1 Samuel 25:14

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
one	אֶחָ֛ד 'e.Chad	H259	properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
men	נַֽעַר na.'ar-	H5288	(concretely) a boy (as active) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
told	הִגִּ֧יד hi.Gid	H5046	properly · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Abigail	וְלַאֲבִיגַ֙יִל֙ ve.la.'a.vi.Ga.yil	H26	Abigail or Abigal · conjunction + preposition + proper noun, a woman's name
Nabal’s	נָבָ֔ל na.Val	H5037	Nabal · proper noun, a man's name
wife	אֵ֣שֶׁת 'E.shet	H802	a woman · noun, common feminine singular construct
saying	לֵאמֹ֑ר le.Mor	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
David	דָּוִ֨ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
sent	שָׁלַח֩ sha.Lach	H7971	to send away · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
messengers	מַלְאָכִ֧ים mal.'a.Khim	H4397	a messenger · noun, common masculine plural absolute
wilderness	מֵֽהַמִּדְבָּ֛ר me.ha.mid.Bar	H4057	a pasture (i.e. open field · preposition + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
salute	לְבָרֵ֥ךְ le.va.Rekh	H1288	to kneel · preposition + verb, piel infinitive construct
master	אֲדֹנֵ֖ינוּ 'a.do.Nei.nu	H113	sovereign · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
railed	וַיָּ֥עַט vai.Ya.'at	H5860	to swoop down upon (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Samuel 13:10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him,…
Mark 15:29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 25:12-17

Here is, I. The report made to David of the abuse Nabal had given to his messengers (Sa1 25:12): They turned their way. They showed their displeasure, as became them to do, by breaking off abruptly from such a churl, but prudently governed themselves so well as not to render railing for railing, not to call him as he deserved, much less to take by force what ought of right to have been given them, but came and told David that he might do as he thought fit. Christ's servants, when they are thus abused, must leave it to him to plead his own cause and wait till he appear in it. The servant showed his lord what affronts he had received, but did not return them, Luk 14:21. II. David's hasty resol…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 25:14

ABIGAIL PACIFIES HIM. (1Sa. 25:14-35) Then Abigail made haste--The prudence and address of Nabal's wife were the means of saving him and family from utter destruction. She acknowledged the demand of her formidable neighbors; but justly considering, that to atone for the insolence of her husband, a greater degree of liberality had become necessary, she collected a large amount of food, accompanying it with the most valued products of the country. bottles--goatskins, capable of holding a great quantity. parched corn--It was customary to eat parched corn when it was fully grown, but not ripe.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 25:10

Who is David? - Nabal's answer shows the surliness of his disposition. It was unjust to refuse so reasonable a request; and the manner of the refusal was highly insulting. It is true what his own servants said of him, He is such a son of Belial that one cannot speak to him, Sa1 25:17.

John Gill on 1 Samuel 25:14

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife,.... Not one of David's young men, as what follows shows, but one of Nabal's young men or servants, one of those David directs him to for the truth of what he said, 1 Samuel 25:8; this was one of those that had been employed in feeding sheep in the wilderness, where David was, and knew him, but was now at Carmel, and was present when David's messengers came to Nabal, and was privy to what passed: saying, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; in a very kind and handsome manner, to ask of his peace and welfare, and to wish him all happiness and prosperity; or "masters" (y) master and mistress, including both Nabal…

The Church Fathers

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, etc. When the chiefs of the Jews scorned the word of faith, the unity of Christ's disciples announced to the synagogue subject to them, saying: Behold, Jesus Christ sent apostles, namely messengers of truth, instructed in the divine Scriptures, to command eternal blessing to our elders, and they rejected them. These men, that is, Christ's apostles, were good apostles, were good enough for us by preaching the heavenly kingdom; and not troublesome, by imposing the burdens of the law on our necks anymore. Nor did anything ever perish of what we established during all the time we lived in their faith, living in deserts from the allurements of the world, and in a quasi-solitary life. At all times, I say, whether observing the rites of the law still, or celebrating the mysteries of the revealed and proclaimed grace, whoever joined themselves to the faith of Christ were saved from all destruction. They were helpful to us in teaching, both in investigating the obscure parts of the Scriptures, and in plainly bringing forth the clear ones, all the days in which we instructed our listeners according to their truly evangelical understanding.
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Abigail — Father (i.e., “leader”) of the dance, or “of joy.” (1.) The sister of David, and wife of Jether an Ishmaelite (1 Chr. 2:16, 17). She was the mother of Amasa (2 Sam. 17:25). (2.) The wife of the…
Booty — Captives or cattle or objects of value taken in war. In Canaan all that breathed were to be destroyed (Deut. 20: 16). The “pictures and images” of the Canaanites were to be destroyed also (Num.…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Marriage — Was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:18-24). Here we have its original charter, which was confirmed by our Lord, as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed (Matt.…
Nabal — Foolish, a descendant of Caleb who dwelt at Maon (1 Sam. 25), the modern Main, 7 miles south-east of Hebron. He was “very great, and he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats...but the man was churlish and…
Inhospitableness · .Nabal toward David — .Nabal toward David
Nabal · History of — History of
Railing · INSTANCES OF — INSTANCES OF
Salutations · Often sent through messengers — Often sent through messengers
Servants · Duties of, to masters: To be anxious for their welfare — Duties of, to masters: To be anxious for their welfare
Wife · Tactful Abigail — Tactful Abigail

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Samuel 25:14

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 25:12-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 25:14

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 25:10

John Gill on 1 Samuel 25:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 25:14

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 25:12-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 25:14

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 25:10

John Gill on 1 Samuel 25:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 25:2–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 25:10

Rashi on 1 Samuel 25:14