”And Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.”
“And Samuel died…” Earlier, Abravanel shared his opinion that the prophet Samuel died an old man. Recall, that had been a bone of contention with classic commentators who put forth that the prophet died young. Here, we won’t rehash that point or bring Abravanel’s support from the verses. Instead, let us move on and see how our chapter’s lead verse that conveys Samuel’s death sets the tone for the upcoming main narrative concerning David and Nabal.
“And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal. And the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful form; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.” According to some commentators, Nabal lacked common courtesy and failed to attend Samuel’s funeral, though “all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him.”
Samuel 25 lists Nabal’s assets. Indeed, he was loaded. And disagreeable, not to mention rotten. Abravanel examines verses in our chapter in order to get a read on Nabal. Certainly, on the surface, Nabal’s behavior appears appalling. After all, Jewish values extol charity and Nabal did not want to part with a nickel when David’s men came knocking.
“And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.” There, David learned that “Nabal was shearing his sheep.” In Biblical parlance, shearing time was sharing time, essentially a personal Thanksgiving. “And David sent ten young men, and David said unto the young men: Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.” Abravanel takes it for granted that David was a household name. Moreover, Hebrews knew that he had been anointed by Samuel.
David coached the young men. “And thus you shall say: All hail! and peace be both unto you, and peace be to your house, and peace be unto all that you have.” Pleasantries and greetings made up David’s message. Still, Nabal saw red. “And Nabal answered David's servants, and said: Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master.” Then Nabal crossed the line. “Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they are?”
Humiliated, David’s men returned empty handed. For David, Nabal’s insults were fighting words. But let us pause and introduce Abravanel’s questions on the terse exchange between Nabal and David’s men. Why did Nabal behave so coarsely with David? Calling David “the son of Jesse” was disrespectful. David’s scripted words to his men were courteous. Why, then, did Nabal not only not return the niceties but actually lashed out? And why hadn’t Nabal opened his wallet and given David’s men gifts – large or small – as he saw fit? Next, Abravanel asks why Nabal broke all rules of decency by not sharing bread and water with the hungry? Nabal was not a madcap, unaware of David’s noble character. Finally, Abravanel wonders, what could Nabal possibly have been thinking?
Abravanel sets the scene. David’s men went to Nabal’s home, introduced themselves, and repeated the words that David had them rehearse. What happened next? “And when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.” Abravanel interprets the verb “ceased” differently than we just translated it. In Hebrew, the term “ceased” also means “rested.” Thus, it may be that after David’s men concluded their remarks they promptly barged into Nabal’s home, made themselves comfortable, and opened their sacks. They fully expected Nabal to fill each man’s bag.
Thus, for Abravanel, David’s men made lots of assumptions, such as taking liberties with Nabal’s home, even before Nabal had a chance to respond to their request. Quite pushy guests, let us say. And Nabal didn’t take kindly to it. When he saw ten men at his front door, he grew fidgety. But then when they practically invaded his house, he lost it; he went ape.
Of course, Abravanel is not condoning Nabal’s miserable conduct. He was, as the text teaches, one wretched chap. Nabal, the cheapskate that he was, thought that he’d have to give all the food and drink that he had prepared for his sheep shearers to David’s men, seeing that there were ten of them. “Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they are?” This is the backstory, according to Abravanel.
Lastly, Abravanel does not believe that Nabal intended to slight David’s honor when he referred to him as the “son of Jesse.” As stated, the Hebrews all knew that David was God’s anointed. What then is the meaning of: “Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master?” It means that Nabal might not have refused David, had he personally come to Nabal’s house. However, since Nabal by nature was chintzy, and since ten men took undue liberties by entering Nabal’s house before being ushered in, the man went berserk. The prospect of Nabal having to “take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they are” caused him to blow a gasket.
In sum, for Abravanel, Nabal’s outburst – as unpardonable as it was – had not been directed to David. Rather, it was leveled against David’s men.