1 Samuel 25:3
in 1 Samuel 25His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
KJV
Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 25
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe name of the man was Nabal - The word נבל nabal signifies to be foolish, base, or villanous; and hence the Latin word nebulo, knave, is supposed to be derived. The name of his wife Abigail - The joy or exultation of my father. A woman of sense and beauty, married to the boor mentioned above, probably because he was rich. Many women have been thus sacrificed.
This site's exposition
shearing his sheep in Carmel
on 1 Samuel 25:2-3
Nabal is described as very great in flocks, three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, the kind of wealth shearing season put on display with customary open-handed hospitality toward those who had kept his flocks safe. Verse 3 sets a name against a name, Nabal, the Hebrew word for fool or base one, married to Abigail, whose name means my father's joy, described as of good understanding and a beautiful countenance while her husband is churlish and evil in his doings. The Septuagint and several older readers, Matthew Henry among them, read of the house of Caleb as a pun on the Hebrew word for dog, a snarling and currish man rather than merely a member of Caleb's clan.
This site's exposition
her husband, a Calebite, was harsh
The Calebite line places Nabal in David's own tribe of Judah, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe, so the insult of verse 10 comes from a kinsman. Adam Clarke supposes Abigail was married to him for his wealth. The chapter sets her understanding against his harshness in every scene that follows.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The name of that man was Nabal, etc. Nabal means foolish, Abigail is called the father's joy: and the foolish man was a legal expert who, having the key of knowledge, neither entered himself, nor allowed those who wished to enter. The father's joy, however, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He was a disgrace to his family, and then it was no honour to him. Degeneranti genus opprobrium--A Good extraction is a reproach to him who degenerates from it. The LXX., and some other ancient versions, read it appellatively, not, He was a Calebite, but He was a dogged man, of a currish disposition, surly and snappish, and always snarling.
Now the name of the man was Nabal,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
he was of the house of Caleb--of course, of the same tribe with David himself; but many versions consider Caleb ("dog") not as a proper, but a common noun, and render it, "he was snappish as a dog."
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשֵׁ֤ם | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הָאִישׁ֙ | haish | the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| נָבָ֔ל | naval | [was] Nabal | H5037 → | 22 times |
| וְשֵׁ֥ם | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ | ʾishto | wife his | H802 → | 781 times |
| אֲבִגָ֑יִל | ʾavigayil | [was] Abigail | H26 → | 17 times |
| וְהָאִשָּׁ֤ה | vehaishah | and the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| טֽוֹבַת־ | toat- | [was] good of | H2896 → | 538 times |
| שֶׂ֙כֶל֙ | sekhel | insight | H7922 → | |
| וִ֣יפַת | vifat | and beautiful of | H3303 → | 42 times |
| תֹּ֔אַר | toar | appearance | H8389 → | 15 times |
| וְהָאִ֥ישׁ | vehaish | and the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| קָשֶׁ֛ה | kasheh | [was] hard | H7186 → | 36 times |
| וְרַ֥ע | vera' | and evil of | H7451 → | 662 times |
| מַעֲלָלִ֖ים | maalalim | deeds | H4611 → | |
| וְה֥וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| כָלִבִּֽי׃ | khalvov | [was] a Calebite | H3614 → |
וְשֵׁ֤םand [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
הָאִישׁ֙the man
haishH376 →1663 times
נָבָ֔ל[was] Nabal
navalH5037 →22 times
וְשֵׁ֥םand [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
אִשְׁתּ֖וֹwife his
ʾishtoH802 →781 times
אֲבִגָ֑יִל[was] Abigail
ʾavigayilH26 →17 times
וְהָאִשָּׁ֤הand the woman
vehaishahH802 →781 times
טֽוֹבַת־[was] good of
toat-H2896 →538 times
שֶׂ֙כֶל֙insight
sekhelH7922 →
וִ֣יפַתand beautiful of
vifatH3303 →42 times
תֹּ֔אַרappearance
toarH8389 →15 times
וְהָאִ֥ישׁand the man
vehaishH376 →1663 times
קָשֶׁ֛ה[was] hard
kashehH7186 →36 times
וְרַ֥עand evil of
vera'H7451 →662 times
מַעֲלָלִ֖יםdeeds
maalalimH4611 →
וְה֥וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
כָלִבִּֽי׃[was] a Calebite
khalvovH3614 →
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
Proverbs 31:10A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:14
Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
- Proverbs 12:4
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but she who causes shame is like decay in his bones.
- Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.
- Ephesians 5:25–33
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
- Proverbs 3:15
She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her.
- Proverbs 19:14
Through
Proverbs 14:1Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.
it leads to
- Proverbs 31:10–31
A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.
- Proverbs 24:3–4
By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;
- Proverbs 21:9
Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Proverbs 31:10–31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonEarly monarchyNabalThe wealthy fool of Carmel — "as his name is, so is he" — who repaid David's protection with insult; his heart died within him whe…
- PersonEarly monarchyAbigailNabal's wife, a woman of good understanding whose swift intercession kept David from avenging himself with his own hand — and who…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.