2SA 9

2 Samuel 9:10

WEB

Till the land for him—you, your sons, and your servants. Bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have bread to eat; but Mephibosheth your master’s son will always eat bread at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

BSB

You and your sons and servants are to work the ground for him and bring in the harvest, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, is always to eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

KJV

Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

Matthew Henry

Verses 9–13

2 Samuel 9:9–13

The matter is here settled concerning Mephibosheth. 1. This grant of his father's estate is confirmed to him, and Ziba called to be a witness to it (Sa2 9:9); and, it should seem, Saul had a very good estate, for his father was a mighty man of substance (Sa1 9:1), and he had fields and vineyards to bestow, Sa1 22:7. Be it ever so much, Mephibosheth is now master of it all. 2. The management of the estate is committed to Ziba, who knew what it was and how to make the most of it, in whom, having been his father's servant, he might confide, and who, having a numerous family of sons and servants, had hands sufficient to be employed about it, Sa2 9:10. Thus Mephibosheth is made very easy, having a good estate without care, and is in a fair way of being very rich, having much coming in and little occasion to spend, himself being kept at David's table. Yet he must have food to eat besides his own bread, provisions for his son and servants; and Ziba's sons and servants would come in for their share of his revenue, for which reason perhaps their number is here mentioned, fifteen sons and twenty servants, who would require nearly all there was; for as goods are increased those are increased that eat them, and what good has the owner thereof save the beholding of them with his eyes? Ecc 5:11. All that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth (Sa2 9:12), that is, they all lived upon him, and made a prey of his estate, under pretence of waiting on him and doing him service. The Jews have a saying, "He that multiplies servants multiplies thieves." Ziba is now pleased, for he loves wealth, and will have abundance. "As the king has commanded, so will thy servant do, Sa2 9:11. Let me alone with the estate: and as for Mephibosheth" (they seem to be Ziba's words), "if the king please, he need not trouble the court, he shall eat at my table, and be as well treated as one of the king's sons." But David will have him at his own table, and Mephibosheth is as well pleased with his post as Ziba with his. How unfaithful Ziba was to him we shall find afterwards, Sa2 16:3. Now because David was a type of Christ, his Lord and son, his root and offspring, let his kindness to Mephibosheth serve to illustrate the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards fallen man, which yet he was under no obligation to, as David was to Jonathan. Man was convicted of rebellion against God, and, like Saul's house, under a sentence of rejection from him, was not only brought low and impoverished, but lame and impotent, made so by the fall. The Son of God enquires after this degenerate race, that enquired not after him, comes to seek and save them. To those of them that humble themselves before him, and commit themselves to him, he restores the forfeited inheritance, he entitles them to a better paradise than that which Adam lost, and takes them into communion with himself, sets them with his children at his table, and feasts them with the dainties of heaven. Lord, what is man, that thou shouldst thus magnify him!

Cross-references: 2Sam 9:9 · 1Sam 9:1 · 1Sam 22:7 · 2Sam 9:10 · Eccl 5:11 · 2Sam 9:12 · 2Sam 9:11 · 2Sam 16:3

Hebrew interlinear

לּ֣וֹloprep + suffix · pronominal · 3rd · masc · sing

H5647

עָבַדʻâbad/aw-bad'/

v — work, serve, till, enslave

Derivation: a primitive root;

to work (in any sense); by implication, to serve, till, (causatively) enslave, etc.

KJV: × be, keep in bondage, be bondmen, bond-service, compel, do, dress, ear, execute, husbandman, keep, labour(-ing man, bring to pass, (cause to, make to) serve(-ing, self), (be, become) servant(-s), do (use) service, till(-er), transgress (from margin), (set a) work, be wrought, worshipper,

עָבַד

vb — work

עָבַד 290 vb. work, serve

Qal

1. labour, work, do work

2. work for another, serve him by labour

3. serve as subjects

4. serve God

5. serve י׳ with Levitical service

Niph.

1. be tilled, of land

2. dub. cultivated field

Pu. worked

Hiph.

1. compel to labour as slaves

2. make to serve as subjects

3. cause to serve God

Hoph. be led or enticed to serve

H853

אֵתʼêth/ayth/

prt — self, even, namely

Derivation: apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity;

properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)

KJV: [as such unrepresented in English].

אֵת

mark of the accusative

אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite

H127

אֲדָמָהʼădâmâh/ad-aw-maw'/

n-f — soil

Derivation: from 119;

soil (from its general redness)

KJV: country, earth, ground, husband(-man) (-ry), land.

אֲדָמָה

n.f — Adamah

אֲדָמָה 224 n.f. ground, land (as tilled)

1. ground (as tilled, yielding sustenance)

2. piece of ground, landed property

3. earth as material substance

4. ground as earth's visible surface

5. land, territory, country

6. whole earth, inhabited earth

7. n. pr. loc. city in Naphtali

H859

אַתָּהʼattâh/at-taw'/

p — thou, thee, ye, you

Derivation: or (shortened); אַתָּ; or אַת; feminine (irregular) sometimes אַתִּי; plural masculine אַתֶּם; feminine אַתֶּן; or אַתֵּנָה; or אַתֵּנָּה; a primitive pronoun of the second person;

thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you

KJV: thee, thou, ye, you.

אַתְּ

pron. 2 s. f — thou

אַתְּ, אָ֑תְּ pron. 2 s. f. thou (fem.)

אַתָּ֫ה

pron. 2 s. m — thou

אַתָּ֫ה, אָ֑תָּה pron. 2 s. m. thou

אתי

thou

אתי, i.e. אתִּי, the older & more original form of אַתְּ thou (fem.)

אַתֶּם

pron. 2 m. pl — you

אַתֶּם pron. 2 m. pl. you (masc.)

אַתֵּן

pron. 2 f. pl — you

אַתֵּן pron. 2 f. pl. you (fem.)

H1121

בֵּןbên/bane/

n-m — son

Derivation: from 1129;

a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)

KJV: afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-) ite, (anoint-) ed one, appointed to, ( ) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-) ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, (young) bullock, (young) calf, × came up in, child, colt, × common, × corn, daughter, × of first, firstborn, foal, very fruitful, postage, × in, kid, lamb, ( ) man, meet, mighty, nephew, old, ( ) people, rebel, robber, × servant born, × soldier, son, spark, steward, stranger, × surely, them of, tumultuous one, valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.

בֵּן

n.m — son

בֵּן 4870 n.m. son

1. son, male child, born of a woman

2. children (male and female)

3. youth, young men

4. the young of animals

5. of plant shoots

6. fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows

7.

a. member of a guild, order or class

b. of animals son of (the) herd

8. ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.

9. n. relat. of age

בְּנוֹ

n.pr.m — his son

בְּנוֹ 1 Ch 24:26, 27 as n.pr.m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son, cf. VB & Be Öt.

H5650

עֶבֶדʻebed/eh'-bed/

n-m — servant

Derivation: from 5647;

a servant

KJV: × bondage, bondman, (bond-) servant, (man-) servant.

עֶ֫בֶד

n.m — slave

עֶ֫בֶד 799 n.m. slave, servant

1. slave, servant of household

2. Subjects, of chief

3. Servants, worshippers of God

4. Servant of י׳, in a special sense

5. Israel as a people is servant of י׳

6. In polite address of equals or superiors the Hebrews used עַבְדְּךָ thy servant = 1 pers. sing., I

7. Phrases

H935

בּוֹאbôwʼ/bo/

v — go, come

Derivation: a primitive root;

to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)

KJV: abide, apply, attain, × be, befall, besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, × certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, × doubtless again, eat, employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, have, × indeed, (in-) vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, × (well) stricken (in age), × surely, take (in), way.

בּוֹא

vb — come in

בּוֹא 2569 vb. come in, come, go in, go

Qal

1. come in

2. come (approach, arrive)

3. go, i.e. walk, associate with

4. go from speaker, but with limit of motion given

Hiph.

1. cause to come in, bring in (conduct, lead, obj. persons and animals)

2. cause to come, bring, bring near, etc. (animate obj.)

Hoph.

a. be brought in (of pers. and things)

b. be brought

c. be introduced, put

H1961

הָיָהhâyâh/haw-yaw/

v — exist, be, become, come to pass

Derivation: a primitive root (compare 1933);

to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)

KJV: beacon, × altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, follow, happen, × have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, × use.

הָיָה

vb — fall out

הָיָה 3570 vb. fall out, come to pass, become, be

Qal

I.

1.

a. Fall out, happen

b. occur, take place, come about, come to pass

2. esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass

a.

(1). וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)

(2). rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה

b. less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)

II. Come into being, become

1.

a. abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come

b. sq. prep.

2. become

a. sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)

b. sq. pred. adj.

c. become like

d. sq. pred. לְ pers.

e. sq. לְ pred.

f. oft. c. לְ pred. לְ pers.

g. with עַל and לְ

h. sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of

III. Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming)

1. exist, be in existence

2. abide, remain, continue

3. with word of locality, be in or at a place, be situated, stand, lie

4. as copula, joining subj. & pred.

5. periphrastic conjug.

Niph.

1. either be done, be brought about, or occur, come to pass

2. be done, finished, gone

H113

אָדוֹןʼâdôwn/aw-done'/

n-m — sovereign, controller

Derivation: or (shortened) אָדֹן; from an unused root (meaning to rule);

sovereign, i.e. controller (human or divine)

KJV: lord, master, owner. Compare also names beginning with 'Adoni-'.

אָדוֹן

n.m — lord

אָדוֹן n.m. lord (אֲדֹנִי, אֲדֹנַי, אֲדֹנָי are variations of Mass. pointing to distinguish divine reference fr. human. Pl., with few exc. an intens. pl. of rank; word takes sf. as pl. in all other pers.; so doubtless here. Orig. reading prob. in all cases אֲדֹנַי; אֲדֹנִי now found in J 51 t.)

H3899

לֶחֶםlechem/lekh'-em/

n-m — food, bread, grain

Derivation: from 3898; See also 1036

food (for man or beast), especially bread, or grain (for making it)

KJV: (shew-) bread, × eat, food, fruit, loaf, meat, victuals.

לֶ֫חֶם

n.m — bread

לֶ֫חֶם 296 n.m. and (rarely) f. bread, food

H398

אָכַלʼâkal/aw-kal'/

v — eat

Derivation: a primitive root;

to eat (literally or figuratively)

KJV: × at all, burn up, consume, devour(-er, up), dine, eat(-er, up), feed (with), food, × freely, × in...wise(-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, × quite.

אָכַל

vb — eat

אָכַל 806 vb. eat

Qal

1. eat, human subject

2. of beasts, birds, etc., eat, devour

3. fig. of fire, devour, consume

4. of sword, devour, slay

5. in genl., devour, consume, destroy

6. fig. of oppression, devour the poor

Niph.

1. be eaten by man

2. be devoured by fire, consumed

3. be wasted, destroyed, of flesh

Pu. be consumed

Hiph.

1. cause to eat, feed with

2. cause to devoure, obj. sword

H4648

מְפִיבֹשֶׁתMᵉphîybôsheth/mef-ee-bo'-sheth/

n-pr-m — Mephibosheth

Derivation: or מְפִבֹשֶׁת; probably from 6284 and 1322; dispeller of shame (i.e. of Baal);

Mephibosheth, the name of two Israelites

KJV: Mephibosheth.

מְרִיב בַּ֫עַל

n.pr.m — Mephibosheth

מְרִיב בַּ֫עַל n.pr.m. (Baal is (our, my, his) advocate (?))

1. son of Jonathan

2. son of Saul and Riṣpah

H8548

תָּמִידtâmîyd/taw-meed'/

n-m — continuance, extension, constant, constantly, regular

Derivation: from an unused root meaning to stretch;

properly, continuance (as indefinite extension); but used only (attributively as adjective) constant (or adverbially, constantly); elliptically the regular (daily) sacrifice

KJV: alway(-s), continual (employment, -ly), daily, (n-)ever(-more), perpetual.

תָּמִיד

n.m — continuity

תָּמִיד n.m. continuity

1. earliest and oftenest as adv., continually

2. as subst.

H5921

עַלʻal/al/

prep — above, over, upon, against

Derivation: properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following);

above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications

KJV: above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, × as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, × both and, by (reason of), × had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-) on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, × with.

כִּי עַל כֵּן

forasmuch as

כִּי עַל כֵּן forasmuch as

עַל

subst — above

עַל, עָ֑ל

I. subst. height

II. As prep. upon, and hence on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against

1. Upon, of the substratum upon which an object in any way rests, or on which an action is performed

a.

(a). of clothing, etc., which any one wears

(b). With verbs of covering or protecting, even though the cover or veil be not over or above the thing covered, but around or before it

b. Of what rests heavily upon a person, or is a burden to him

c. Of a duty, payment, care, etc., imposed upon a person, or devolving on him

d. על is used idiom. to give pathos to the expression of an emotion, by emphasizing the person who is its subject, and who, as it were, feels it acting upon him

e. חָיָה עַל to live upon (as upon a foundation or support)

f. Of the ground or basis, on which a thing is done

2. It expresses excess

3. It denotes elevation or pre-eminence

4. It expresses addition

5. It expresses the idea of being extended, or suspended over anything, without however being in contact with it, above, over

6. From the sense of inclining or impending over, על comes to denote contiguity or proximity, Engl. by (or sts. on)

7. In connection with verbs of motion (actual or fig.)

8. By writers of the silver age, על is sts. used with the force of a dative

9. With other particles:

III. As conj.

a. עַל אֲשֶׁר because that

b. עַל כִּי similar in meaning, but less frequent

c. עַל alone:

(a). because

(b). notwithstanding that, although

IV. Compounds:

1. with כְּ (rare and late)

a. as concerning, as upon

b. the like of their deeds is the like of (that which) he will repay

2. מֵעַל from upon, from over, from by

H7979

שֻׁלְחָןshulchân/shool-khawn'/

n-m — table, spread, meal

Derivation: from 7971;

a table (as spread out); by implication, a meal

KJV: table.

שֻׁלְחָן

n.m — table

שֻׁלְחָן 71 n.m. table

H6717

צִיבָאTsîybâʼ/tsee-baw'/

n-pr-m — Tsiba

Derivation: from the same as 6678; station;

Tsiba, an Israelite

KJV: Ziba.

צִיבָא

n.pr.m — Ziba

צִיבָא and צִבָא 16 n.pr.m. servant of Saul’s house

H2568

חָמֵשׁchâmêsh/khaw-maysh'/

n — five

Derivation: masculine חֲמִשָּׁה; a primitive numeral;

five

KJV: fif(-teen), fifth, five (× apiece).

חָמֵשׁ

n.m — five

חָמֵשׁ, חֲמִשָּׁה 342 n.m. and f. five

H6240

עָשָׂרʻâsâr/aw-sawr'/

n — ten, -teen, -teenth

Derivation: for 6235;

ten (only in combination), i.e. -teen; also (ordinal) -teenth

KJV: (eigh-, fif-, four-, nine-, seven-, six-, thir-) teen(-th), + eleven(-th), + sixscore thousand, + twelve(-th).

עָשָׂר

ten

עָשָׂר, עֶשְׂרֵה ten, only after units to make num. 11-19, both cardinal and ordinal

H6242

עֶשְׂרִיםʻesrîym/es-reem'/

n — twenty, twentieth

Derivation: from 6235;

twenty; also (ordinal) twentieth

KJV: (six-) score, twenty(-ieth).

עֶשְׂרִים

twenty

עֶשְׂרִים (a) twenty

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