1 Samuel 25:20

And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert on the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
rode	רֹכֶ֣בֶת ro.Khe.vet	H7392	to ride (on an animal or in a vehicle) · verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
ass	הַחֲמ֗וֹר ha.cha.Mor	H2543	a male ass (from its dun red) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
down	וְיֹרֶ֙דֶת֙ ve.yo.Re.det	H3381	to descend (literally · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
covert	בְּסֵ֣תֶר be.Se.ter	H5643	a cover (in a good or a bad · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
hill	הָהָ֔ר ha.Har	H2022	a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
David	דָוִד֙ da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
men	וַאֲנָשָׁ֔יו va.'a.na.Shav	H582	a man in general (singly or collectively) · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
down	יֹרְדִ֖ים yo.re.Dim	H3381	to descend (literally · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
against	קִרְאָה qirʼâh	H7125	an encountering
met	וַתִּפְגֹּ֖שׁ va.tif.Gosh	H6298	to come in contact with · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine 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

2 Kings 4:24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 25:18-31

We have here an account of Abigail's prudent management for the preserving of her husband and family from the destruction that was just coming upon them; and we find that she did her part admirably well and fully answered her character. The passion of fools often makes those breaches in a little time which the wise, with all their wisdom, have much ado to make up again. It is hard to say whether Abigail was more miserable in such a husband or Nabal happy in such a wife. A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband, to protect as well as adorn, and will do him good and not evil. Wisdom in such a case as this was better than weapons of war. 1. It was her wisdom that what she did she did quickly,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 25:19

she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you--People in the East always try to produce an effect by their presents, loading on several beasts what might be easily carried by one, and bringing them forward, article by article, in succession. Abigail not only sent her servants in this way, but resolved to go in person, following her present, as is commonly done, to watch the impression which her munificence would produce.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 25:20

She came down - and David - came down - David was coming down Mount Paran; Abigail was coming down from Carmel. - Calmet.

John Gill on 1 Samuel 25:20

And it was so, as she rode on the ass,.... After her servants: that she came down, by the covert of the hill; by the side of it, which was covered with bushes, and she rode among them, in a way that led through them, and so was not seen by David and his men; or by the shadow of the hill, toward the bottom of it, where by reason of that, and the opposite hill, it was darkish, and they could not see each other: and, behold, David and his men came down against her; came down a hill opposite to that she came down: and she met them; in the valley between two hills.

The Church Fathers

Therefore, when he had ascended the donkey, etc. When the Synagogue confessed to all that it had served a foolish sense until then, and descended to the beginnings of the Christian faith, which starting from the infirmity of the Lord's incarnation, usually leads to the heights of recognizing divinity, Christ and his disciples descended to meet it, so that by preaching they might assist its efforts and, from the mysteries of his humanity with which it was imbued, they might elevate it to the highest summits of Divinity.
— 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.…
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…
Ass, The Domestic · Women often rode on — Women often rode on
Fig · General references — General references
Nabal · History of — History of
Prudence · .Abigail, in averting David’ s anger — .Abigail, in averting David’ s anger
Tact · Nabal’ s wife — Nabal’ s wife
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 25:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 25:18-31

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 25:19

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 25:20

John Gill on 1 Samuel 25:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 25:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 25:18-31

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 25:19

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 25:20

John Gill on 1 Samuel 25:20

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 25:20