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2 SAMUEL 9

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV   NJB
(MT versing)
David's Kindness to Mephibosheth David's Kindness to Mephibosheth David Shows Dutiful Kindness to Mephibosheth David and Mephibosheth David's Kindness to Jonathan's Son
9:1-8 9:1-4 9:1-8 9:1 9:1-5
9:2
9:3
9:4-5
9:5-8
9:6 9:6-8
9:7
9:8
9:9-13 9:9-13 9:9-13 9:9-10 9:9-11a
9:11a
9:11b-13 9:11b-13

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 9:1-8
  1Then David said, "Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" 2Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "I am your servant." 3The king said, "Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?" And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet." 4So the king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar." 5Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. 6Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, "Mephibosheth." And he said, "Here is your servant!" 7David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly." 8Again he prostrated himself and said, "What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?"

9:1 This is a surprising question. Maybe it is rhetorical, not literal. Apparently Mephibosheth had fled to the trans-Jordan area of Gilead because he feared David.

▣ "kindness" See SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (hesed).

▣ "for Jonathan's sake" David and Jonathan were best friends (cf. 1 Samuel 18-20; 24:21; 2 Sam. 21:7). David promised him that he would help his family

9:2 "Ziba" He was a foreman (Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 125-126) of Saul's estate in the tribal allocation of Benjamin (cf. vv. 9-10). Josephus, Antiq. 7.5.5, calls him "a freedman." He was a wealthy man who had 15 sons and 20 slaves. I am sure he was not happy about restoring the land he managed to Mephibosheth.

9:3 "to whom I may show the kindness of God" God's fidelity to His covenant promises set the standard for man's fidelity to his promises to his fellow man. It is highly unusual that a monarch would show kindness to a potential rival to the throne.

▣ "who is crippled in both feet" From 1 Sam. 4:4 we are informed that this child was dropped by a nurse and became crippled at 5 years of age. It is uncertain, but probable, whether lameness made one ineligible for kingship (cf. 1 Kgs. 15:23). The statement made in 2 Sam. 16:3 implies that physical problems did not automatically eliminate one from being king.

9:4 "in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel" The location of this man's house must have been in the trans-Jordan area (i.e., Gilead). David's kindness to Mephibosheth is later rewarded by the same man's kindness to David as he fled from his son Absalom (cf. 2 Sam. 17:27). Ammiel is also the name of Bathsheba's father (cf. 1 Chr. 3:5), but was a common name and we are not sure that this is the same one (cf. 2 Sam. 11:3).

9:6 "Mephibosheth" His original name was Meribaal, which means "Baal will contend" (cf. 1 Chr. 8:34; 9:40). Apparently his name was later changed by Jewish scribes; the new name means "to scatter shame" and possibly refers to the destruction of his father's house.

9:7 "Do not fear" This is a Qal IMPERFECT (BDB 431, KB 432) used in a JUSSIVE sense.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FEAR (OT)

▣ "I will surely show kindness to you" This is an emphatic grammatical structure (i.e., an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and an IMPERFECT VERB from the same root, BDB 793, KB 889, Qal).

This "kindness" (hesed; see note at v. 1) involved

  1. restoration of Saul's estate in Benjamin (v. 9)
  2. special guest at the king's table (v. 11)

9:8 "a dead dog like me" This is similar depreciative language used by David to Saul in 1 Sam. 24:14.

In this period dogs were not pets, but street mongrels.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 9:9-13
  9Then the king called Saul's servant Ziba and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. 10You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master's grandson may have food; nevertheless Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall eat at my table regularly." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table as one of the king's sons. 12Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. 13So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king's table regularly. Now he was lame in both feet.

9:12 "Mica" This was Mephibosheth's only son. He became a leader in the tribe of Benjamin (cf. 1 Chr. 8:34-35; 9:40-41). He goes by

  1. Mica (BDB 567)
  2. Micah (BDB 567)

9:13 "So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem" Later in 2 Samuel, as David is forced to flee to Jerusalem in the rebellion of his son Absalom, Ziba, Mephibosheth's servant, brings David supplies for his trip and accuses Mephibosheth of treason (cf. 2 Sam. 16:1-4), but Mephibosheth seems to have been betrayed by his servant (cf. 2 Sam. 19:24-30).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. Why did David not know about Jonathan's son?
  2. Why did Mephibosheth fear David?
  3. Why did David help Mephibosheth?

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