2 Samuel 9
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
2 Samuel 9
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 Etc.
2 Samuel 9:1-8
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 restoration of Saul's estate in Benjamin (v. 9) 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.
2 Samuel 9:9-13
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 Mica (BDB 567) 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).