently fairly common in that area and time as we will see later).  Reading it in that light, Nabal’s response to David’s request for payment for having performed his side of the bargain can be read as Nabal telling David, “I’m not going to honor our agreement.  What are you going to do about it? Ask King Saul to enforce it?”

So, here is the situation.  David could have taken everything from Nabal in the first place, but instead entered into an agreement to protect Nabal’s property from others who might try to take in return for supplies.  When it came time for Nabal to fulfill his part of the bargain, Nabal reneged and David gathered his forces to take everything Nabal owned.  Abigail, Nabal’s wife, gathered the supplies which David was owed (and perhaps a bit more, but we have no way to know) and took them to him.  When Nabal learned of what Abigail had done, he had a stroke (or perhaps a heart attack), and ten days later dies.   Shortly after which David marries Abigail and gains ownership over Nabal’s property..  This story gives us a hint that the role of women in that society is more significant and powerful than a cursory reading of the Old Testament might lead us to believe.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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April 6, 2020 Bible Study — David Builds a Power Base Independent of King Saul

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 25-27.

We think of the society in which David lived as being a patriarchy where women had limited rights, and we are not wrong.  But the story told in this passage reveals that women were not as powerless in that society as we assume.  When Nabal insulted David’s men, one of the servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail about it.  Clearly that servant believed that Abigail could do something, and he was right.  On her own authority, Abigail gathered supplies and sent them to David, following behind to make amends for her husband’s rudeness..  After Nabal’s death, Abigail married David in what appears to me to be a negotiated alliance.  At about the same time, David married Ahinoam from Jezreel and King Saul gave his daughter Michal, who had been married to David, to another man as that man’s wife.  Up until this point, David’s power as a national figure came from being King Saul’s son-in-law.  Even on the run from King Saul, David would still have had a certain cache as his son-in-law.  When Saul gave Michal to be the wife of another man, that ended.  By marrying these two women, David gained a new power base.  This is important because in a totalitarian system, the ruler makes sure that everyone’s power derives from their relationship to him.  King Saul worked to eliminate any power base which did not derive its power from him.  Here David is seeking to gain the support of such power bases.

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April 6, 2019 Bible Study — David Gathers Power And Wealth

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 25-27.

In the account of David, Nabal, and Abigail, between Abigail and Nabal, it was Abigail who recognized the reality of David’s rising power.  This account takes a little work on our part to understand what was going on here.  David and his men were in the wilderness of southern Judah.  While in that area they did a good bit of bandit suppression.  I am reading between the lines a bit to reach this conclusion, but I base doing so on what Nabal’s men said to Abigail and the account from earlier of David protecting the town of Keilah.  When sheep shearing time came around David sent messengers to Nabal requesting a voluntary contribution to support his efforts.  Nabal did not just refuse to make a contribution of support to David and his men, he insulted David by saying he was no better than a bandit. We will never really know what Nabal was thinking when he issued this insult.  However, it reads as if he thought that David’s only merit was as a subordinate of King Saul and now that he was on the outs with King Saul was no longer someone to be reckoned with.  Perhaps Nabal also thought that the power he commanded because of his wealth protected him from David.

At least one of Nabal’s servants recognized the danger inherent in Nabal’s rudeness and went to Abigail.  Abigail recognized that not only had David done Nabal, and thus her, a service by protecting their men while they tended to sheep, but he was a man to be reckoned with in his own right.  Abigail recognized that the reason David was out of favor with King Saul was because he had his own power base.  When Nabal died a short time later, David sought an alliance of marriage with Abigail, which Abigail quickly accepted.  David recognized that he needed greater wealth to support himself and his men if he was not going to become a bandit.  Abigail recognized that David was a rising power in the land and chose to ally herself with him.  The passage mentions that David married a second woman during this time period (bringing him to a total of three wives, although King Saul in the meantime had given David’s first wife to someone else as their wife).  It seems likely that this other woman whom David married also brought wealth and/or connections to David (likely both).

Meanwhile some of the other locals became unhappy with David’s rising power(perhaps because the presence of David and his men kept them from raiding their wealthy neighbors) and let King Saul know where David was.   Once again, David demonstrates that he could kill King Saul if he desired to do so.  However, David recognizes that sooner or later King Saul will succeed in trapping him.  So, he puts himself under the protection of the Philistine king of Gath.  While there, David raided the non-Israelite towns in the area but reported to the King of Gath that he had raided towns of Israel.  I had always thought that the towns David raided were part of neither the Israelite alliance nor the Philistine alliance, but reading the passage today makes me think that these towns may have been nominally allied with the Philistines.  The reason I came to that last conclusion is that David told the King of Gath that he had raided Judean towns or towns of those allied with Israel and that he killed everyone in the towns he did raid so that no one would report where he had raided to the King of Gath.  

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April 6, 2018 Bible Study — Getting a Glimpse About How David Would Rule

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 25-27.

    In the story of Nabal and Abigail, I seem to be missing something about the severity of the insult which Nabal gave to David. The writer assumes that the reader would see how terrible the insult was, and all of the other characters in the story are aware that Nabal’s insult was severe. We have one of Nabal’s servants who sees it as so potent an insult that he must go tell the mistress at once. As soon as Abigail hears of it, gathers gifts and sets out to meet David. It’s not that I do not see the insults, it is just that they don’t seem that severe to me. However, I can sort of imagine how these insults might be a threat to David’s survival. Nabal called him a nobody who was the son of a nobody. Furthermore, Nabal essentially said that David was a run away slave. On top of that, he called David and his men outlaws, after they had spent the season protecting his own men and property.

    The combination of the story of Nabal and Abigail with the rest of the passage gives us a good idea how David rose to power. When Nabal died a short time later from basically natural causes, David acquired his wealth by marrying Abigail. It may even be this marriage which led Saul to seek to kill David again. In any case, despite being able to show Saul up once more, David felt that it was just a matter of time until Saul trapped and killed him. So, he went over to the Philistines where he became a raider much like what Nabal had accused him of being (I think there is a distinction, but I am not sure I could explain it). However, David only raided those who the people of Israel had long considered their enemies (with significant reason), while telling the king of the Philistines he was raiding towns of Judah.

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April 6, 2017 Bible Study

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 25-27.

    With today’s passage the focus shifts completely from Saul to David. In today’s passage we start to see how David would view his role as king (although he is far from being king at this point). When David moved into the desert in southern Judah with his men, he began protecting the shepherds and merchants in that area from bandits and raiders. This was similar to what he had done for the town of Keilah. As part of this, he expected the wealthy men whose property he had protected to provide some support to him and his men.
    Reading this passage, I have always had trouble understanding what was so terribly insulting about what Nabal said to David’s men. I do not believe that the problem was the insult to David, rather I think that it was the insult to David’s father, Jesse. Nabal did not just call David a nobody, he called his father one as well. In essence, Nabal said, “How does being Jesse’s son make you any better than a beggar?” Jesse was a man of sufficient prominence that Samuel knew who he was when God sent him to anoint one of his sons. This situation did not escalate because Nabal refused to pay for the protection which David and his man had provided for him. It escalated because he was rude about doing so. The passage makes a point of the fact that Nabal could have easily afforded to provide goods to David and his men, since he was throwing a feast fit for a king while his wife, Abigail, was off delivering a bribe of appeasement to David.

    The first time David fled to Achish, the Philistine king of Gath, he was alone. This time he arrives with his own war band, a group of men who owe loyalty to no one but David. This fact explains the different reception which David received on this occasion. While there David supported himself and his men in the time honored fashion of raiding those not under the protection of the ruler of the territory in which he resided. This was similar to what had happened in Keilah, some war bands from Philistine territory had been raiding there until David came to their defense. Rather than raid into Israelite territory (which was conveniently close) David raided the territory of other people’s in the area. However, he told Achish that he had raided Israelite territory in order to make it seem like he would be unable to return to Israel.

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April 6, 2016 Bible Study

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 25-27.

    We see in this passage the beginnings of how David built his power base. While David was in the wilderness hiding from Saul he had gathered men who followed him. In order to support those men, David could have turned bandit, stealing supplies from the wealthy. Instead of doing so, David set his men to protecting the property of men like Nabal from bandits. David then expected the men whose property his men had protected to provide them with some support. Over time, the majority of people to whom David provided such protection would have become fond of David.
    The root of David’s power base contrasts with that of Saul. David rose to power by building good will among powerful people. Saul had risen to power on the basis of raising and leading an army to defeat a cruel enemy of the Israelite people. Saul’s power relied on his control of the army. As a result, he viewed anyone else who developed a power base as a threat. David, on the other hand, was always dependent on maintaining the loyalty of various people who controlled independent power bases.