"Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was clever and beautiful, but the man was surly and mean; he was a Calebite" (1 Samuel 25:3).

Comment:

These two sentences do not have any particular significance by themselves. They are part of a story of how David met and married his second wife. The geographical details in the first two verses are not logical or even possible; but folktales don't have to be accurate. Nabal was a Calebite, which is to say he was part of a tribe that had not yet been assimilated into the nation of Israel. The moral of the overall story, I guess, is that choices have consequences. Nabal chooses to be unfriendly and dismissive to David's men and his request; the consequences are severe. Abigail makes an effort to placate the anger of the young king, and her reward is great.



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