H5037 H5037
Nabal -- the wealthy but foolish Carmelite whose name became proverbial for senselessness
A wealthy sheep-owner from Maon who grazed his flocks near Carmel. Nabal refused David's polite request for provisions despite David's men having protected his shepherds, provoking a crisis only averted by his wise wife Abigail (1 Sam 25). The narrator exploits the name's meaning overtly: 'As his name is, so is he -- Nabal is his name, and folly is with him' (25:25). Nabal died ten days after learning of his narrow escape, and Abigail subsequently became David's wife. The name stands as one of Scripture's sharpest examples of characterizing nomenclature.
Senses
1. Nabal (person name) — The proper name Nabal (Hebrew naval, 'fool, senseless one'), denoting the churlish husband of Abigail from the Carmel region. All 22 occurrences span 1 Samuel 25 through 2 Samuel 3:3. The etymological wordplay is central to the narrative -- Abigail herself glosses his name as meaning folly (nevalah). Translations uniformly transliterate the name (Spanish, French, and German all use Nabal), though the pun is lost without annotation. 22×
AR["مِن-نابالَ", "نابالَ", "نابالُ", "نَابَالَ"]·ben["নাবল", "নাবল-থেকে", "নাবলকে", "নাবলের", "নাবালের"]·DE["Nabal", "von-Nabal"]·EN["Nabal", "from-Nabal"]·FR["Nabal", "de-Nabal"]·heb["מ-נבל", "נבל"]·HI["नबल-कि", "नाबाल", "नाबाल-का", "नाबाल-की", "नाबाल-के", "नाबाल-से", "नाबालने"]·ID["Nabal", "dari-Nabal"]·IT["Nabal", "da-Nabal"]·jav["Nabal", "bodho", "saking-Nabal"]·KO["나발에게", "나발에게서", "나발을", "나발의", "나발이", "나발이고"]·PT["Naval", "de-Naval"]·RU["Глупец", "Навал", "Навала", "Навалу", "из-Навала"]·ES["Nabal", "Naval", "de-Nabal"]·SW["Nabali", "kutoka-kwa-Nabali", "wa-Nabali"]·TR["-den-Naval", "Naval", "Naval'a", "Naval'in", "Naval'ı", "Naval'ın", "naval"]·urd["نابال", "نابال-سے", "نابال-نے", "نابال-کا", "نابال-کی", "نابال-کے"]
1 Sam 25:3, 1 Sam 25:4, 1 Sam 25:5, 1 Sam 25:9, 1 Sam 25:10, 1 Sam 25:14, 1 Sam 25:19, 1 Sam 25:25, 1 Sam 25:25, 1 Sam 25:26, 1 Sam 25:34, 1 Sam 25:36 (+10 more)
Related Senses
H3045 1. Qal: to know, perceive, understand (829×)H5315 1. soul, inner being (647×)H3820a 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (572×)H4672 1. Qal: find, discover (289×)G1492 1. know facts or truths (285×)H3824 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (250×)H1245 1. seek, search for (200×)G1097 1. know, be acquainted with (196×)H2142 1. Qal: remember, recall (173×)G2588 1. heart (inner self, mind, will) (158×)H0977 1. choose, select (Qal active) (145×)G2147 1. find, discover (144×)G5590 1. soul, inner self (100×)H4672 2. Niphal: be found, be discovered (99×)H1875 1. seek, search for (96×)H5315 2. life, vitality (94×)H1847 1. knowledge, discernment (90×)H2450 1. wise, prudent (84×)H7911 1. Qal: to forget (83×)H3684 1. fool, dullard (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
II. נָבָל n.pr.m. (on popular etymol. see 1 S 25:25 infr.);—a churlish man of Carmel, whose widow David married 1 S 25:3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 19, 25(×2) (כִּשְׁמוֹ כֶּן־ה֔וּא נָבָל שְׁמוֹ וּנְבָלָה עִמּוֹ), v 26 + 10 times 1 S + 2 S 2:2; 3:3. 𝔊 Ναβαλ.