Bible Highlights: 2 Samuel 9-10-11-12 > Theocratic Ministry School

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2 SAMUEL 9:7


“David said to him: “Do not be afraid, for I will certainly show loyal love to you for the sake of your father Jonʹa•than, and I will return to you all the land of Saul your grandfather, and you will always dine at my table.””

*** w02 5/15 p. 19 par. 5 Show Loving-Kindness to Those in Need ***
5 By comparison, consider the hospitality that King David showed to Mephibosheth, the son of his friend Jonathan. David told Mephibosheth: “You yourself will eat bread at my table constantly.” Explaining why he was making this provision, David told him: “Without fail I shall exercise loving-kindness toward you for the sake of Jonathan your father.” (2 Samuel 9:6, 7, 13) David’s enduring hospitality is rightly referred to as an exercise of loving-kindness, not merely kindness, for it was an evidence of his loyalty to an established relationship. (1 Samuel 18:3; 20:15, 42)

2 SAMUEL 9:8


“At that he prostrated himself and said: “What is your servant, that you have turned your attention to a dead dog like me?””

*** it-1 p. 644 Dog ***
Similarly, Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, in speaking to King David, referred to himself as “the dead dog,” the lowest condition possible. (2Sa 9:8; see also 2Sa 3:8; 16:9; 2Ki 8:13.)

2 SAMUEL 9:11


“Then Ziʹba said to the king: “Your servant will do all that my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Me•phibʹo•sheth ate at David’s table like one of the sons of the king.”

*** it-2 p. 1234 Ziba ***
ZIBA
(Ziʹba).
The servant of Saul’s household from whom David, on inquiry, learned of Jonathan’s lame son Mephibosheth. David brought Mephibosheth to Jerusalem and assigned Ziba, his 15 sons, and his 20 servants to care for Mephibosheth’s inheritance. (2Sa 9:2-12 [The reference to “my table” in verse 11 is generally thought to be a scribal error for “David’s table”; another possibility is that Ziba may have been repeating David’s exact words.])

2 SAMUEL 9:12


“Now Me•phibʹo•sheth also had a young son named Miʹca; and all those who lived in Ziʹba’s house became servants of Me•phibʹo•sheth.”

*** it-2 p. 379 Merib-baal ***
The name Merib-baal is found in two somewhat different Hebrew forms (Merivʹ baʹʽal and Meri-vaʹʽal) at 1 Chronicles 9:40. The first form is also used at 1 Chronicles 8:34. Indicating similar identity is the fact that Mephibosheth had a boy named Mica and Merib-baal had a son named Micah. (Compare 2Sa 9:12 with 1Ch 9:40.) The forms “Mica” and “Micah” are due merely to a slight variation in the Hebrew spelling of these names.

2 SAMUEL 10:4


“So Haʹnun took the servants of David and shaved off half their beards and cut their garments in half at their buttocks and sent them away.”

*** it-1 p. 266 Beard ***
when Hanun the king of Ammon grossly insulted David’s ambassadors by cutting off half their beards, David sympathetically told his men to stay in Jericho until their beards grew abundantly again. The Ammonites knew that it was a signal insult to David and that they had become foul-smelling in his eyes over the incident, and so they prepared for war.—2Sa 10:4-6; 1Ch 19:1-6.

2 SAMUEL 10:5


“When David was told, he at once sent men to meet them, because the men had been deeply humiliated; and the king told them: “Stay in Jerʹi•cho until your beards grow back, and then return.””

*** it-1 p. 266 Beard ***
when Hanun the king of Ammon grossly insulted David’s ambassadors by cutting off half their beards, David sympathetically told his men to stay in Jericho until their beards grew abundantly again. The Ammonites knew that it was a signal insult to David and that they had become foul-smelling in his eyes over the incident, and so they prepared for war.—2Sa 10:4-6; 1Ch 19:1-6.

2 SAMUEL 10:6


“In time the Amʹmon•ites saw that they had become a stench to David, so the Amʹmon•ites sent and hired Syrians of Beth-reʹhob and Syrians of Zoʹbah, 20,000 foot soldiers; and the king of Maʹa•cah, with 1,000 men; and from Ishʹtob, 12,000 men.”

*** it-1 p. 143 Aram ***
Aram-maacah is mentioned along with Zobah, Rehob, and Ishtob as among the Aramaean kingdoms from which the Ammonites hired chariots and horsemen to war against David. The king of Aram-maacah joined these mercenary forces, which David’s army soon put to flight. (1Ch 19:6-15; 2Sa 10:6-14) The kingdom of Maacah probably lay E of the Jordan, with Mount Hermon on its N side.—Jos 12:5; 13:11.

2 SAMUEL 10:16


“So Had•ad•eʹzer sent for the Syrians in the region of the River, and then they came to Heʹlam, with Shoʹbach the chief of the army of Had•ad•eʹzer leading them.”

*** it-1 p. 1015 Hadadezer ***
After the Syrians who had been hired by the Ammonites to fight against David were defeated, Hadadezer strengthened his forces by enlisting additional Syrians from the region of the Euphrates. (2Sa 10:6, 15, 16; 1Ch 19:16) This may be alluded to at 2 Samuel 8:3 (compare 1Ch 18:3), where the reference seems to be to Hadadezer’s seeking to put his control back again at the river Euphrates. On this, Cook’s Commentary notes that the Hebrew literally means “to cause his hand to return” and states: “The exact force of the metaphor must . . . be decided by the context. If, as is most probable, this verse relates to the circumstances more fully detailed [at 2Sa 10:15-19], the meaning of the phrase here will be when he (Hadadezer) went to renew his attack (upon Israel), or to recruit his strength against Israel, at the river Euphrates.”

2 SAMUEL 10:18


“But the Syrians fled from Israel; and David killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen of the Syrians, and he struck down Shoʹbach the chief of their army, who died there.”

*** it-1 p. 1015 Hadadezer ***
At Helam the forces of Hadadezer under the command of Shobach (Shophach) met those of David and were defeated. Immediately afterward, Hadadezer’s vassals made peace with Israel. (2Sa 10:17-19; 1Ch 19:17-19) In the conflict 40,000 Syrian horsemen were killed. Perhaps in order to escape through rough terrain, these horsemen dismounted and were slain as footmen. This could account for their being called “horsemen” at 2 Samuel 10:18 and “men on foot” at 1 Chronicles 19:18. The difference in the number of Syrian charioteers killed in battle is usually attributed to scribal error, the lower figure of 700 charioteers being considered the correct one.

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