1 Samuel 25:36

36 Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding 1a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, 2for he was very * drunk; so 3she did not tell him anything at all * until the morning light.

1 Samuel 25:36 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 25:36

And Abigail came to Nabal
Having sped with David, and taken her leave of him, she returned home to her husband Nabal: and, behold, he held a feast in his house like the feast of a king;
both for the number of dishes on his table and of guests at it though only on the account of sheep shearing; but very probably there were others that were invited to this entertainment besides the shearers; covetous men are generally very profuse when they make feasts: and Nabal's heart [was] merry within him, for he [was] very drunken:
which was a very ill example for the master of the feast to set, and was one instance among others of his folly, and of his conduct answering to his name: wherefore she told him nothing less or more until the morning light;
where she had been, and what she had been about, the danger that he and the whole family were in through his rude and churlish behaviour towards David and his men, and how she had prevented it by a timely application to David, meeting him when in full march, and in a great passion, and with a firm resolution to destroy him and his; but finding Nabal in such a condition, bereaved of his reason, and incapable of attending to what she should say, said not one word about it till the next morning.

1 Samuel 25:36 In-Context

34 "Nevertheless, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male ."
35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, "Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request."
36 Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light.
37 But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone.
38 About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.

Cross References 3

  • 1. 2 Samuel 13:28
  • 2. Proverbs 20:1; Isaiah 5:11; Hosea 4:11
  • 3. 1 Samuel 25:19

Footnotes 1

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.