1 Samuel 25 · Verse 3

1 Samuel 25:3

Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
1 Samuel 25:3, King James Version

1 Samuel 25:3 in other translations

BSBHis 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.
WEBNow the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail. This woman was intelligent and had a beautiful face; but the man was surly and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.
ASVNow the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
YLTAnd the name of the man is Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail, and the woman is of good understanding, and of fair form, and the man is hard and evil in doings; and he is a Calebite.
DARBYAnd the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was a Calebite.
BBENow this man was named Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail: she was a woman of good sense and pleasing looks: but the man was cruel and evil in his ways; he was of the family of Caleb.
WebsterNow the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.

What does 1 Samuel 25:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. he was of the house of Caleb--of course, of the same tribe with David himself; but many versions consider Caleb ("dog") not as a proper, but a common noun, and render it, "he was snappish as a dog."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 The name of the man was Nabal - The word נבל nabal signifies to be foolish, base, or villanous; and hence the Latin word nebulo, knave, is supposed to be derived. The name of his wife Abigail - The joy or exultation of my father. A woman of sense and beauty, married to the boor mentioned above, probably because he was rich. Many women have been thus sacrificed. Of the house of Caleb - והוא כלבי vehu Chalibbi, "he was a Calebite." But as the word caleb signifies a dog, the Septuagint have understood it as implying a man of a canine disposition, and translate it thus, και ὁ ανθρωπος κυνικος, he was a doggish man. It is understood in the same way by the Syriac and Arabic.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 25:2-11

We should not have heard of Nabal, if nothing had passed between him and David. Observe his name, Nabal, "A fool;" so it signifies. Riches make men look great in the eye of the world; but to one that takes right views, Nabal looked very mean. He had no honour or honesty; he was churlish, cross, and ill-humoured; evil in his doings, hard and oppressive; a man that cared not what fraud and violence he used in getting…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 25:2-11 →

1 Samuel 25:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְשֵׁ֤םve.Shemand [the] name ofH8034
הָאִישׁ֙ha.'Ishthe manH376
נָבָ֔לna.Val[was] NabalH5037
וְשֵׁ֥םve.Shemand [the] name ofH8034
אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ'ish.Towife hisH802
אֲבִגָ֑יִל'a.vi.Ga.yil[was] AbigailH26
וְהָאִשָּׁ֤הve.ha.'i.Shahand the womanH802
טֽוֹבַת\־toat-[was] good ofH2896
שֶׂ֙כֶל֙se.khelinsightH7922
וִ֣יפַתVi.fatand beautiful ofH3303
תֹּ֔אַרTo.'arappearanceH8389
וְהָאִ֥ישׁve.ha.'Ishand the manH376
קָשֶׁ֛הka.Sheh[was] hardH7186
וְרַ֥עve.Ra'and evil ofH7451
מַעֲלָלִ֖יםma.'a.la.LimdeedsH4611
וְה֥וּאve.Hu'and heH1931
כָלִבִּֽי\׃khal.vov[was] a CalebiteH3614

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 25:3

  • Proverbs 14:1

    Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

  • Proverbs 31:10

    Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

  • Isaiah 32:5-7

    The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.

  • Psalms 10:3

    For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.

  • Proverbs 31:30-31

    Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

  • 1 Samuel 25:17

    Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.

  • Proverbs 31:26

    She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

  • 1 Samuel 25:10-11

    And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?

  • 1 Samuel 30:14

    We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
good.
Pr 14:1; 31:26,30,31
was churlish.
10,11,17; Ps 10:3; Isa 32:5-7
and he was.{Wehoo calibbee,} literally, "and he was a Calebite;" but as the word {cailev} signifies a dog, the Septuagint has understood it as implying a man of canine disposition, and translated it, [kai anthropov kunikos,] "and he was a doggish man." It is understood in the same way by the Syriac and Arabic.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 25:2

    And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were 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.

  • 1 Samuel 25:3

    Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.

  • 1 Samuel 25:4

    And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.

Read all of 1 Samuel 25

1 Samuel 25:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		El nombre de aquel varón era Nabal, y el nombre de su mujer, Abigail. Y era aquella mujer de buen entendimiento y de buena gracia; mas el hombre era duro y de malos hechos; y era del linaje de Caleb.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le nom de l’homme était Nabal, et le nom de sa femme, Abigaïl; et la femme avait du bon sens et était belle de visage; et l’homme était dur et méchant dans ses actes; et il était de la race de Caleb.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und der Name des Mannes war Nabal, und der Name seines Weibes Abigail. Und das Weib war von guter Einsicht und schön von Gestalt; der Mann aber war hart und boshaft in seinen Handlungen, und er war ein Kalebiter.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Nomen autem viri illius erat Nabal. Et nomen uxoris ejus Abigail: eratque mulier illa prudentissima, et speciosa: porro vir ejus durus, et pessimus, et malitiosus: erat autem de genere Caleb.