New International Version
1 Samuel 25:3
3His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings—he was a Calebite.
1 Samuel 25:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.
- New Living Translation (NLT)This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings.
Context of 1 Samuel 25:3
1Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David moved down into the Desert of Paran. 2A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings—he was a Calebite. 4While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. 5So he sent ten young men and said to them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name.
Read all of 1 Samuel 251 Samuel 25:3 word by word
וְשֵׁ֤ם הָאִישׁ֙ נָבָ֔ל וְשֵׁ֥ם אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ אֲבִגָ֑יִל וְהָאִשָּׁ֤ה טֽוֹבַת־שֶׂ֙כֶל֙ וִ֣יפַת תֹּ֔אַר וְהָאִ֥ישׁ קָשֶׁ֛ה וְרַ֥ע מַעֲלָלִ֖ים וְה֥וּא כָלִבִּֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now the nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- of the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- Nabalנָבָלnâbâl · NabalH5037
- of his wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- Abigailאֲבִיגַ֫יִל, אֲבִיגַ֫ל'ăbîygayil 'ăbîygal · AbigailH26
- a womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
- of goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
- understandingשֵׂ֫כֶלώekel ώêkel · understandingH7922
- and of a beautifulיָפֶהyâpheh · beautifulH3303
- countenanceתֹּ֫אַרtô'ar · appearanceH8389
- churlishקָשֶׁהqâsheh · severeH7186
- and evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
- in his doingsמַעֲלָלma‛ălâl · deedH4611
- of the house of Calebכָּלִבִּיkâlibbô kâlêbîy · CalebiteH3614
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 25:3
- Proverbs 14:1The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
- Proverbs 31:26She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
- 1 Samuel 25:10Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days.
- Psalms 10:3He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
- Isaiah 32:5No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 25:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3The name of the man was Nabal - The word נבל nabal signifies to be foolish, base, or villanous; and hence the Latin word nebulo, knave, is supposed to be derived. The name of his wife Abigail - The joy or exultation of my father. A woman of sense and beauty, married to the boor mentioned above, probably because he was rich. Many women have been thus sacrificed. Of the house of Caleb - כלבי והוא vehu Chalibbi, "he was a Calebite." But as the word caleb…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 2-11Verses 2-11 We should not have heard of Nabal, if nothing had passed between him and David. Observe his name, Nabal, "A fool;" so it signifies. Riches make men look great in the eye of the world; but to one that takes right views, Nabal looked very mean. He had no honour or honesty; he was churlish, cross, and ill-humoured; evil in his doings, hard and oppressive; a man that cared not what fraud and violence he used in getting and saving. What little…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Nabal: See 1 Samuel 25:25 to understand the irony of his name. Unlike her husband, Abigail was a sensible and wise person, as the story shows.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. he was of the house of Caleb--of course, of the same tribe with David himself; but many versions consider Caleb ("dog") not as a proper, but a common noun, and render it, "he was snappish as a dog."Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 25:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries