The Meaning of 1 Samuel 25:2 Explained

1 Samuel 25:2

KJV: And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

YLT: And there is a man in Maon, and his work is in Carmel; and the man is very great, and he hath three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and he is shearing his flock in Carmel.

Darby: And there was a man at Maon, whose business was at Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep at Carmel.

ASV: And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And [there was] a man  in Maon,  whose possessions  [were] in Carmel;  and the man  [was] very  great,  and he had three  thousand  sheep,  and a thousand  goats:  and he was shearing  his sheep  in Carmel. 

What does 1 Samuel 25:2 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 25:2 mean?

Now [there was] a man in Maon and whose business [was] in Carmel and the man [was] rich very and He had sheep three thousand and a thousand goats And he was shearing - his sheep in Carmel
וְאִ֨ישׁ בְּמָע֜וֹן וּמַעֲשֵׂ֣הוּ בַכַּרְמֶ֗ל וְהָאִישׁ֙ גָּד֣וֹל מְאֹ֔ד וְל֛וֹ צֹ֥אן שְׁלֹֽשֶׁת־ אֲלָפִ֖ים וְאֶ֣לֶף עִזִּ֑ים וַיְהִ֛י בִּגְזֹ֥ז אֶת־ צֹאנ֖וֹ בַּכַּרְמֶֽל

וְאִ֨ישׁ  Now  [there  was]  a  man 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
בְּמָע֜וֹן  in  Maon 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מָעֹון 
Sense: a man of Judah.
וּמַעֲשֵׂ֣הוּ  and  whose  business  [was] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מַעֲשֶׂה  
Sense: deed, work.
בַכַּרְמֶ֗ל  in  Carmel 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: כַּרְמֶל 
Sense: a mountain on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel, just below Haifa.
וְהָאִישׁ֙  and  the  man  [was] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
גָּד֣וֹל  rich 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
מְאֹ֔ד  very 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מְאֹד  
Sense: exceedingly, much subst.
וְל֛וֹ  and  He  had 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, third person masculine singular
צֹ֥אן  sheep 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
שְׁלֹֽשֶׁת־  three 
Parse: Number, masculine singular construct
Root: מִשְׁלֹשׁ 
Sense: three, triad.
אֲלָפִ֖ים  thousand 
Parse: Number, masculine plural
Root: אֶלֶף 
Sense: a thousand.
וְאֶ֣לֶף  and  a  thousand 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶלֶף 
Sense: a thousand.
עִזִּ֑ים  goats 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: עֵז  
Sense: female goat, she-goat, goat, kid.
וַיְהִ֛י  And  he  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בִּגְזֹ֥ז  shearing 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: גָּזַז  
Sense: to shear, mow.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
צֹאנ֖וֹ  his  sheep 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
בַּכַּרְמֶֽל  in  Carmel 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: כַּרְמֶל 
Sense: a mountain on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel, just below Haifa.