1 Samuel 25:2

2 And in Maon there was a man, and his possession was in Carmel; and that man was full great, and there were to him three thousand sheep, and a thousand of goats; and it befelled that his flock was shorn in Carmel. (And in Maon there was a man, and his possession was in Carmel; and that man was very rich, and there were to him three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and it befell that his flock was clipped in Carmel.)

1 Samuel 25:2 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 25:2

And [there was] a man in Maon
A city of the tribe of Judah, from whence the wilderness had its name before mentioned; of which place, see ( Joshua 15:55 ) ; though Ben Gersom takes it to signify a dwelling place; and that this is observed to show, that he did not dwell in a city, but had his habitation where his business lay, which was in Carmel, where his fields, gardens, and vineyards were: wherefore it follows,

whose possessions [were] in Carmel;
not Carmel in the tribe of Issachar, but in the tribe of Judah, not far from Maon, and are mentioned together, (See Gill on Joshua 15:55); his cattle were there, his sheep particularly, for they are afterwards said to be shorn there; or "his work" ^F18; his agriculture, his farming, where he was employed, or employed others in sowing seed, and planting trees:

and the man [was] very great;
in worldly substance, though not in natural wisdom and knowledge, and especially in true religion and piety:

and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats;
so the substance of men in those times was generally described by the cattle they had, whether of the herd or flock, in which it chiefly lay:

and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel;
which was the custom in Judea and Syria, and was a very ancient one, as early as the times of Judah, yea, of Laban, see ( Genesis 31:19 ) ( Genesis 38:12 Genesis 38:13 ) ; though the old Romans used to pluck off the wool from the sheep's backs; hence a fleece of wool was called "vellus [a] vellendo", from the plucking it off; and Pliny says {s}, in his time, that sheep were not shorn everywhere, but in some places the custom of plucking off the wool continued; and who elsewhere observes ^F20, that the time of shearing was in June or July, or thereabouts; at which times a feast was made, and it is for the sake of that this is observed.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 (whvem) "opus ejus", Montanus, Vatablus; "eujus opus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F19 Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 48.
F20 Ibid. l. 18. c. 27.

1 Samuel 25:2 In-Context

1 Forsooth Samuel was dead; and all Israel was gathered together, and they bewailed him greatly, and buried him in his house in Ramah. And David rose up, and went down into the desert of Paran. (And then Samuel died; and all Israel was gathered together, and they greatly bewailed him, and buried him at his house in Ramah. And David rose up, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.)

2 And in Maon there was a man, and his possession was in Carmel; and that man was full great, and there were to him three thousand sheep, and a thousand of goats; and it befelled that his flock was shorn in Carmel. (And in Maon there was a man, and his possession was in Carmel; and that man was very rich, and there were to him three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and it befell that his flock was clipped in Carmel.)

3 And the name of that man was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail; and that woman was most prudent and fair, (and that woman was very intelligent, and beautiful); but her husband was hard and full wicked and malicious; and he was of the kin of Caleb.

4 Therefore when David had heard in desert, that Nabal clipped his flock, (And when David had heard in the wilderness, that Nabal clipped his flock,)

5 he sent ten young men, and said to them, Go ye up into Carmel, and ye shall come to Nabal, and ye shall greet him of my name peaceably (and ye shall give him a friendly greeting in my name);