Nabal (NAY-bul) was a wealthy livestock owner in the southern hills of ancient Judah. He appears in 1 Samuel 25, where his refusal to help David puts his household in danger. His wife, Abigail (AB-ih-gayl), intervenes.
Birth year: Unknown.
Death year: Unknown.
Active during: The period before David became king, roughly around 1000 BC. This is an approximate setting, not a documented lifespan. BC means “before Christ”; BCE is another label for the same years.
Role: Owner of sheep and goats; husband of Abigail.
Main passage: 1 Samuel 25.
Where he lived
The Bible places Nabal in Maon, with livestock operations at nearby Carmel (KAR-mul). This Carmel is a town in Judah, not Mount Carmel farther north. Its usual identification is the area of present-day al-Karmil, about eight miles south-southeast of Hebron in the West Bank. Explore the map and location notes.
The people around him
Abigail was Nabal’s wife. David was the future king of Israel, then leading a band of followers while fleeing King Saul. Nabal’s servants had experienced the protection David’s men provided and told Abigail what had happened.
What happened
During sheep shearing, David requested provisions. Nabal answered with insults. David prepared to attack, but Abigail brought food and persuaded him to withdraw. Nabal was feasting when she returned. She waited until he was sober to explain the danger they had escaped. He then became gravely ill and died about ten days later. The biblical narrator attributes his death to the Lord. Abigail subsequently married David (1 Samuel 25:4–42).
What we do not know
The account does not give Nabal’s age, exact dates, or a modern medical diagnosis. Descriptions such as a stroke or heart attack are interpretations. His pictured appearance and the enclosure are plausible historical illustrations, not a known likeness or an identified building.
Read further
1 Samuel 25 in the NIV; BiblicalTraining: Nabal; Encyclopedia of the Bible: Carmel; Getty’s approximate chronology for David.