During our Bible Quiz competitions, we usually have a Word Scramble. The congenial host gives a series of letters which need to be unscrambled to make a legitimate word. In order to help in the process, a clue is given that might help to determine the answer. The letters from one word, selected from Acts 8-14, were rogue lynes. When these are unscrambled, they spell out one word. The clue to help solve this puzzle was “not a skinflint.” Immediately, several teams asked, “What’s a skinflint?” It never occurred to me that people would not know that word. It’s one of those that I have heard all my life. But just to exasperate everyone, I answered that it was someone who was very conservative in pecuniary matters. Then they wanted to know what that meant; so, I gave in and told them we were discussing a miserly person. Then they got it.
One person came up with an explanation, based on Exodus 4:25, that it had something to do with circumcision. The KJV and NKJ have “sharp stone,” but some other versions have “flint.” Actually, that’s not a bad guess, since a flint was used to remove a piece of skin. The Internet provides the actual definition.
How much could a new flint cost? Nevertheless, some were too “cheap” to obtain one; hence they were known as skinflints. See the advantages of Bible Quiz competition? Not only does your knowledge of the Bible increase, but occasionally so does your vocabulary.
The rifle used a piece of flint held in a hammerlike device, or “cock.” When the trigger was pulled, the spring-loaded cock struck the flint against a steel plate…creating a shower of sparks. The flash of the priming powder in the pan just beneath the steel plate ignited the charge in the bore and fired the weapon…. After repeated firings, the flint wore down. Most riflemen merely replaced the flint, but some penny-pinchers “skinned” or sharpened their flints with a knife.
So, who is the most well-known skinflint in the Bible? The letters of his name, if scrambled, spell banal, which can be easily transformed into Nabal (or Laban, who may have had a touch of pecuniary conservativeness himself). When the time came for the sheep to be sheered, Nabal was greatly enriched, but he refused to give any of what he had earned away—even though David and his men had protected him and his land (1 Sam. 25:4-12). For this act of ingratitude, David was willing to kill every male in Nabal’s household (v. 22). Fortunately, the man had a wise wife who gave provisions to David and his men, and David did not attack. Nabal was so stingy, however, that when he heard of his goods being given away, his heart within him died, and he became like stone (v. 37). He should have learned not to be a skinflint—but to give generously.