1 Samuel 25:16
in 1 Samuel 25They were a wall around us, both day and night, the whole time we were herding our sheep near them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
they were a wall unto us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
KJV
They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A wall - To protect them from the attacks of the Bedouins, etc. They had been as safe with David’s men around them as if they had been dwelling in a walled town.
This site's exposition
one of Nabal’s young men informed Nabal’s wife Abigail
on 1 Samuel 25:14-17
An unnamed servant goes around Nabal to warn Abigail, because Nabal is such a scoundrel that nobody can speak to him. The servant's report that David's men “were a wall around us, both day and night” confirms what David's messengers had claimed. Abigail now knows the danger is real.
This site's exposition
They were a wall around us
Albert Barnes explains the wall as protection from desert raiders, the herdsmen as safe among David's men as inside a walled town. Day and night means a watch kept around the clock. Raiders of that kind appear in the book at 30:1, when Amalekites strike the Negev and burn Ziklag.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
David demands not what he wanted as a debt, either by way of tribute as he was a king, or by way of contribution as he was a general, but asks it as a boon to a friend, that was his humble servant. David's servants delivered their message faithfully and very handsomely, not doubting but to go back well laden with provisions.
They were a wall unto us both by night and day,....
"The men were very good to us, and, though they were themselves exposed, yet they protected us and were a wall unto us." Those who do that which is good shall, one way or other, have the praise of the same. Nabal's own servant will be a witness for David that he is a man of honour and conscience, whatever Nabal himself says of him.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חוֹמָה֙ | chomah | a wall | H2346 → | 133 times |
| הָי֣וּ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עָלֵ֔ינוּ | ʾaleinu | with us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | both | H1571 → | 769 times |
| לַ֖יְלָה | laylah | night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | as well as | H1571 → | 769 times |
| יוֹמָ֑ם | yomam | by day | H3119 → | |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יְמֵ֛י | yemei | [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הֱיוֹתֵ֥נוּ | heyotenu | being we | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עִמָּ֖ם | ʾimam | with them | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| רֹעִ֥ים | roim | shepherding | H7462 → | 177 times |
| הַצֹּֽאן׃ | hatzon | the flock | H6629 → | 274 times |
חוֹמָה֙a wall
chomahH2346 →133 times
הָי֣וּthey were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
עָלֵ֔ינוּwith us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
גַּם־both
gam-H1571 →769 times
לַ֖יְלָהnight
laylahH3915 →233 times
גַּם־as well as
gam-H1571 →769 times
יוֹמָ֑םby day
yomamH3119 →
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יְמֵ֛י[the] days of
yemeiH3117 →2304 times
הֱיוֹתֵ֥נוּbeing we
heyotenuH1961 →3559 times
עִמָּ֖םwith them
ʾimamH5973 →1050 times
רֹעִ֥יםshepherding
roimH7462 →177 times
הַצֹּֽאן׃the flock
hatzonH6629 →274 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Job 1:10Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the…
it leads to
- Psalms 34:7
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.
- Zechariah 2:5
For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”
- 1 Peter 1:5
who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Psalms 34:7
Through
Zechariah 2:5For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”
it leads to
- Isaiah 4:5
Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night. For over all the glory there…
- Zechariah 9:8
But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of those who march to and fro, and never again will an oppressor overrun My people, for now I keep watch with…
- Psalms 3:3
But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.
- Isaiah 60:18–19
No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
- Revelation 21:23
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
- Isaiah 4:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.