1 Samuel 25:25

25 Don't dwell on what that brute Nabal did. He acts out the meaning of his name: Nabal, Fool. Foolishness oozes from him.

1 Samuel 25:25 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 25:25

Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial,
[even] Nabal
He is a worthless man, it must be owned, a weak foolish man, rather to be despised than regarded by him; what either he says or does is unworthy of the notice of any, and much less of so great a person as David was:

for as his name [is], so [is] he;
his natural disposition, genius, and conduct, agree with his name; when anyone knows his name, he may judge what is to be expected from him:

Nabal [is] his name:
which signifies a fool:

and folly,
in Hebrew, "Nebalah",

[is] with him;
attends all, his words and actions. This character of her husband, though no doubt a just one, yet it would not have been right in her to have given it, whose folly she should rather have concealed, but that it was his well known character; and she observes it not to reproach him with it, but to excuse his sin, his rudeness and ingratitude and preserve his life; and suggests that what he had done was not to be imputed to malice in his heart, but to his stupidity and folly, and so not to be regarded, and was not a peculiar single action of his, but what he was daily more or less guilty of; his folly was with him wherever he went and appeared in everything he said or did, and therefore to be overlooked and despised:

but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst
send:
as she had taken the blame upon herself, now she answers for herself, and pleads ignorance of his messengers, and their message; she had not so much as seen them with her eyes, and much less heard their message when reported; had she, she would have taken care, she intimates, that it should have been attended to; having so much interest in her husband, that she could have prevailed on him to have used them with civility, and granted their request.

1 Samuel 25:25 In-Context

23 As soon as Abigail saw David, she got off her donkey and fell on her knees at his feet, her face to the ground in homage,
24 saying, "My master, let me take the blame! Let me speak to you. Listen to what I have to say.
25 Don't dwell on what that brute Nabal did. He acts out the meaning of his name: Nabal, Fool. Foolishness oozes from him.
26 And now, my master, as God lives and as you live, God has kept you from this avenging murder - and may your enemies, all who seek my master's harm, end up like Nabal!
27 Now take this gift that I, your servant girl, have brought to my master, and give it to the young men who follow in the steps of my master.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.