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2 Samuel 9

VBL · Chapter 9/24

1Entonces David dijo: “¿Queda alguien de la familia de Saúl a quien yo pueda mostrarle mi bondad por amor a Jonatán?” .

2Y había un hombre llamado Siba que era siervo de la familia de Saúl. Lo llamaron para que se acercara a David, y el rey le preguntó: “¿Eres Siba?” .

3El rey le preguntó: “¿Queda alguien de la familia de Saúl a quien pueda mostrar mi bondad como se lo prometí ante Dios?”

4“¿Dónde está?” , preguntó el rey.

5Así que el rey David hizo que lo trajeran de la casa de Maquir.

6Cuando Mefi-boset, hijo de Jonatán, hijo de Saúl, se acercó a David, se inclinó hacia el suelo en señal de respeto. Entonces David dijo: “Bienvenido Mefi-boset”.

7“No temas – le dijo David – porque de verdad seré bondadoso contigo por amor a tu padre Jonatán. Te devolveré toda la tierra que poseía tu abuelo Saúl, y siempre comerás en mi mesa”.

8Mefi-boset se inclinó y dijo: “¿Quién soy yo, tu siervo, para que te preocupes de un perro muerto como yo?”

9Entonces el rey llamó a Siba, el siervo de Saúl, y le dijo: “Le he dado al nieto de tu amo todo lo que pertenecía a Saúl y a su familia.

10Tú y tus hijos y los trabajadores deben cultivar la tierra para él y traer el producto, para que el nieto de tu amo tenga comida. Pero Mefi-boset, el nieto de tu amo, comerá siempre en mi mesa”. Siba tenía quince hijos y veinte trabajadores.

11Entonces Siba le respondió al rey: “Mi señor el rey, tu siervo hará todo lo que le has ordenado”. Así que Mefi-boset comía en la mesa de David como uno de los hijos del rey.

12Mefi-boset tenía un hijo pequeño llamado Mica. Todos los que vivían en la casa de Siba se convirtieron en siervos de Mefi-boset.

13Pero Mefi-boset vivía en Jerusalén, porque siempre comía en la mesa del rey, y era cojo de ambos pies.

📖 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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