Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 25:40
(40) When the servants of David were come to Abigail.—The time that had elapsed between the death of Nabal and this mission of David to Abigail is not specified. The legal time of mourning was fixed at only seven days, but a very considerable period may have elapsed in this case. S. Ambrose allegorises here, as is usual in Patristic expositions, and compares the espousals of Abigail to David after Nabar’s death to the union of the Church (i.e., the Gentile world) to Christ after the cessation... read more
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 25:38
(38) The Lord smote Nabal.—That is to say, that after ten days had passed the Lord put an end to the base life by a second apoplectic stroke. Although the death was a sequel to the selfishness, the passion, and the intemperance, it does not appear that anything more than the operation of natural causes occasioned the end here. In the language of these old divinely inspired writers, disease and sickness are often spoken of as the special “shafts” aimed by the Most High, as in fact they are. read more