for that he was grieved, not only that he had proved ungrateful, without making any return for the humanity he had shewn him; but that he had also reproached them, and used ill language, when he had received no cause of disgust.

Hereupon, one of those that kept the flocks of Nabalsaid to his mistress," that when David sent to her husband, he had received no civil answer, but on the contrary, very reproachful language; while yet David had taken extraordinary care to keep his flocks from harm and what had passed would prove very pernicious to his master." When the servant

;

had said this, Abigail, (for that was the wife's || name,) saddled her asses, and loaded them with all sorts of presents; and without telling her husband any thing of what she was about, for he was not sensible on account of his drunkenness, she went to David. She was then met by David, as she was descending a hill, for he was coming against Nabal with the four hundred men. When the woman saw him, she leap

sociates to preserve these flocks from damage; and to do them no mischief; neither out of covetousness, nor because they were in want, nor because they were in the wilderness, and so could not easily be discovered; but to esteem freedom from injustice above all other motives; and to look upon the touching of what belonged to another man as a horrible crime, and contrary to the will of God. Such were the instructions he gave; thinking that the favors he granted this man were bestowed on one that deserved to have such care taken of his affairs. This person was Nabal; a harsh man, and of a very wicked life: being like a cynic in the course of his behaviour; but still had obtained for his wife a woman of good character, wise, and handsome. To this Nabal, therefore David sent ten of his attendants, at the time when he sheared his sheep; and by them saluted him, and also wished he might do what he now did, for many years to come; but desired him to make him a present of what he was able to give him since he must have learned from hised from her ass, and fell on her face, and bowed shepherds, that he had done them no injury, down to the ground; and intreated him not but had been their guardians a long time, to bear in mind the words of Nabal; since while he continued in the wilderness, and be he knew that he resembled his name: Now assured he should never repent of giving any Nabal, in the Hebrew tongue, signifies folly. thing to David. When the messengers had So she apologized by saying, that she did not declared their errand to Nabal, he accosted see the messengers whom he sent. "Forthem after an inhuman and rough manner: give me, therefore," said she," and thank for he asked them who David was ? and when God who hath hindered thee from shedding he heard that he was the son of Jesse,"Now human blood. For so long as thou keepest is the time," said he, "that fugitives grow in- thyself † innocent, he will avenge thee of solent, and make a figure, and leave their wicked men. For those miseries which await masters." When they told David this, he Nabal, will fall upon the heads of thine enewas wroth; and commanded four hundred || mies. Be thou gracious to me, and think me armed men to follow him, and left two hun- so far worthy as to accept these presents; and dred to take care of the stuff, (for he had alout of regard to me remit that wrath and anready* six hundred,) and went against Na- ger which thou hast against my husband, and bal: he also swore that he would utterly de- his house. For mildness and humanity bestroy the whole house and possessions of Nabal, come thee especially as thou art to be our

* The number of men that came first to David are distinctly in Josephus, and in our common copies, but 400. When he was at Keilah still but 400, both in Josephus and the Septuagint; but 600 in our Hebrew copies: 1 Sam. xxii. 13. See xxx. 9, 10. Now the 600 there mentioned, are here intimated by Josephus to have been so many, only by an augmentation of 200 afterward: which I suppose is the true solution of this seeming disagree

ment.

Here we may perceive how Josephus, nay, how Abigail herself, would understand, the not avenging our

selves, but heaping coals of fire on the head of the injurious Prov. xxv. 21, 22. Rom. xii, 20, not as we commonly do now, of melting them into kindness; but of leaving them to the judgment of God; to whom vengeance belongeth: Deut. xxxii. 35. Ps. xciv. 1 Heb. x. 30, and who will take vengeance on the wicked. And since all God's judgments are just, and all fit to be executed; and all, at length, for good of the persons punished, I incline to think that to be the meaning of this phrase, of heaping coals of fire on their heads. So also, as it seems to me, do the Apostolical Constitutions understand it, 1. 2.

king." Accordingly David accepted her pre- come to him, to live with him, and to be his sents, and said, "O woman! it was no other wife. Whereupon she replied to those that than God's mercy which brought thee to us came, that she was not worthy to touch his to day. For otherwise thou hadst never seen feet. However she came with all her seranother day. I having sworn to destroy Na-vants, and became his wife; having received bal's house this very night, and to leave alive that honour on account of her wise and righnot one of you who belonged to a man thatteous course of life, and also partly on account was wicked, and ungrateful to me, and my of her beauty. Now David had a wife before, companions. But now hast thou prevented whom he married from the city Abesar. For me, and seasonably mollified my anger; as as to Michal, the daughter of king Saul, who being thyself under the care of God's provi- had been David's wife, her father had given dence. But as for Nabal; although, for thy her in marriage to Phalti, the son of Laish, sake, he now escape punishment, he will not who was of the city Gallim.§ always avoid justice for his evil conduct, which on some other occasion, will be ruin."

After this came certain of the Ziphites, and told Saul, that David was come again into their country, and that if he would afford them his assistance, they could catch him. So he came to them with three thousand armed men, and upon the approach of night he pitched his camp at a certain place called Hachilah. But when David heard that Saul was coming against him, he sent spies, and bade them let him know to what part of the country Saul was already come. And when they told him that he was at Hachilah, he concealed his going away from his own com

When David had said this, he dismissed the woman. And when she came home, and found her husband feasting with a great company, and oppressed with wine, she said nothing to him about what had happened; but on the next day, when he was sober, she told him all the particulars, and made his whole body to appear like that of a dead man, † by her words; and by that grief which arose from them. So Nabal survived only ten days, and then died. And when David heard of bis death, he said that God had justly aveng-panions, and came to Saul's camp, having ed him of this man: for that Nabal died by his taken with him Abishai, his sister Zuriah's own wickedness, and had suffered punishment son, and Ahimelech the Hittite. Now Saul on his account; while he had kept his own was asleep, and the armed men, with Abner, hand clean. At which time he understood, their commander, lay round about him in a that the wicked are persecuted by God; that circle. Hereupon David entered into the he does not overlook any man, but bestows king's tent, but he did neither kill Saul, though on the good what is suitable to them, and in- he knew where he lay, by the spear that was flicts a deserved punishment on the wicked. stuck down by him, nor did he give leave So he sent to Nabal's wife, and invited her to to Abishai, who would have killed him, and

* We may note here, that how sacred soever an oath was esteemed among the people of God in old times, as I have fully shewn in my Scripture Politics, p. 54–65, they did not think it obligatory where the action was plainly unlawful. For so we see it was in this case of David; who although he had sworn to destroy Nabal, and his family, yet does he here, and 1 Sam. xxv. 32, 33, 34, bless God for preventing his keeping this oath, and from shedding of blood as he had sworn to do.

+The words in the original are," He became a stone;" but our translation has wisely supplied the particle as, which should always be done, when the scripture affirms something of another that is not absolutely of the same nature. We may observe, however, that this manner of expression is very common among profane authors. Thus Ovid brings in Ariadne expressing her grief and astonishment at the loss of Theseus, who had left her in the

island Dia;

But in the case of Niobe, who is said to be turned into a statue of stone, Cicero, in his Tusculan Questions observes, that this fable only represents her perpetual sileuce in mourning; and accordingly Josephus tells us of Nabal that when his wife told him of the danger he had escaped, he was struck with such an astonishment, that he fell into a dead numbness all over his body, of which he soon died; Le Clerc's Comment. and Dis De statua salis. B.

1 Sam. xxv. 38. § 1 Sam. xxv. 44. Carrying a long pike before a company of Arabs is a token that an Arab Sheekh, or prince, is there: the

fortune was ready to overtake you, in your very camp, without your knowing of it." Now when Saul knew David's voice, and understood that when he had him in his power, while he was asleep, and his guards took no care of him; yet did he spare him, when he might justly have cut him off: he said, that "He owed him thanks for his preservation: and exhorted him to be of good courage, and not to be afraid of suffering any mischief from him any more, and to return to his own home; for he was now persuaded, that he did not love himself so well as he was beloved by him; that he had driven away him that could guard him, and had given many demonstra tions of his good will: that he had forced him to live so long in a state of banishment, and in

was strongly inclined so to do. For he said it was a horrid crime to kill one that was ordained king by God, although he were a wicked man for that he who gave him the dominion, would in time inflict punishment upon him: so he restrained his eagerness. But that it might appear to have been in his power to have killed him when he refrained from it, he took his spear, and the cruse of water which stood by Saul, without being perceived by any in the camp, who were all asleep, and went securely away; having performed every thing among the king's attendants that the opportunity afforded, and his boldness encouraged him to do. So when he had passed over the brook, and ascended to the top of a hill, whence he might be sufficiently heard, he cried aloud to Saul's soldiers, and to Ab-great fears of his life; destitute of his friends ner their commander, and awakened them out and his kindred. While still he was often of their sleep and called both to him and saved by him, and frequently received his life to the people. Hereupon the commander ask-again when he was evidently in danger of ed who it was that called him? to whom David replied, "It is I, the son of Jesse, whom thou makest a vagabond. But what is the matter? dost thou that art a man of so great dignity, and of the first rank in the king's court, take so little care of thy master's person? and is sleep of more consequence to thee than his preservation? this negligence deserves death; and punishment ought to be inflicted on thee, who didst not perceive when a little while ago some of us entered into thy camp; nay, as far as to the king himself. If thou look for the king's spear, and his cruse of water; thou wilt learn what a mighty mis

fixing of it likewise near a person of authority points out his dignity. Thus Josephus, giving an account of David's entering the camp of Saul, when that prince and his people were fast asleep, informs us, that notwithstand. ing the opportunity, he did no hurt to Saul, though he well knew where he slept, by the spear, which was fixed near him, and that he suffered not Abishai, to slay him then, though he would fain have done it, English readers generally suppose that every man had his spear stuck into the ground at his head: but Josephus supposes that circumstance distinguished the royal sleeping-place from that of every body else, which it would not have done, if it had not been something peculiar to Saul, distinguishing him from his officers and people. It was, it should seem then, a customary distinction in the time of Josephus, and he thought it also an usage as ancient as the time of Saul. Perhaps too, this describing Saul as known by the spear may intimate, that he slept with his face covered, being laid on the ground in the open air.

perishing." So David bade them send for the spear, and the cruse of water, and take them back; adding, that God would be the judge of both their dispositions, and of the actions that flowed from the same : "for he knows," said he, "that when it was this day in my power to have killed thee, I abstained from it."*

Saul, having thus escaped the hands of David twice, returned to his royal palace, and his own city. But David was afraid, if he staid there, he should be caught by Saul. So he thought it better to go up into the land of the Philistines. Accordingly he came with

Thus de la Roque describes the Bedouin Arabs of the Holy Land, though in general they live under tents, yet, sometimes, he says, they sleep in their clothes, in summer time, on the ground, only covering their body and face with their aba, or outer garment, Voy. dans la Pal. c. 12. p. 176. Josephus, then in all probability, supposes this expedition was undertaken in the time of summer and that Saul's face was muffled up, so as rather to be known by the spear, than by his countenance, in a night sufficiently light to have distinguished him, had he not been so covered. It seems indeed to be the common practice of the Eastern people to sleep with their faces covered according to Niebuhr, and he sup poses that Europeans would find the benefit of it, if they would adopt the same usage, the dews and some winds being found to be very hurtful. Descript. de l Arabie, p.9. Harmer's Observations on Scripture, vol. i. p. 96. Clarke's

Edit. B.