Bible Commentaries

David's Kindness towards Mephibosheth - 2 Samuel 9:1-13

When David was exalted to be king over all Israel, he sought to showcompassion to the house of the fallen king, and to repay the love which hisnoble-minded friend Jonathan had once sworn to him before the Lord (1 Samuel 20:13.; comp. 2 Samuel 23:17-18). The account of this forms theconclusion of, or rather an appendix to, the first section of the history ofhis reign, and was intended to show how David was mindful of the duty ofgratitude and loving fidelity, even when he reached the highest point of hisregal authority and glory. The date when this occurred was about themiddle of David's reign, as we may see from the fact, that Mephibosheth,who was five years old when Saul died (2 Samuel 4:4), had a young son at thetime (2 Samuel 9:12).

2 Samuel 9:1-4

When David inquired whether there was any one left of thehouse of Saul to whom he could show favour for Jonathan's sake (ישׁ־עוד הכי: is it so that there is any one? = there is certainly some oneleft), a servant of Saul named Ziba was summoned, who told the king thatthere was a son of Jonathan living in the house of Machir at Lodebar, andthat he was lame in his feet. אישׁ עוד האפס, “isthere no one at all besides?” The ל before בּית is a roundabout wayof expressing the genitive, as in 1 Samuel 16:18, etc., and is obviously not tobe altered into מבּית, as Thenius proposes. “The kindness ofGod” is love and kindness shown in God, and for God's sake (Luke 6:36). Machir the son of Ammiel was a rich man, judging from 2 Samuel 17:27, who, after the death of Saul and Jonathan, had received the lame son of the latter into his house. Lodebar (לודבר, written לאדבר in 2 Samuel 17:27, but erroneously divided by the Masoretes into two words in both passages) was a town on the east of Mahanaim, towards Rabbath Amman, probably the same place as Lidbir (Joshua 13:26); but it is not further known.

2 Samuel 9:5-7

David sent for this son of Jonathan (Mephibosheth: cf. 2 Samuel 4:4), and not only restored his father's possessions in land, but took him to his own royal table for the rest of his life. “Fear not,” said David to Mephibosheth, when he came before him with the deepest obeisance, to take away any anxiety lest the king should intend to slay the descendants of the fallen king, according to the custom of eastern usurpers. It is evident from the words, “I will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father,” that the landed property belonging to Saul had either fallen to David as crown lands, or had been taken possession of by distant relations after the death of Saul. “Thou shalt eat bread at my table continually,” i.e., eat at my table all thy life long, or receive thy food from my table.

2 Samuel 9:8

Mephibosheth expressed his thanks for this manifestation of favour with the deepest obeisance, and a confession of his unworthiness of any such favour. On his comparison of himself to a “dead dog,” see at 1 Samuel 24:15.

David then summoned Ziba the servant of Saul, told him of the restorationof Saul's possessions to his son Mephibosheth, and ordered him, with hissons and servants, to cultivate the land for the son of his lord. The words,“that thy master's son may have food to eat,” are not at variance with thenext clause, “Mephibosheth shall eat bread alway at my table,” as bread isa general expression, including all the necessaries of life. AlthoughMephibosheth himself ate daily as a guest at the king's table, he had tomake provision as a royal prince for the maintenance of his own familyand servants, as he had children according to 2 Samuel 9:12 and 1 Chronicles 8:34. Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants (2 Samuel 9:10), with whom he had probably been living in Gibeah, Saul's native place, and may perhaps have hitherto farmed Saul's land.

Ziba promised to obey the king's command. The last clause of this verse isa circumstantial clause in form, with which the writer passes over to theconclusion of his account. But the words שׁלחני על שׁלחן,“at my table,” do not tally with this, as they require that the words shouldbe taken as David's own. This is precluded, however, not only by theomission of any intimation that David spoke again after Ziba, and repeatedwhat he had said once already, and that without any occasion whatever,but also by the form of the sentence, more especially the participle אכל. There is no other course left, therefore, than to regard שׁלחני (my table) as written by mistake for דּוד שׁלחן: “but Mephibosheth ate at David's table as one of the king's sons.”The further notices in 2 Samuel 9:12 and 2 Samuel 9:13 follow this in a very simple manner. בּית מושׁב כּל, “all the dwelling,” i.e., all the inhabitants of Ziba's house, namely his sons and servants, were servants of Mephibosheth, i.e., worked for him and cultivated his land, whilst he himself took up his abode at Jerusalem, to eat daily at the king's table, although he was lamed in both his feet.