1 Samuel 25:41

25:39-44 Abigail believed that David would be king over Israel, and greatly esteemed his pious and excellent character. She deemed his proposal of marriage honourable, and advantageous to her, notwithstanding his present difficulties. With great humility, and doubtless agreeably to the customs of those times, she consented, being willing to share his trails. Thus those who join themselves to Christ, must be willing now to suffer with him, believing that hereafter they shall reign with him.

And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth,.... As she did before David, 1 Samuel 25:23 ; and did as she would have done had he been present, considering his messengers as representing him and therefore showed the same respect and reverence and did the same honour, as if he had been there in person: and said; expressed herself in such language as if David had been before her: behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord; which she said through her great humility, this being one of the meanest services she could be put to; intimating, that she was so far from being worthy to be the wife of such a man that she was only fit and it would be honour enough to her to perform the meanest services to those that waited upon him; or her sense is that it would be enough for her to be the wife of one of David's servants, and not his; it being the business of a wife, as Ben Gersom observes to wash the feet of her husband.

There is no note of the exact interval that elapsed between Nabal's death and David's hearing of it, or, again, between David's hearing of it and his message to Abigail; nor is there any reason to suppose that the marriage took place with unbecoming haste. The widow of such a husband as Nabal had been could not, however, be expected to revere his memory. After the usual mourning of seven days, she would probably feel herself free to act as custom allowed. (See 2 Samuel 11:26 .)

39-42. the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head—If this was an expression of pleasure, and David's vindictive feelings were gratified by the intelligence of Nabal's death, it was an instance of human infirmity which we may lament; but perhaps he referred to the unmerited reproach (1Sa 25:10, 11), and the contempt of God implied in it. David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to wife—This unceremonious proceeding was quite in the style of Eastern monarchs, who no sooner take a fancy for a lady than they despatch a messenger to intimate their royal wishes that she should henceforth reside in the palace; and her duty is implicitly to obey. David's conduct shows that the manners of the Eastern nations were already imitated by the great men in Israel; and that the morality of the times which God permitted, gave its sanction to the practice of polygamy. His marriage with Abigail brought him a rich estate.

He then sent messengers to Abigail, and conveyed to her his wish to marry her, to which she consented without hesitation. With deep reverence she said to the messengers ( 1 Samuel 25:41 ), "Behold, thy handmaid as servant (i.e., is ready to become thy servant) to wash the feet of the servants of my lord;" i.e., in the obsequious style of the East, "I am ready to perform the humblest possible services for thee."

He then sent messengers to Abigail, and conveyed to her his wish to marry her, to which she consented without hesitation. With deep reverence she said to the messengers ( 1 Samuel 25:41 ), "Behold, thy handmaid as servant (i.e., is ready to become thy servant) to wash the feet of the servants of my lord;" i.e., in the obsequious style of the East, "I am ready to perform the humblest possible services for thee."

25–41. The Genealogy of the Jerahmeelites 25 . the sons of Jerahmeel ] Their settlements were in the S. of Judah; cp. 1 Samuel 27:10 ; 1 Samuel 30:29 . Ozem , and Ahijah ] By a slight change in the Heb. we get Ozem his brother (so LXX.); cp. 1 Chronicles 26:20 for a similar confusion of reading.

28 . All is well ] Lit. Peace! The usual word of greeting had special significance at such a time. he fell down ] An act of homage to the king. See note on ch. 2 Samuel 14:4 , and cp. 1 Samuel 20:41 ; 1 Samuel 25:23 . delivered up ] Lit. shut up : restrained and confined within bounds, instead of leaving them at large to work their will. Cp. 1 Samuel 17:46 ; Psalm 31:8 , and the opposite expression in ch. 2 Samuel 22:20 .