1 Samuel 25:2

2 Now there was a man in Ma'on who had property in Karmel. He was very rich, having three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Karmel.

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 Sh'mu'el died. All of Isra'el assembled to mourn him and bury him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Pa'ran Desert.

2 Now there was a man in Ma'on who had property in Karmel. He was very rich, having three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Karmel.

3 The man's name was Naval, and his wife was named Avigayil. The woman was intelligent and attractive, but the man was surly and mean in his actions; he belonged to the clan of Kalev.

4 David, there in the desert, heard that Naval was shearing his sheep.

5 David sent off ten young men with these orders: "Go up to Naval in Karmel, and bring him greetings from me.