Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 25:23
And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,
23 31. Abigail’s meeting with David
23. lighted off the ass ] i.e. got down from, an old form of alighted. The Heb. word is different from that similarly translated in Jos 15:18, and simply means “to descend.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Not only in token of deep reverence, but as a most humble supplicant, as 2Ki 4:27.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. she hasted, and lighted off theass, and fell before David on her faceDismounting in presenceof a superior is the highest token of respect that can be given; andit is still an essential act of homage to the great. Accompanyingthis act of courtesy with the lowest form of prostration, she notonly by her attitude, but her language, made the fullest amends forthe disrespect shown by her husband, as well as paid the fullesttribute of respect to the character and claims of David.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when Abigail saw David,…. Whom she either knew personally, or rather supposed who he was by the number of men that followed him:
she hasted, and alighted off the ass; on which she rode:
and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground; in respect to, and reverence of, so great a person as David was.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(23) Fell before David.This act of obeisance, and, in fact, the whole tone of the wise wife of Nabal in her address to David, seems to betoken her consciousness that she was addressing the anointed of Jehovah, the future kingat no distant dateof Israel. Her worst fears she found realised when she met David, probably at no great distance from the principal residence of Nabal, accompanied by so large an armed force, evidently bent on some deed of violence. She deprecated his wrath by representing her husband not merely as a bad man, but as one scarcely responsible for his actions. Had she only known of the mission of Davids followers to Nabal, she implies, very different indeed had been their reception; they would not, at least, have returned to David empty-handed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 25:23-31. When Abigail saw David, &c. Abigail was a woman of distinguished merit. She had the advantage of a beautiful person, set off by an excellent understanding, a graceful address, and uncommon prudence; these are finely discovered in her speech to David, which is full of such humble, pathetic, natural, and for that reason powerful eloquence, as is not, I verily think, to be paralleled in antiquity. She begins by begging that the blame of this misconduct might rather light on her than on her husband; see 2Sa 14:9 but begs at the same time, that David would please to hear what she has to say in her own excuse. As for Nabal, he was below David’s notice; a man, as his name implied, nabal, (which signifies folly in the Hebrew,) of very mean understanding; and she excuses herself by assuring him, that she heard not a word of his message till his servants were sent away. She then insinuates the goodness of God to him, in withholding him from revenge and from blood; and in the very same sentence interweaves a most solemn adjuration to abstain from both, 1Sa 25:26. Abigail, after this, beseeches David that he would suffer his servants to accept her presents (they were too mean for his acceptance): repeating her petition for forgiveness, and adding, that God would certainly preserve him from his enemies, whom she wishes to be all as Nabal, as truly despicable, as incapable to harm him, and as much humbled before him; that God, whose battles he had fought (finely insinuating that such only were worthy his prowess), and whose laws he had hitherto kept inviolable, would certainly preserve, and in the end establish him in the throne: and that then it would be matter of no remorse or disquiet to him, that he had abstained from self-vengeance, and the shedding of blood; concluding with an earnest request, that, when God had established him, he would remember her. The words in the 29th verse, But the soul of my Lord shall be bound in the bundle of LIFE, &c. Calmet would render, But the soul of my Lord shall be like a living stone with the Lord. It is certain, that by this translation the opposition is finely marked between the two clauses of the verse: but we do not know of either versions or manuscripts which favour this translation of our learned Benedictine. Houbigant translates as we do, and observes, that the similitude is drawn from little bundles in which things of value are collected, that they may not be scattered about and thrown away; and at the same time a comparison is made between these bundles, and a sling in which a stone is put, not to be preserved, but to be thrown away. See Schmidt’s Dissertations.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Sa 25:23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,
Ver. 23. And fell before David on her face. ] By which most humble posture she disarmed David’s indignation, and redeemed her own sorrows. Caesar said that he did nothing more glady than pardon humble suppliants. a The very Turks, though remorseless to those that bear up, yet receive they humiliation with much sweetness. b “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,” &c. Jam 4:10
a Caes., Comment. de Bell. Alexan.
b Sir H. Blunt’s Voyage in the Levant.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
lighted: Jos 15:18, Jdg 1:14
fell: 1Sa 20:41, 1Sa 24:8
Reciprocal: Rth 2:10 – fell 2Sa 1:2 – he fell 2Sa 9:6 – he fell 2Sa 14:4 – fell on her 1Ki 1:16 – bowed 1Ch 21:21 – bowed himself
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Abigail’s appeal to David 25:23-31
Abigail’s approach to David was a model of tact and courage. Visualize this solitary woman, riding a donkey, approaching 400 armed men who were riding horses and were bent on slaughtering her household. It took immense courage and boldness, as well as great wisdom, for Abigail to take her life in her hands and do what she did.
First, Abigail took all the blame for her husband’s foolish actions. In this she reminds us of Jesus Christ who also rode into the teeth of His enemies on a donkey, took on Himself the sins of generations of fools, and was willing to suffer the consequences unselfishly. Abigail begged David to listen to her; her own husband would not (cf. 1Sa 25:17). Nabal had proudly described David as a runaway servant (1Sa 25:10), but Abigail presented herself humbly as a servant to David (1Sa 25:24).
She described her husband as a fool (1Sa 25:25). Is this how a wife should speak of her husband, even if he is a fool? Perhaps she meant that in responding to David as he had, Nabal had substantiated what others called him. If David had interpreted her description of her husband as disloyal, it is doubtful that David would have asked her to marry him later (1Sa 25:40). She might have proved disloyal to him too.
Abigail proceeded to help David view his situation from God’s perspective. She referred to the Lord as the One who, in response to her words, was restraining him from shedding innocent blood (1Sa 25:26). She was anticipating David’s proper response to her appeal. She further wished that all who opposed David, as Nabal had done, would be ineffective. She presented her gift of food and asked for David’s forgiveness, again as the substitute for her husband (1Sa 25:28; cf. 1Sa 25:24). She believed that Yahweh would give David an enduring dynasty because he fought the Lord’s battles (1Sa 25:28), not just Saul’s battles, and because David would do the Lord’s will. In this she again anticipated David’s proper response to her request. She believed God would preserve David alive, a blessing promised in the Mosaic Law for those who obeyed God (cf. Deu 4:10; Deu 8:1; Deu 16:20; et al).
Shepherds carried two bundles, one in which they carried food for themselves and the other in which they placed stones to hurl at the enemies of their sheep. [Note: G. M. Mackie, Bible Manners and Customs, p. 33.] This figurative description of David as kept by God, rather than thrown out by Him, would have appealed to David as a shepherd. Abigail also believed that David would reign as king one day, which she had learned that God had revealed (1Sa 25:30). Samuel had recognized David as the future king (1Sa 16:12), then Jonathan did (1Sa 20:15), then Saul did (1Sa 24:20), and now Abigail did. She anticipated that day and viewed David as having a good conscience then for not taking vengeance against Nabal, since vengeance belongs to God. Often the early sins of leaders come back to haunt them when they later attain high office.
"He [David] was about to attack fellow Judeans and wipe out a whole family. This act would surely have brought reprobation on David and would have undone all his carefully crafted relationships with his fellow Israelites." [Note: Heater, "Young David . . .," p. 56.]
Abigail concluded with a request that David would remember her when he attained his throne (1Sa 25:31; cf. Gen 40:14). In all that she said, Abigail revealed a godly perspective that was totally absent in her husband. There are many similarities between Abigail’s appeal to David here and the appeal of the wise woman of Tekoa in 2Sa 14:1-20. [Note: Cf. D. M. Gunn, "Traditional composition in the ’Succession Narrative,’" Vetus Testamentum 26:2 (1976):221-22.]
Abigail was careful "neither to exculpate Nabal nor to appear disloyal to him. . . . In short, she must win David without betraying Nabal. Abigail devises the perfect solution to the dilemma: she intercedes on behalf of Nabal (1Sa 25:24), although conceding that he has no case and no hope of survival (1Sa 25:25-26). In other words, while overtly defending him, she covertly dissociates herself from him." [Note: Levenson, p. 230.]