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2 Samuel 9

BLIVRE · Chapter 9/24

1E disse Davi: Restou algum da casa de Saul, a quem faça eu misericórdia por causa de Jônatas?

2E havia um servo da casa de Saul, que se chamava Ziba, ao qual quando chamaram que viesse a Davi, o rei lhe disse: És tu Ziba? E ele respondeu: Teu servo.

3E o rei disse: Não restou ninguém da casa de Saul, a quem faça eu misericórdia de Deus? E Ziba respondeu ao rei: Ainda restou um filho de Jônatas, aleijado dos pés.

4Então o rei lhe disse: E esse onde está? E Ziba respondeu ao rei: Eis que, está em casa de Maquir filho de Amiel, em Lo-Debar.

5E enviou o rei Davi, e tomou-o de casa de Maquir filho de Amiel, de Lo-Debar.

6E vindo Mefibosete, filho de Jônatas filho de Saul, a Davi, prostrou-se sobre seu rosto, e fez reverência. E disse Davi: Mefibosete. E ele respondeu: Eis aqui teu servo.

7E disse-lhe Davi: Não tenhas temor, porque eu à verdade farei contigo misericórdia por causa de Jônatas teu pai, e te devolverei todas as terras de Saul teu pai; e tu comerás sempre pão à minha mesa.

8E ele inclinando-se, disse: Quem é teu servo, para que olhes a um cão morto como eu?

9Então o rei chamou a Ziba, servo de Saul, e disse-lhe: Tudo o que foi de Saul e de toda sua casa, eu o dei ao filho de teu senhor.

10Tu pois lhe lavrarás as terras, tu com teus filhos, e teus servos, e colherás os frutos, para que o filho de teu senhor tenha com que se manter; mas Mefibosete, o filho de teu senhor comerá sempre pão à minha mesa. E Ziba tinha quinze filhos e vinte servos.

11E respondeu Ziba ao rei: Conforme tudo o que mandou meu senhor o rei a seu servo, assim teu servo o fará. Mefibosete, disse o rei, comerá à minha mesa, como um dos filhos do rei.

12E tinha Mefibosete um filho pequeno, que se chamava Mica. E toda a família da casa de Ziba eram servos de Mefibosete.

13E morava Mefibosete em Jerusalém, porque comia sempre à mesa do rei; e era coxo de ambos os pés.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

David seeks out a descendant of Saul to fulfill his promise of loyalty to Jonathan, and finds Mephibosheth, Jonathan's crippled son. David restores Saul's lands to him and invites him to eat at his table always, as one of the king's own sons.

Explanation

This episode illustrates the Hebrew concept of 'hesed' — loyal kindness that goes beyond obligation. David, now a powerful king, could easily have eliminated any possible rival from Saul's line (a common practice among other ancient monarchies), but instead fulfills an old promise made to a friend who is now dead. It is a beautiful picture of grace: Mephibosheth, who describes himself as 'a dead dog,' is raised to the royal table without having done anything to deserve it, simply because of David's love for Jonathan — an image many see as a foreshadowing of God's grace toward us.

Fun facts

  • The name Mephibosheth probably means 'one who scatters shame,' or was originally 'Merib-baal,' altered by the scribes to remove the word 'Baal' (the name of a Canaanite god) from proper names, a common practice in the Hebrew text.
  • Lo-debar, where Mephibosheth lived in hiding, literally means 'no pasture' or 'place of nothing,' symbolizing his condition of exile and poverty before being brought to the king's table.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Samuel 9:1Now reigning in peace, David asks whether anyone is still left of the house of Saul to whom he might show kindness for Jonathan’s sake.
  2. 2 Samuel 9:2Ziba, a former servant of Saul’s household, is summoned, and David asks whether he can help find any living descendant of Saul.
  3. 2 Samuel 9:3David insists on showing kindness to someone from Saul’s house, and Ziba recalls that a son of Jonathan is still alive, lame in both feet.
  4. 2 Samuel 9:4David asks where this son is, and Ziba answers that he lives in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.
  5. 2 Samuel 9:5David sends and has Mephibosheth brought straight from Machir’s house in Lo-debar.
  6. 2 Samuel 9:6Mephibosheth comes before David, falls on his face to the ground, and David calls him by name, receiving from him the answer of a humble servant.
  7. 2 Samuel 9:7David fulfills a covenant of loyalty made earlier with Jonathan, restoring to Mephibosheth all the land that had belonged to Saul—this kind of commitment to honor a dead friend by caring for his family was taken very seriously in the culture of the time.
  8. 2 Samuel 9:8Mephibosheth calls himself “a dead dog” before David—the same image of self-abasement David had used with Saul in 1 Samuel 24, a common way of publicly acknowledging that one is entirely at the mercy of the one in power.
  9. 2 Samuel 9:9David calls Ziba and announces that he is giving to Jonathan’s son everything that belonged to Saul.
  10. 2 Samuel 9:10David orders Ziba, his sons, and his servants to farm this land to support Mephibosheth’s household, who would continue eating at the king’s table—and the text notes that Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
  11. 2 Samuel 9:11Ziba agrees to do all the king commands, and Mephibosheth eats at David’s table like one of the king’s own sons.
  12. 2 Samuel 9:12Mephibosheth had a young son named Micha, and everyone living in Ziba’s household becomes Mephibosheth’s servants.
  13. 2 Samuel 9:13Mephibosheth comes to live in Jerusalem, always eating at the king’s table, even though he was lame in both feet.

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