Introduction: A Chapter That Stands on Its Own
Chapter 25 in Shmuel A is not a direct continuation of the previous chapter and Shaul's pursuit of David. Rather, it is a chapter that recounts and describes one of the events that David the king went through while he was in the wilderness, fleeing from Shaul. This is the story of Naval the Carmelite and Avigayil his wife, and from it we will learn both about the ways of requesting things wisely and about the nature of a hard man whose deeds are evil.
The Death of Shmuel and the Revelation of the Secret of the Anointing
וַיָּמָת שְׁמוּאֵל וַיִּקָּבְצוּ כָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּסְפְּדוּ־לוֹ וַיִּקְבְּרֻהוּ בְּבֵיתוֹ בָּרָמָה וַיָּקָם דָּוִד וַיֵּרֶד אֶל־מִדְבַּר פָּארָן׃ - Shmuel died, and all of Israel gathered and mourned for him, and they buried him at his house in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
Shmuel died, and all of Israel gathered and made a eulogy for him. "וַיִּקְבְּרֻהוּ בְּבֵיתוֹ בָּרָמָה" - the verse emphasizes "his house," for Ramah was Shmuel's home. Shmuel would travel around all the mountains of Israel throughout the year, and at the end of the year he would return to his house, as it says, "and his return was to Ramah, for there was his house."
Until this point, throughout all the days of Shmuel's life, the matter was never revealed to anyone that Shmuel had anointed David as king. As we have seen, there was a real danger to life in this: if Shaul had heard of the matter, he would have been capable of killing Shmuel the prophet for raising up a rebel against the kingdom. For how can you anoint a man as king while I am here as the king? But at Shmuel's death the matter was revealed, either because Shmuel himself wrote it in his will, or because it was later revealed by his disciples. Therefore, while all of Israel is occupied with the eulogy for Shmuel, David finds the opportunity to flee, and he goes off to the wilderness of Paran.
Who Is Naval: His Place and His Wealth
וְאִישׁ בְּמָעוֹן וּמַעֲשֵׂהוּ בַכַּרְמֶל וְהָאִישׁ גָּדוֹל מְאֹד וְלוֹ צֹאן שְׁלֹשֶׁת־אֲלָפִים וְאֶלֶף עִזִּים וַיְהִי בִּגְזֹז אֶת־צֹאנוֹ בַּכַּרְמֶל׃ - And there was a man in Maon whose work was 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.
וְשֵׁם הָאִישׁ נָבָל וְשֵׁם אִשְׁתּוֹ אֲבִגָיִל וְהָאִשָּׁה טוֹבַת־שֶׂכֶל וִיפַת תֹּאַר וְהָאִישׁ קָשֶׁה וְרַע מַעֲלָלִים וְהוּא כָלִבִּי׃ - And the name of the man was Naval, and the name of his wife was Avigayil. The woman was of good understanding and beautiful in appearance, but the man was hard and evil in his deeds, and he was a Calebite.
This man, who was called Naval the Carmelite, lived in Maon, "and his work was in Carmel" - meaning that the sheep and cattle and all the rest of his abundant labor were in Carmel, but his dwelling was in Maon. Now Maon is that same wilderness in which David was, the wilderness of Maon. The verse comes to tell you: do not say that Naval did not recognize David. David was in the wilderness of Maon, and Naval lived in that very same place, so surely he recognized David.
Moreover, do not say that when David requests a little from the feast he was holding, Naval has nothing to give, being poor and destitute. Therefore the verse prefaces and says, "וְהָאִישׁ גָּדוֹל מְאֹד" - he had great wealth. And especially at the time of the shearing of the sheep in Carmel, when a person's wealth increases greatly, for the sheep produce wool, and the wool was sold for a great fortune and was very expensive in their times, and through this his money increased still further.
And afterward the verse comes and reveals to us who this man is: "וְשֵׁם הָאִישׁ נָבָל וְשֵׁם אִשְׁתּוֹ אֲבִגָיִל." And just as the woman was of good understanding and beautiful in appearance, so this man was hard and evil in his deeds, and he was a Calebite.
"Naval" - a name based on his deeds
Some say that Naval was not the name his father gave him at the bris, for it is not common for a man to name his son "Naval" at the bris. That is hardly fitting. Rather, they were named according to their future deeds. He was called Naval because anyone who saw him would say: this one is a scoundrel (naval). This was his name on account of his baseness and lowliness, and this was the name that stuck to him.
"And he was Kalbi" - three explanations
The first explanation, which is how the Targum renders it: the meaning is that he was from the family of Kalev, Kalev ben Yefuneh, from the house of Kalev.
A second explanation is brought by the Radak: the letter kaf is not part of the name, but rather the kaf of comparison - "Kalbi," like "ke-libi" (as in my heart). That is, whoever would see this man would say: this man is exactly as I pictured him in my heart. There is a person about whom you have a certain description, and you meet him and say: he is not as they told me. But here, just as I pictured him to myself in my heart, so did he indeed turn out to be.
A third explanation: he had dog-like traits, kalbi - like a dog. And the Ralbag wrote that because of his great cruelty his character resembled that of dogs. Dogs hate their own kind and bark at them when they come near. Have you ever seen a dog that sees another dog and passes by quietly? Immediately, woof woof! What happened? This is your friend, you met a friend, wag your tail at him, and you come to bark? Such are dogs, they hate their own kind. The Ralbag further wrote that dogs will not let anyone eat from what is in the house, even if there is enough. Indeed, if you come near a dog to take away its bowl, it is a matter of mortal danger. It does not speak, and it does not even bark, but it makes such sounds that if you are wise you keep your distance. Woe to the dog that comes near another dog. So dogs are stingy, and thus Naval was stingy like a dog.
"Harsh and evil in his dealings" - why the repetition?
The Malbim asks: why did the verse repeat and say "harsh and evil in his dealings"? And he explains: "harsh" refers to his very nature, while "evil in his dealings" indicates the actions he would perform, which were immoral actions. It is possible for a man to be harsh yet not evil in his dealings, and it is possible for him to be evil in his dealings yet not harsh.
A man who is harsh by nature but not evil in his dealings will sometimes do good out of morality and out of justice, for he has no bad character traits. And a man who is evil in his dealings, whose character traits are bad, but who by his nature is not harsh, may very well do good, not out of the bad traits within him, but out of his soft nature. His mercy can be aroused, one can play upon the strings of his emotions, and one can persuade him to do a kindness. But a man who has such a terrible combination of harsh and evil in his dealings - both his nature is harsh and his traits are bad - from such a man you will never obtain any good. Nothing will come out of him, neither out of mercy nor out of fear, and he will always do only evil.
If so, why did David send to him?
If this is who he is, what reason did David have to send to him? What hope is there from such a man, and why waste energy? The Malbim says: this is the point of the continuation, "and he was Kalbi." From which tribe was Kalev ben Yefuneh? From the tribe of Yehudah. And from which tribe was David? From the tribe of Yehudah. Therefore David thought: at any rate he comes from my own tribe, from the tribe of Yehudah, and perhaps it will indeed be possible to speak with him and persuade him.
The time of the shearing - a time of favor
וַיִּשְׁמַע דָּוִד בַּמִּדְבָּר כִּי־גֹזֵז נָבָל אֶת־צֹאנוֹ׃ - And David heard in the wilderness that Naval was shearing his flock.
Their custom was that when they sheared the flock they made a great feast for the shearers. David reasoned that this gave an additional cause for Naval to give: since he is now shearing his flock, and this is the time when a person grows wealthy and amasses great riches, perhaps at such a time he will be generous, and perhaps there is indeed someone to speak with.
The Mission of the Young Men: Honor, Blessing and Request
וַיִּשְׁלַח דָּוִד עֲשָׂרָה נְעָרִים וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לַנְּעָרִים עֲלוּ כַרְמֶלָה וּבָאתֶם אֶל־נָבָל וּשְׁאֶלְתֶּם־לוֹ בִשְׁמִי לְשָׁלוֹם׃ - And David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men: Go up to Carmel, and come to Naval and greet him in my name with peace.
David commands his young men to appease him. That is, David himself did not think that things would go easily with Naval, and he needed a softening approach. The Malbim says that he told them three things. The first: honor him. Say to him: Do you know who it is that has sent to greet you in his name with peace? David! In such a situation a person feels greatly honored: David sent to inquire after my welfare?! After all, David is the king's son in law, and David was the commander of the king's army who conducted all his wars, and he was the one who killed Goliath. What tremendous honor this is for me. And one must see that Naval is careful about his honor as befits the honor of the king of Israel.
וַאֲמַרְתֶּם כֹּה לֶחָי וְאַתָּה שָׁלוֹם וּבֵיתְךָ שָׁלוֹם וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־לְךָ שָׁלוֹם׃ - And you shall say: Thus may it be for the coming year, and peace to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that is yours.
The second thing: bless him. "כֹּה לֶחָי" - may it be so, that you be alive also next year when you shear your flock, may your fortune next year likewise be alive and enduring. And there is another explanation, that "חי" is an expression for an energetic man, as in "the son of a living man, great in deeds," who acts with vitality and diligence. If so, he said to him: this is fitting for an energetic and important man like you, who prepares a slaughter and readies a great feast for all his people.
The Malbim adds that here he includes three kinds of peace: "and peace to you" - the peace of your own self; "and peace to your house" - the peace of your household; "and peace to all that is yours" - the peace of his possessions, his property and his money.
The Request: "Give, please, whatever your hand finds"
וְעַתָּה שָׁמַעְתִּי כִּי גֹזְזִים לָךְ עַתָּה הָרֹעִים אֲשֶׁר־לְךָ הָיוּ עִמָּנוּ לֹא הֶכְלַמְנוּם וְלֹא־נִפְקַד לָהֶם מְאוּמָה כָּל־יְמֵי הֱיוֹתָם בַּכַּרְמֶל׃ - And now I have heard that you have shearers; now your shepherds who were with us, we did not shame them, and nothing of theirs was missing all the days they were in Carmel.
שְׁאַל אֶת־נְעָרֶיךָ וְיַגִּידוּ לָךְ וְיִמְצְאוּ הַנְּעָרִים חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ כִּי־עַל־יוֹם טוֹב בָּנוּ תְּנָה־נָּא אֵת אֲשֶׁר תִּמְצָא יָדְךָ לַעֲבָדֶיךָ וּלְבִנְךָ לְדָוִד׃ - Ask your young men and they will tell you, and let the young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a good day. Give, please, whatever your hand finds, to your servants and to your son David.
David sends to request from Naval that on this occasion, a good day and a day of joy, he give also to him and his men. And it was not for nothing that David came as a petitioner, like a pauper begging at the door: David was pursued by Shaul, and he had no fields, no vineyards and no sources of income. On what did he live? On good people who took pity on him and his men, and they were the ones who saw to his sustenance. And when there is such an opportunity, this is the time when David and his men can eat, for without this they live in a very hard way: pursued, with no source of livelihood.
"We have not shamed them, nor was anything missing from them" - what is the plain meaning?
The Malbim asks: what is being said here? "Your shepherds who were with us, we did not shame them, nor was anything missing from them." In plain words it would sound as if they are telling him: know that all the time they were here we did not demand protection money from them, we did not steal from them, and we did no harm to them. But where do we find a person saying such a thing and thinking he deserves a reward for it? It is written of the Philistines who said to Yitzchak, "as we have not touched you, and as we have done to you only good" - there, with Avimelech and the Philistines, that was considered a virtue: be thankful you left me alive, and that already merits reward. But could it possibly be that David the king comes to request reward for not shaming you, for the fact that you lacked nothing, that we did not rob you?
Rather, the Malbim explains that David comes to tell him two things. The first: since you are making this feast on behalf of the shepherds, for "they are shearing for you now," and the shepherds are the main players in the shearing, for they tended the flock until now and they are also the ones shearing - well, we are the men of war, and men of war are sustained by the people. The soldiers who would travel from place to place, do not think they had a supply system, planes that parachute provisions to them in the field. Who fed them? The people, those who were located in that same place. And the reason for this: first, it was difficult to transport food from place to place. Second, when I come to fight in a certain place, for example fighting in Gat against the Philistines, all the Jews in the vicinity benefit from that war, for the Philistines would come and take taxes from them, plunder them and rob them, and who saves them? I do. If so, out of your obligation toward me you must sustain my men, and you are not doing me a favor, rather we are the army that protects you. And we saw that when the Philistines came and challenged David, David went out to fight against them, that is, even in a situation where he was being pursued he fought their wars. If so, from this side they are already obligated to give to us.
And the second thing: "nor was anything missing from them" - the meaning is not that nothing was missing because of us, that we did not rob them, but rather that there are bandits and there are beasts of prey, and from the moment we are there we guard them from the bandits and from the beasts of prey. This guarding is a guarding that they deserve to pay for. Not a salary, but at any rate it is fitting that you give us something on the festival that you are making, on the day of joy that you are making. And if you have doubts about this - "ask now your lads and they will tell you," the lads can tell you how much we protected them and guarded them, and we did not even say a harsh word to them, we did not shame them.
The third point: not as one who demands but as one who requests a favor
The third thing in David's words: I am not coming as one who makes demands. Many times when you come to a person, even when it is due to you, if you come as a claimant - immediately he says: what do you mean, who are you to obligate me? But if you come and say to him: look how many good things I did for you, and nevertheless I am asking of you, do me a favor, return to me a little kindness for what I did for you - here you place the matter, as it were, to his own private discretion, and people like to feel "generous." Not someone like Naval, but people in the ordinary way like to feel magnanimous, and people do not like being obligated. If they come and tell a person: you must give to me - immediately he says: and why should I give to him? Did I hire him to guard? Yes, he guarded a little, so what.
Therefore David comes with wisdom and says to him: "we have come on a festive day" - we saw that you are making a festive day, and therefore "give now, please," I am asking of you, do a kindness, "and let the lads find favor in your eyes." And he does not set a sum for him: "whatever your hand finds" - whatever your hand finds, give to us. And he adds "and to your son, to David" - to such an extent he as it were humbles himself and says to him: just as you give to your son, give also to me. He does not come to him as a claimant and as a king to whom you are obligated to give, but rather "and to your son, to David," do a favor and give us something too. And Chazal say that this was the eve of Rosh Hashana, and therefore he said to him "on a festive day we have come," we are in need of a festive meal.
"And they rested" - how evil was Naval's heart
וַיָּבֹאוּ נַעֲרֵי דָוִד וַיְדַבְּרוּ אֶל־נָבָל כְּכָל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה בְּשֵׁם דָּוִד וַיָּנוּחוּ׃ - And David's lads came and spoke to Naval according to all these words in David's name, and they rested.
"And they rested" - they rested from the toil of the road, and they ceased speaking until they would hear his answer. And what is this addition, and why is it so important to emphasize that they came, spoke, and rested?
The Malbim says: the verse comes to emphasize to us how evil Naval's heart was. For David requested in a manner of supplications, he did not insult him and did not come in a manner of obligation, and he did everything in the most proper way, and he gave all the reasons for him to fulfill his request. And the verse emphasizes "and they spoke to Naval according to all these words" - that they changed nothing, so that you should not think that David played one tune and they played a different tune. "In David's name" - so that you should not think they said it in their own name, "we are David's shepherds, give to us," but rather they came and said: David requested. And in this too there was honor for Naval. And "and they rested" - so that you should not think that afterward they added some words of persuasion, such as "and we would not advise you to refuse" or the like, all sorts of persuasive words that could have made clear to Naval that it was very much worthwhile for him to accede to them. No: they spoke only what David told them, and they did not add even one additional word - and immediately they rested. And with all this, Naval did not respond.
In summary:
The chapter opens with the death of Shmuel, whose passing revealed the secret of David's anointment as king, and at that moment David finds an opportunity to descend to the wilderness of Paran. From there we move to the story of Naval: an extremely wealthy man who lived in Maon and whose business was in Carmel, who knew David well and whose financial resources were vast, especially at the time of the sheep shearing. The verse sets Avigail, who was intelligent and beautiful, against Naval, who was harsh and evil in his deeds - a dreadful combination of a hard nature and wicked character, from which one can never obtain any good, neither out of compassion nor out of fear. Even so, David sent to him, because he was "Calebite," from the house of Calev and from the tribe of Yehudah just like him. David sends ten young men in a manner of complete wisdom: honor, blessing, and a demand for what was owed formulated as a request for kindness - "Give, please, whatever you can find to your servants and to your son, to David." And the verse is precise to emphasize that the young men spoke in David's name according to all these words, without changing anything and without adding anything, and then they waited - to show just how evil Naval's heart was, that even such a perfect request did nothing to soften him.