The audio recording was accidentally deleted and will B”H be redone soon…My apologies!
The Summary
Shemuel Alef Chapter 25
Naval is a very wealthy but nasty fellow who is married to a lovely and wise woman named Avigayil. David and his men had provided protection and support to Naval’s shepherds while they led their flock to graze in Karmel, and Ancient Near Eastern common law held that this gave them the rights to a portion of the proceeds gained from those sheep. Spring arrives and Naval prepares to celebrate the annual “shearing of the sheep”, a festival that has traditionally been quite popular in rural societies across the globe.
David dispatches messengers to Naval who wish him well and request that, as payment for the services they rendered to him in the wilderness, Naval send food and provisions back with them to David’s camp. Naval flatly refuses and denigrates David as a disobedient slave (of Shaul) who is rebelling against his master.
When David hears the report of Naval’s response, he is incensed and prepares to take vengeance on the house of Naval. He arms and mobilizes his troops and they begin marching in the direction of Naval’s residence. In the meantime, one of the shepherds of Naval approaches Avigayil and recounts the exchange he witnessed between Naval and the emissaries of David.
The shepherd emphasizes that the claim of the messengers is valid; they did, indeed, provide exemplary security for the flocks of Naval in the wilderness and are deserving of ample reward. Without telling Naval, Avigayil instructs her servants to arrange an elaborate care package of foodstuffs that she will personally transport to David.
When David meets Avigayil, she prostrates before him and attempts to persuade him not to attack her household. She argues that many innocents will be killed; she herself did not even know about the request presented by David’s men and wouldn’t have deserved to die because it was rejected. Furthermore, she says that her husband is a disgusting and pathetic man who is not worth David’s trouble. Finally, she says that it is better that David not sully himself and his reputation with bloodshed like this; he should instead trust in the judgment of the Almighty who will visit punishment upon the wicked. Avigayil then gives David the provisions she brought for him.
David is convinced by the reasoning of Avigayil and decides to cancel the operation against Naval. He is deeply thankful to Avigayil for her intervention and promises to remember her in the future when he ascends to the throne. Avigayil returns home to find her drunk husband partying wildly. She says nothing to him that night; however, the next morning, she informs him of all that transpired and how she saved their household from an onslaught at the hands of David.
Naval enters a state of shock for ten days and then expires. David recognizes this as Hashem’s providential involvement on his behalf, preventing him from having to deal with Naval directly. He sends for Avigayil, proposing that she now become his wife; at first, she humbly declines, but eventually they marry. David has another wife by the name of Ahinoam. Mikhal, his first spouse, had been taken from him and “reassigned” by Shaul to another husband, Palti ben Layish.
It is interesting to note how roles are reversed in this chapter. David, until now “the pursued”, is now the pursuer. Avigayil, on the other hand, attempts to placate David with reasoning that essentially mirrors the objections made by David to Shaul in the previous chapter – innocent lives should be spared, Hashem is the ultimate judge, and it is not appropriate for a noble individual to lower himself by punishing someone who is insignificant. Here, as in the previous chapter, the pursuer abandons the chase (in the case of Shaul, only temporarily) after listening to persuasive arguments against it.
The irony of this sudden shift in David cannot be lost on the reader; David, too, has the potential to respond in the same way as his much-vilified opponent Shaul when he is crossed. Even the greatest leader can lose perspective sometimes, and even David benefits from having another “Davidic” personality around to keep him focused.
This helps us to understand why the text describes Avigayil as a wise woman and why David seeks to marry her after the death of Naval – she is, as it were, the female version of David himself, with the qualities of intelligence, prudence and humility that have defined him from the outset. She is uniquely matched to David as a spouse and will be capable of providing him with the support he needs to remain principled when the temptation to do otherwise is overwhelming.
Another literary motif in this chapter and some others is the evocation of scenes and phrases that remind us of Esav, brother of Yaaqov, in connection with David. On the most basic level, David is described as “ruddy” or of reddish complexion, the color being reminiscent of Esav’s designation as “Admoni”. Both David and Esav are accompanied by entourages of four hundred men. Yaaqov went out to meet Esav with elaborate gifts, prostrated himself and spoke in humble and endearing terms to Esav to assuage his wrath; Avigayil did the same to forestall a massacre at the hands of David. The language of this chapter even contains “paraphrases” or quotations from the story of the meeting between Yaaqov and Esav, such as Avigayil’s instructions to her messengers “I will be behind you” among other examples that a careful reader of both stories can identify. The question for us is – what is the conceptual link between Esav and David?
I would like to suggest that the answer lies in the Book of Beresheet (Genesis) There we are told that Esav’s descendants established a monarchy in Edom several generations before any king reigned in Israel. Esav, then, is the Biblical prototype of the personality who founds and leads successful kingdoms. By portraying David in terms that remind us of Esav, the text draws our attention to the fact that David possesses the same qualities of strength, courage, assertiveness and ambition that enabled Esav to establish his dynasty. These characteristics can serve as powerful instruments for good; however, when not harnessed for the proper ends, they can be destructive. In this narrative in particular, David’s Esav-like passion and ambition may have caused him tremendous harm had Avigayil not intervened to save him from himself.