N is for Nabal

N is for Nabal, that surly hothead.
When his heart failed him, he fell down stone dead.

Portia: First Samuel 25 tells the story of rich Nabal and his wife Abagail: "The woman was clever and beautiful, but the man was surly and mean" (v. 3). Nabal offended King David, but Abigail intervened and turned away David's anger. Then, "Abigail came to Nabal; he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal's heart was very merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she told him nothing at all until the morning light. In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him; he became like a stone. About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died" (vv. 36 to 38). After Nabal's death, David took Abigail as one of his wives.

 Thomas: At first I attempted to carve a Nabal from plaster, but in the end it was better to sculpt him from polymer clay. When polymer clay is baked, it becomes hard like a stone. In Gruesome and Gorey Bible Stories, the sculpture of Nabal is photographed with a miniature wine goblet.


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