Nabal
A rich, rude sheep farmer whose name meant "fool," and whose wise wife saved his household.
Old Testament · c. 1010 BC · 1 Samuel · Also known as Husband of Abigail, Nabal of Carmel
About Nabal
Nabal was a wealthy man of Maon with "three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats," but "the man was churlish and evil in his doings." While David was on the run from Saul, his men had protected Nabal’s shepherds. When David politely asked for food at shearing time, Nabal sneered, "Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse?" David set out to take revenge, but Nabal’s wife Abigail rode out with gifts and turned him back. She said of her husband, "as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him." When Nabal sobered up and heard, "his heart died within him, and he became as a stone," and ten days later "the LORD smote Nabal, that he died."
Nabal has no words worth imitating, so this guide speaks about him. His name means "fool," in the Bible’s sense of someone who ignores God and others. Sheep-shearing was a time of feasting and generosity, which made his refusal all the more shameful.
The story
Three thousand sheep
"And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 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."
1 Samuel 25:2-3
Who is David?
David’s men greeted Nabal in peace and asked for whatever he could spare. "Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?"
1 Samuel 25:4-13
As his name is, so is he
A servant warned Abigail that David’s men "were a wall unto us both by night and day," but Nabal "is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him." She loaded donkeys with food and met David on the road: "as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him." David blessed her for keeping him "from coming to shed blood."
1 Samuel 25:14-35
He became as a stone
Nabal held a feast "like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken." In the morning Abigail told him everything, and "his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died."
1 Samuel 25:36-38
Key moments
- Shearing in Carmel: Three thousand sheep. (1 Samuel 25:2)
- Insults David: "Who is David?" (1 Samuel 25:10)
- Abigail intervenes: "As his name is, so is he." (1 Samuel 25:25)
- Struck down: "He became as a stone." (1 Samuel 25:37-38)
Questions about Nabal
What does the name Nabal mean?
"Fool." His own wife said so: "as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him." In the Bible a fool isn’t someone unintelligent, but someone who ignores God and other people, like the fool of the Psalms who "hath said in his heart, There is no God."
Why did David want to attack Nabal?
David’s men had protected Nabal’s flocks: his own shepherd said, "They were a wall unto us both by night and day." At shearing time, a time of plenty, David asked for a share and was answered with insults. David overreacted and set out with four hundred armed men. Abigail stopped him, and he thanked God for it: "blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood."
How did Nabal die?
When he sobered up and Abigail told him what had nearly happened, "his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died." Many readers think of a stroke or heart attack; Scripture presents it as God’s judgment, and David saw that God had settled the matter without his taking revenge.
Connected people
Read it yourself
Start with 1 Samuel 25.