1 Samuel 25:3, The Real Story of Nabal

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;

//Thus are we introduced to a man named Nabal, whom David quarreled with. The very first thing we learn is that he is “churlish and evil.” But what happens if we read this story from Nabal’s viewpoint?

Here is what seems to happen. A group of bandits running a protection racket appear out of nowhere. They make the point that not one of them has bothered any of Nabal’s shepherds, and in fact, neither has anybody else while the bandits have been around. Don’t they deserve a little reward for protecting the shepherds? “Give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants,” they demand.

Nabal refuses to be threatened, and turns them down. Who is this David fellow, says he? Never heard of him.

So, four hundred bandits set out with swords to kill Nabal and take what he has by force. But Abigail, Nabal’s wife, catches wind of what’s going on.

“Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.”

Abigail saves the day by succumbing to the bandits’ protection racket, and Nabal is allowed to live.

1 Comment

  1. One wouldn’t expect a MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART” to act like he did, would one?
    David was basically a scumbag his entire life. I don’t know why Christians and Jews idolize him. I know what we are told about Christ’s lineage, etc. BUT… I think there was politics involved in the early church and in the early Bible writers. Those politics have continued in everything to the present day, IMO.

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