Nabal
Mentioned 1059–1047 BC traditional (Jones)
Foolish, a descendant of Caleb who dwelt at Maon (1 Sam. 25), the modern Main, 7 miles south-east of Hebron. He was “very great, and he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats...but the man was churlish and evil in his doings.” During his wanderings David came into that district, and hearing that Nabal was about to shear his sheep, he sent ten of his young men to ask “whatsoever cometh unto thy hand for thy servants.” Nabal insultingly resented the demand, saying, “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse?” (1 Sam. 25:10, 11).
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897).
- Mentioned in the era of the Judges, 1450–1051 BC.
- Named in the same verses as David, Abigail, Ahinoam, Absalom, Achish, Caleb, Daniel, and Jesse.
Computed from the data. Years are traditional (Jones).
Family
Two generations up and the children. Gold lines join partners; grey lines run from parent to child; a dotted line marks a parent named in the text but not by descent.
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Places
Places named in the same verses as Nabal, with the number of verses they share; a larger marker means more. Locations follow OpenBible.info, which grades each identification. A dashed ring on the map marks a region, river, or mountain rather than a town.
Timeline
The strip runs from Creation to AD 100; the shaded part, 1084–1022 BC, is drawn below at a larger scale around these mentions, with 3 contemporaries. Years are traditional (Jones), shown as recorded, not as settled fact.
Mentions
18 tagged verses in 2 books. Select a book to read its verses.
The name in each translation
| Text | Occurrences of each name |
|---|---|
| BSB | Nabal 22 |
| KJV | Nabal 22 |
| ASV | Nabal 22 |
Whole-word, case-sensitive count of the name string (regex \bName\b, so possessives like "Abraham's" count) across the whole Bible text of each translation; this counts the string, not the person, so other people who share the name are included and pronoun references are not. How Begat counts
Every verse
All 18 tagged verses, by book, in canonical order. The Berean Standard Bible is shown; switch to the King James or American Standard Version.
1 Samuel16 verses
- 25:3
His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.
- 25:4
While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.
- 25:5
So David sent ten young men and instructed them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel. Greet him in my name
- 25:9
When David’s young men arrived, they relayed all these words to Nabal on behalf of David. Then they waited.
- 25:10
But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.
- 25:14
Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s young men informed Nabal’s wife Abigail, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed at them.
- 25:19
and said to her young men, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
- 25:25
My lord should pay no attention to this scoundrel Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name means Fool, and folly accompanies him. I, your servant, did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent.
- 25:26
Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, since the LORD has held you back from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, may your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal.
- 25:34
Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, then surely no male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by morning light.”
- 25:36
When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light.
- 25:37
In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him, and he became like a stone.
- 25:38
About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead.
- 25:39
On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the reproach of Nabal and has restrained His servant from evil. For the LORD has brought the wickedness of Nabal down upon his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.
- 27:3
David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.
- 30:5
David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary
The full entry, public domain, as printed in 1897.
Foolish, a descendant of Caleb who dwelt at Maon (1 Sam. 25), the modern Main, 7 miles south-east of Hebron. He was “very great, and he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats...but the man was churlish and evil in his doings.” During his wanderings David came into that district, and hearing that Nabal was about to shear his sheep, he sent ten of his young men to ask “whatsoever cometh unto thy hand for thy servants.” Nabal insultingly resented the demand, saying, “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse?” (1 Sam. 25:10, 11). One of the shepherds that stood by and saw the reception David’s messengers had met with, informed Abigail, Nabal’s wife, who at once realized the danger that threatened her household. She forthwith proceeded to the camp of David, bringing with her ample stores of provisions (25:18). She so courteously and persuasively pled her cause that David’s anger was appeased, and he said to her, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which sent thee this day to meet me.”
On her return she found her husband incapable from drunkenness of understanding the state of matters, and not till the following day did she explain to him what had happened. He was stunned by a sense of the danger to which his conduct had exposed him. “His heart died within him, and he became as a stone.” and about ten days after “the Lord smote Nabal that he died” (1 Sam. 25:37, 38). Not long after David married Abigail (q.v.).