2 Samuel 21:1–14

21:2 The Gibeonites were one of the peoples who had inhabited Canaan prior to the arrival of the Israelites. They had tricked the Israelites into entering into a covenant with them, under which they became a subject people permitted to reside in the major city of Gibeon, about 3.1 miles (5 km) from Saul’s capital, Gibeah, in the territory of Benjamin.¹

Even though Israel’s treaty obligations remained binding despite the passage of centuries, Saul had not viewed matters in that light but had engaged in a program of ethnic cleansing, which for some reason had not been pursued to completion. No further details are known about these actions (but cf. comment on 4:2–3). So the king who did not impose the ban on the Amalekites as God commanded (1 Sam. 15:18–19) had perversely slaughtered a protected group (cf. his treatment of Nob in 1 Samuel 22). Since it was Saul in his capacity as the leader of the nation who had perpetrated this act, the entire land is now subject to the Lord’s curse because of the breach of a covenant sealed by invoking his name. Divine delay in imposing the penalty may have been to permit time for national reflection and repentance.

Interpretation of the incident depends in part on whether David “called the Gibeonites and spoke to them” on his own initiative or by divine direction, but the text remains silent on this point.

21:3 “David said” refers to the same act as “spoke” (v. 2), in which he asks the Gibeonites two questions. “What shall I do for you?” is a more general expression than “How shall I make atonement?” which inquired what reparation for the outrage committed by Saul would satisfy them.² In this way, David seeks to induce the Gibeonites to “bless [i.e., “view with favor and implore divine blessing on”] the heritage of the Lord,” an expression for the people of God (1 Sam. 10:1) or the Land of Promise (1 Sam. 26:19). In this situation of famine both aspects of the term are relevant.

In this David apparently repeats the error of Israel in Joshua’s day in their dealings with the Gibeonites, when they “did not ask counsel from the Lord” (Josh. 9:14). “David made no recourse to repentance; he sought no offering of sacrifice; he made no appeal to the Lord for forgiveness or guidance.”³

21:4 The Gibeonites rightly reject monetary compensation in a case of willful murder (Num. 35:31–32). They also consider that Saul’s death means his liability has devolved to his heirs (cf. 2 Sam. 21:1). By mentioning that they lack the competence “to put any man to death in Israel,” the Gibeonites are—deferentially but firmly—indicating that only a penalty in blood will satisfy them, and so they place the resolution of the situation on David’s shoulders.

21:5–6 “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us” is, of course, Saul, who in misplaced zeal had sought to eradicate the Gibeonites from the land. Since he is now dead, they propose that “seven of his sons be given to us”—male descendants, not necessarily of the next generation. Even though many more Gibeonites had been slaughtered, “seven” is chosen as a number of completeness to represent the utter destruction of Saul’s family. Although “hang” (also in vv. 9 and 13) may simply mean exposure of their corpses as a sign of disgrace (Num. 25:4), here it probably also signifies the mode of execution. It is to be “before the Lord” since a public, judicial act is required to mark the atrocity as condemned by divine justice. Indeed, the proposed procedure verges on sacrifice rather than capital punishment. For an evaluation of it, cf. Response section on 2 Samuel 21:1–14.

21:7 Since sparing Mephibosheth is a deliberate act, David must know that he is alive—a fact that locates this verse after chapter 9. Furthermore, in a chapter concerned with the binding nature of covenant commitments, David is here portrayed as honoring the oath he and Jonathan, Mephibosheth’s father, had solemnly entered into before the Lord (1 Sam. 18:3; 20:15) by protecting Jonathan’s descendants.

21:8 David instead selects “the two sons of Rizpah,” Saul’s concubine (3:7), one of whom is also called Mephibosheth. Neither of them would be considered heirs to the throne, and so this does not violate David’s commitment from 1 Samuel 24:21–22. To make up the required total of seven, David also takes “the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul,” who remain unnamed. The Hebrew text reads Michal instead of Merab, but this is a copyist’s error, because Michal had no children (2 Sam. 6:23), and it was Merab who was married to Adriel (1 Sam. 18:19), whose father, Barzillai the Meholathite, was a different individual from Barzillai the Gileadite (2 Sam. 17:27).

21:9 David hands these men over to the Gibeonites, who hang them (cf. comment on 21:5–6). While “on the mountain before the Lord” might indicate in the open and therefore visible to the heavens, more plausibly it refers to an altar or sanctuary near Gibeah. There the seven are executed at the same time. Barley was one of the earliest grain crops, so “at the beginning of barley harvest” would indicate during the month of April—though there may have been no harvest that year because of the famine.

21:10 One might have expected the rains to then come and the famine to ease. However, by exposing the corpses overnight—indeed, far longer—the Gibeonites further violate divine law (Deut. 21:23). Unable to remove the bodies for fear of violating the royal decree, but impelled by maternal devotion, Rizpah, the mother of two of the dead men, does what she can to prevent the exposed corpses from further ignominy by being eaten by birds or wild animals (Deut. 28:26; 1 Sam. 17:44, 46; Jer. 7:33; 34:20). She takes a large piece of “sackcloth,” rough cloth used to make sacks for grain, and spreads it either as a mat or more probably as an awning “for herself” to protect her from the sun. Staying in this makeshift shelter day and night, she chases off any scavenging animals that approach the corpses—an action reminiscent of that of Abram (Gen. 15:11). If “until rain fell upon them from the heavens” indicates the start of the rainy season in September or October, Rizpah thus maintains her vigil for perhaps six months, through the heat of summer.

21:11–13 When news is conveyed to David concerning Rizpah’s actions, his conscience is stirred, not only about the seven who have recently been executed but also about Saul and Jonathan, whose remains have never been properly interred (1 Sam. 31:8–13). Their “bones” seems to relate to what is left after incineration. It would seem that David personally supervises the removal of Saul and Jonathan’s remains from Jabesh-gilead, whereas he deputes others to collect the corpses of those who were hanged.

21:14 “Zela” is a little-known city (Josh. 18:28), possibly 2.8 miles (4.5 km) southwest of Gibeah, from where Saul’s forefathers had come. “And they did all that the king commanded” summarizes the action of David’s men in providing an honorable burial for Saul and Jonathan in an ancestral grave. Only in the Septuagint is it mentioned that the other remains are buried there also.

“After that God responded to the plea for the land” (cf. 24:25). This is generally taken as divine endorsement of the actions of David and the Gibeonites, but “after that” indicates primarily a temporal sequence. If there is any causal linkage, it would be with the removal of defilement from the land through burial of the exposed corpses. Divine relief is then extended, presumably by the sending of rain.