1 Samuel 25:37

37 {And then} in the morning when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these words. Then his heart died {within him}, and he became like a stone.

1 Samuel 25:37 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 25:37

But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out
of Nabal
When he had slept, and was become sober, and so capable of attending to and understanding what might be related to him: and his wife had told him these things;
recorded in this chapter, before observed: that his heart died within him, and he became [as] a stone;
he swooned away, became as cold as a stone, and remained as senseless, spoke not a word, but lay in a stupor; the Jewish writers generally say this was occasioned by the distress and uneasiness the present his wife carried to David gave him; but it is more likely the sense of the danger that was impressed upon his mind, which he had been exposed to through his carriage to David and his men; who, he feared, notwithstanding all his wife said would return and take vengeance on him.

1 Samuel 25:37 In-Context

35 Then David took from her hand what she had brought for him, and he said to her, "Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to your voice, and I have {granted your request}."

36 Then Abigail went to Nabal, and look, {he was holding a feast} in his house like the feast of the king. {Nabal was enjoying himself}, and he [was] very drunk, so she did not tell him a thing, {nothing at all}, until the light of morning.

37 {And then} in the morning when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these words. Then his heart died {within him}, and he became like a stone.

38 {And then}, about ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal and he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, "Blessed be Yahweh who has vindicated the case of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and he has kept back his servant from evil; but Yahweh has returned the evil of Nabal on his [own] head." Then David sent and spoke with Abigail to take her for his wife.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "And it happened"
• [b]. Literally "in his midst"