The big picture
A three-year famine leads David, Israel's king, to ask God its cause. The answer names Saul, the former king, and his killing of the Gibeonites, a people protected by Israel's oath. Seven members of Saul's family are handed over to die. Rizpah, the mother of two of them, guards their exposed bodies until David arranges burial. Later scenes recall wars with the Philistines, Israel's enemies. David needs rescue in battle, and other warriors take on the giants he can no longer face safely.
In this chapter
- Famine Exposes a Broken Oath 2 Samuel 21:1-6
After three years of famine, David asks God for an answer.
- Seven Descendants Are Handed Over 2 Samuel 21:7-9
David spares Jonathan's son Mephibosheth because of the oath he shared with Jonathan.
- Rizpah Guards the Dead 2 Samuel 21:10-14
Rizpah spreads sackcloth on a rock and keeps watch over the bodies.
- David Must Be Rescued in Battle 2 Samuel 21:15-17
David grows faint during another battle with the Philistines.
- Other Warriors Defeat the Giants 2 Samuel 21:18-22
Further battles name the men who defeat giant descendants.
Central truth
Bloodshed from Saul's rule demands an answer, while grief, burial and the courage of David's men reveal the costs of national survival.
Scripture beside the summary
2 Samuel · King James Version · 222 Samuel 21:1-6
Famine Exposes a Broken Oath
After three years of famine, David asks God for an answer. God names Saul's killing of the Gibeonites as the cause. These people were not Israelites, but Israel had sworn to protect them. Saul attacked them in his zeal for Israel and Judah. David asks how to make atonement, putting this wrong right before God. They reject money and demand seven of Saul's descendants to hang before God. David agrees. The wrong against a protected people now leads to a deadly demand on Saul's family.
In everyday life
A treaty researcher finds that an earlier government attacked a group it had sworn to protect. She sets the promise beside the record of deaths and asks the present officials to hear the survivors. National loyalty did not cancel the pledge. This account links famine to God's judgement and a demand for seven descendants' deaths.
Notice
2 Samuel 21:2 Israel's oath to the Gibeonites is recalled before David negotiates with them. Saul's zeal for his own people did not erase that binding promise.
2 Samuel 21:1-6
King James Version1Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.
2And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)
3Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD?
4And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.
5And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,
6Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.
2 Samuel 21:7-9
Seven Descendants Are Handed Over
David spares Jonathan's son Mephibosheth because of the oath he shared with Jonathan. He hands over two sons of Rizpah and five sons whom Michal brought up for Adriel. Rizpah's sons are Armoni and another Mephibosheth, distinct from Jonathan's son. The Gibeonites hang all seven together at the start of barley harvest. One oath protects a man while the answer to a broken oath costs others their lives. The account names their family ties rather than leaving the dead as an unnamed number.
In everyday life
A memorial volunteer copies seven names from a record of political reprisals. She checks the parents beside each name so people with the same name are not confused. Family links make the loss more than a total. David hands these seven over in response to the Gibeonites' demand during a famine linked to God.
Notice
2 Samuel 21:7 Jonathan's son is spared because of David's oath, not because all Saul's descendants are spared. The stated exception depends on a particular pledged relationship.
2 Samuel 21:7-9
King James Version7But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
8But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:
9And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.
2 Samuel 21:10-14
Rizpah Guards the Dead
Rizpah spreads sackcloth on a rock and keeps watch over the bodies. From harvest until the rains, she drives away birds by day and animals by night. David hears of her vigil. He brings back the bones of Saul and Jonathan from Jabesh-gilead and gathers those of the seven who died. Burial is arranged in the family tomb at Zelah. After these acts, God answers prayer for the land. A mother's refusal to abandon the bodies leads to a fuller act of care for the dead.
In everyday life
A cemetery campaigner keeps visiting an unmarked burial site and presses officials to name and bury the dead with care. Her steady presence makes a neglected loss visible. Eventually the authorities arrange a proper burial. Rizpah's vigil follows seven public killings, and the account ends with God answering prayer for the famine-struck land.
Notice
2 Samuel 21:10 Rizpah guards through both day and night until rain comes. Her care gives the exposed dead a defender before the king arranges their burial.
2 Samuel 21:10-14
King James Version10And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
11And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
12And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:
13And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.
14And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.
2 Samuel 21:15-17
David Must Be Rescued in Battle
David grows faint during another battle with the Philistines. Ishbi-benob, a giant's descendant with heavy weapons, intends to kill him. Abishai comes to his aid and kills the attacker. David's men then swear that he must not go into battle with them again. They call him Israel's light and fear losing him. The king who led so many victories now needs another man's strength. His continued value to the people becomes a reason to protect him from the risks of fighting himself.
In everyday life
An ageing ship captain falters during a dangerous deck operation, and a younger officer pulls him clear. The crew insists that he direct future work from the bridge. Their decision recognises his value without denying his changed strength. David's men preserve their king after a giant's descendant tries to kill him in battle.
Notice
2 Samuel 21:17 The men call David Israel's light when asking him to stop fighting. Their limit on his activity comes from valuing his life, not dismissing him.
2 Samuel 21:15-17
King James Version15Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.
16And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.
17But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.
2 Samuel 21:18-22
Other Warriors Defeat the Giants
Further battles name the men who defeat giant descendants. Sibbechai kills Saph at Gob. Elhanan kills the brother of Goliath, whose spear has a huge shaft. At Gath, a man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot defies Israel. Jonathan, David's nephew, kills him. Four formidable enemies fall through David and his servants. The record gives the other fighters their names and deeds. Israel's defence does not depend on the king doing every dangerous act alone.
In everyday life
A climbing instructor names her best young guides at the base of an indoor climbing wall. Each has mastered a different difficult route, and she gives each clear credit. She no longer has to demonstrate every move herself. David's servants defend Israel through lethal battles against unusually large and heavily armed enemies.
Notice
2 Samuel 21:22 The four defeated men are linked to David and his servants together. The closing line shares the record of victory across the king and his fighters.
2 Samuel 21:18-22
King James Version18And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.
19And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Beth-lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
20And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.
21And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.
22These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
2 Samuel 21:1 begins with “Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for…”
Where the chapter turns
2 Samuel 21:10 forms a natural hinge: “And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of…”
The final note
2 Samuel 21:22 leaves the reader with “These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words Saul, David, Israel, bones, Gibeonites, Jonathan help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- thou
- you
- wherefore
- for that reason
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
