The Meaning of 1 Samuel 25:16 Explained

1 Samuel 25:16

KJV: They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

YLT: a wall they have been unto us both by night and by day, all the days of our being with them, feeding the flock.

Darby: They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the while we were with them feeding the sheep.

ASV: they were a wall unto us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They were a wall  unto us both by night  and day,  all the while  we were with them keeping  the sheep. 

What does 1 Samuel 25:16 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 25:2-17 - A Rich Man's Churlishness
This Carmel was a city in the mountains of Judah, ten miles south of Hebron. See Joshua 15:55. Though a descendant of Caleb, Nabal had none of that hero's spirit. He had great wealth, but little wit. Today the Arab tribe which guards the shepherd or caravan, or restrains itself from plundering, expects some acknowledgment. It was unfair that the rich sheep-master should take all the advantage and make no return, and altogether too bad to cap injustice with a coarse jest. Nabal's shepherds were quite explicit in their testimony to the benefits they had received, 1 Samuel 25:7; 1 Samuel 25:15-16. His jibes and churlishness justified the general estimate entertained by those who knew him best.
For David to take the sword to avenge the insult stands out in striking contrast to Him who, "when He was reviled, reviled not again." Revenge for an insult where one has personally suffered has no place in Christ's teaching, and is separated by a whole heaven from the magisterial use of the sword referred to in Romans 13:4. In after-years, David must have been very thankful for the interposition, through Abigail, of God's grace that arrested his hand. See Romans 12:17. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 25

1  Samuel dies
2  David in Paran sends to Nabal
10  Provoked by Nabal's rudeness, he minds to destroy him
14  Abigail understanding thereof
18  takes a present
23  and by her wisdom
32  pacifies David
36  Nabal hearing thereof, dies
39  David takes Abigail and Ahinoam to be his wives
44  Michal is given to Phalti

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 25:16 mean?

A wall they were to us both by night and day all the time we were with them keeping the sheep
חוֹמָה֙ הָי֣וּ עָלֵ֔ינוּ גַּם־ לַ֖יְלָה גַּם־ יוֹמָ֑ם כָּל־ יְמֵ֛י הֱיוֹתֵ֥נוּ עִמָּ֖ם רֹעִ֥ים הַצֹּֽאן

חוֹמָה֙  A  wall 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֹומָה  
Sense: wall.
הָי֣וּ  they  were 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
עָלֵ֔ינוּ  to  us 
Parse: Preposition, first person common plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
גַּם־  both 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
לַ֖יְלָה  by  night 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.
יוֹמָ֑ם  day 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יׄומָם  
Sense: by day, in the daytime subst.
יְמֵ֛י  the  time 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הֱיוֹתֵ֥נוּ  we  were 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, first person common plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
עִמָּ֖ם  with  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
רֹעִ֥ים  keeping 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
הַצֹּֽאן  the  sheep 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Samuel 25:16?

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