Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.
Parallel translations
- WEB There was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
- 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.
- NKJV Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
- NASB Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; and the man was very rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel
- NLT There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A very wealthy man in Maon is introduced, shearing his many sheep in Carmel. The scene sets up the test of how riches will be used toward David.
Overview
The narrative introduces a rich landowner with vast flocks at the time of sheep-shearing, traditionally a season of feasting and generosity. His great wealth raises the question of stewardship and hospitality. This setting frames the coming contrast between selfish abundance and gracious giving, and it places David's needs against the backdrop of a man with more than enough to share.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Josh 15:55Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,
- Gen 38:13When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
- 1 Sam 23:24So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon in the Arabah south of Jeshimon,
- Luke 16:19–25Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
- 2 Sam 19:32Barzillai was quite old, eighty years of age, and since he was a very wealthy man, he had provided for the king while he stayed in Mahanaim.
- 1 Sam 30:5David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive.
- 2 Sam 13:23–24Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, he invited all the sons of the king.
- Ps 73:3–7For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
- Gen 13:2And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.
- Gen 26:13and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy.
- Job 42:12So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
- Job 1:3and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.
- Ps 17:14from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 25:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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