Lexical Summary Lo Debar: Lo Debar Original Word: לֹא דְבַר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Debir, Lo-debar Or Low Dbar (2 Samuel 9:4, 2 Samuel 9:5) {lo deb-ar'}; or Lidbir (Joshua 13:26) {lid-beer'}; (probably rather Lodbar {lo-deb-ar'}); from lo' and dober; pastureless; Lo-Debar, a place in Palestine -- Debir, Lo-debar. see HEBREW 'Abagtha' see HEBREW lo' see HEBREW dober NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom lo and dober Definition "pastureless," a place in Gilead NASB Translation Lo-debar (3), Lodebar (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs לֹא דְבָר, לוֺ דְבָר proper name, of a location in Gilead, near, perhaps east of, Mahanaim (q. v.); — ׳לֹא ד 2 Samuel 17:37 (ᵐ5 Λωδαβαρ, Λαδαβαρ); Gr We read also לֹא דְבָר Amos 6:13 = same city (but see Dr); = ׳לוֺ ד 2 Samuel 9:4,5 (ᵐ5 Λαδαβαρ); perhaps also intended in מִמַּחֲנַיִם עַדגְּֿבוּל לִדְבִר Joshua 13:26 (compare Di Bla; ᵐ5 Δαιβων, A Δαβειρ, ᵐ5L Δεβηρ); see II. דְּבִיר, p. 184 above לִדְבִר proper name, of a location only in ׳גְּדוּל ל Joshua 13:26; east of Jordan, in tribe of Gad; ᵐ5B Δαιβων, A Δαβειρ, ᵐ5L Δεβηρ; perhaps= לֹא דְבָר q. v., and compare II.דְּבִיר 2b. לֵדָה see ילד, Infinitive construct לֹה see לֹא. להב √ of following (compare Arabic לוֺ דְבָר proper name, of a location see לֹא דְבָר. Topical Lexicon Geographical Setting Lodebar lay east of the Jordan, most likely in northern Gilead near the Yarmuk River valley. The arid terrain and sparse grazing suggested by its name rendered it an inconspicuous settlement, yet its strategic position along trans-Jordan trade routes made it a useful refuge for displaced persons and a staging point for the movement of supplies. Occurrences in Scripture 1. 2 Samuel 9:4–5 places Mephibosheth, crippled son of Jonathan, in “Lodebar at the house of Machir son of Ammiel.” Connection with Covenant Kindness and Redemption Lodebar becomes the backdrop for one of the Old Testament’s clearest demonstrations of chesed—steadfast covenant love. After years of political consolidation, David remembers his oath to Jonathan (see 1 Samuel 20:14-17). On learning that Jonathan’s orphaned son is hiding in Lodebar, the king commands, “‘Bring him to me’” (2 Samuel 9:5). The scene moves from a barren town to the royal table in Jerusalem, illustrating how covenant grace reaches into obscurity and restores a lost heir to dignity and inheritance. Lodebar thus functions typologically: the place of “no pasture” becomes the starting point of a banquet, foreshadowing the divine initiative that seeks the spiritually impoverished and seats them with princes (Psalm 113:7-8). Role during Absalom’s Rebellion Years later Machir of Lodebar reappears as one of three Gileadite benefactors who meet the fugitive David at Mahanaim. They bring “beds, basins, and pottery, and wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, curds, sheep, and cheese” (2 Samuel 17:28-29). Machir’s continued loyalty reveals that the hospitality first extended to Mephibosheth was neither accidental nor purely political; it issued from a household committed to God’s anointed. Lodebar, therefore, emerges as a nexus of covenant solidarity: first sheltering a forgotten prince, then sustaining a beleaguered king. Spiritual Reflections 1. God delights to operate from unlikely venues. A town whose very name intimates lack becomes the setting for royal generosity. Lessons for Ministry • Seek out the marginalized. Physical limitation and social obscurity did not hinder Mephibosheth from enjoying the king’s favor; neither should modern believers overlook those in hidden places. Forms and Transliterations דְבָ֔ר דְבָֽר׃ דבר דבר׃ ḏə·ḇār ḏəḇār deVarLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance 2 Samuel 9:4 HEB: עַמִּיאֵ֖ל בְּל֥וֹ דְבָֽר׃ NAS: the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar. KJV: the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar. INT: the son of Ammiel Lo-debar 2 Samuel 9:5 2 Samuel 17:27 3 Occurrences |
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be thirsty [probably burn with thirst Lane2674], II. make a fire blaze fiercely, compare IV; see blaze fiercely (of fire), compare VIII; Aramaic [להב, 
] burn, in Shaph`el Ishtaph`al and derivatives; also לַהֲבָא, לַהֲבוּתָא flame; Ethiopic 
; Assyrian la±;abu, flame, DlHWB 364).