What is the meaning of 2 Samuel 21:8? But the king took The verse opens with decisive action. David, as king, “took” the men requested by the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:6). • Earlier, Saul had violated Israel’s covenant with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:15), bringing a famine on the land (2 Samuel 21:1). • Scripture records that “bloodshed pollutes the land” and must be answered (Numbers 35:33). David seeks to end the famine by honoring God’s justice. • David’s choice also respects the oath he swore to Jonathan by sparing Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 21:7; cf. 1 Samuel 20:15). Armoni and Mephibosheth These are two of Saul’s surviving sons. • Their names remind readers of Saul’s dynasty, now under judgment (2 Samuel 13:8 contrasts Absalom’s later actions). • David’s handing over of Saul’s descendants fulfills the Gibeonites’ specific demand for seven male heirs (2 Samuel 21:6), underscoring covenant faithfulness even when painful. the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul Rizpah was Saul’s concubine (2 Samuel 3:7). • Her story will soon highlight motherly devotion as she guards the bodies from birds and beasts (2 Samuel 21:10). • The family line of Saul suffers because of Saul’s own transgression, illustrating principles seen earlier in Scripture: “visiting the iniquity of fathers upon children” when the children remain in their fathers’ sins (Exodus 20:5), yet each remains morally responsible (Deuteronomy 24:16). as well as the five sons David adds five grandsons of Saul, making a total of seven—often a biblical number of completeness (Genesis 2:2; Leviticus 23:15). • The full number satisfies the call for justice, bringing the famine to an end once the sentence is carried out (2 Samuel 21:14). • The choice shows that God’s requirements are exact and thorough; partial obedience would not have lifted the national curse. whom Merab daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite Merab, Saul’s oldest daughter, had once been promised to David (1 Samuel 18:17–19). • Her five sons by Adriel are now included in the atoning act, linking Saul’s broken promises to consequences for his wider family. • Barzillai the Meholathite is distinct from Barzillai the Gileadite who helped David (2 Samuel 17:27); the repetition of the name shows the extended reach of Saul’s legacy. • By recording these specific genealogies, Scripture underlines the historical reality of the events and the faithfulness of God to His word down to individual families (Psalm 33:4). summary 2 Samuel 21:8 records David’s obedient, sorrowful selection of seven male descendants of Saul—two by Rizpah and five by Merab—to satisfy the Gibeonites’ demand and lift God’s judgment on Israel. The verse reminds us that broken covenants have real, generational consequences; that God’s justice, though severe, ultimately restores blessing to the land; and that every recorded name testifies to the historical accuracy and moral seriousness of Scripture. |
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