1 Samuel 25:24
in 1 Samuel 25She fell at his feet and said, “My lord, may the blame be on me alone, but please let your servant speak to you; hear the words of your servant.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And she fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity; and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy handmaid.
KJV
And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 25
Commentary
5 notes on this verseBut before this David had already held back his armed hand in his indignation. How much greater it is not to revile again, than not to avenge oneself! The warriors, too, [who] prepared to take vengeance against Nabal, Abigail restrained by her prayers. From this we perceive that we ought not only to yield to timely entreaties but also to be pleased with them. So much was David pleased that he blessed her who intervened, because he was restrained from his desire for revenge.
This site's exposition
lighted off the ass
on 1 Samuel 25:23-25
Abigail dismounts and falls on her face before David, then at his feet, taking the blame for Nabal's insult onto herself before she has said a word in her husband's defense, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be. Her plea plays on her husband's own name, Nabal is his name, and folly is with him, since the Hebrew word nabal means fool or base one, so the request is not to excuse Nabal but to ask David not to measure his own worth by a fool's provocation. Matthew Henry reads her taking the blame as the wisdom of yielding, which pacifies great offenses, and notes she was not ashamed to take the posture of a penitent for the good of her house in front of both households' men.
This site's exposition
please let your servant speak to you
Abigail asks for a hearing before she makes any case, and calls herself David's servant in the same breath. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that dismounting before a superior was the highest mark of respect. David grants the hearing in full at verse 35.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And fell at his feet,....
Yielding pacifies great offences. She put herself into the place and posture of a penitent and of a petitioner, and was not ashamed to do it, when it was for the good of her house, in the sight both of her own servants and of David's soldiers.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּפֹּל֙ | vatipol | and she fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רַגְלָ֔יו | raglav | feet his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| וַתֹּ֕אמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בִּי־ | bi- | [be] on <the> me | ||
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֖י | ʾadoni | O lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הֶֽעָוֹ֑ן | heavon | the iniquity | H5771 → | 233 times |
| וּֽתְדַבֶּר־ | utedaber- | and let her speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| נָ֤א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אֲמָֽתְךָ֙ | ʾamatekha | maidservant your | H519 → | 56 times |
| בְּאָזְנֶ֔יךָ | beazeneikha | in ears your | H241 → | 187 times |
| וּשְׁמַ֕ע | ushema' | and hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֥י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֲמָתֶֽךָ׃ | ʾamatekha | maidservant your | H519 → | 56 times |
וַתִּפֹּל֙and she fell
vatipolH5307 →435 times
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רַגְלָ֔יוfeet his
raglavH7272 →247 times
וַתֹּ֕אמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
בִּי־[be] on <the> me
bi-
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אֲדֹנִ֖יO lord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הֶֽעָוֹ֑ןthe iniquity
heavonH5771 →233 times
וּֽתְדַבֶּר־and let her speak
utedaber-H1696 →1141 times
נָ֤אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֲמָֽתְךָ֙maidservant your
ʾamatekhaH519 →56 times
בְּאָזְנֶ֔יךָin ears your
beazeneikhaH241 →187 times
וּשְׁמַ֕עand hear
ushema'H8085 →1159 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
דִּבְרֵ֥י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
אֲמָתֶֽךָ׃maidservant your
ʾamatekhaH519 →56 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
2 Kings 4:37She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 4:27
When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 11:35
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
- 2 Kings 4:27
Through
1 Samuel 25:28Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will surely make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because he fights the LORD’s battles. May no evil be found in you as long as you…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 18:17
Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I…
- 2 Samuel 7:11
and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house…
- 1 Chronicles 17:25
For You, my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build a house for him. Therefore Your servant has found the courage to pray before You.
- 1 Samuel 24:11
See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. See and know that there is no evil or rebellion…
- 1 Samuel 18:17
Through
2 Samuel 14:9But the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord the king, may any blame be on me and on my father’s house, and may the king and his throne be guiltless.”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 2:33
Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the LORD forever.”
- Matthew 27:25
All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
- 1 Kings 2:33
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 1.21.94; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.