"CO TER Pe vill:
over them, particularly the Philiftines, Moabites, Syrians, and Edomites, and of the fpoils he took from them, and.of the prefents made to him by others, ¥. r—14. and of his righteous adminiftration of government, and of the principal officers in his court and camp, ¥. 15—18.
¥. 1. And after this it came to pafs, &c.] After David had reft from his enemies for a time, and after the converfation he had had with Nathan about building the houfe of God, and after the mefiage fent to him from the Lord by that prophet, forbidding him to build, and David’s prayer to the Lord upon it, the following events happened; and which are recorded to fhew that David’s reft from his enemies did not laft long, and that he had other work to do than to build the houfe of God: that David Jmote the Philiftines, and fubdued them; thefe had been long and implacable enemies of J/rae/; Samfon began to weaken them in his days; a war was waged between them and J/rae/ in the times of Samuel and Saul, and the battle fometimes went on one fide and fometimes on the other; but now David made.an entire.conquelt of them: before they had ufed to come into the land of J/rael, and there fight with J/rae/, but now David entered into their land, and took it from them: aud David took Metheg-ammab out of the bands of the Philiftines; the name of a province in Palefine, and from the pa: rallel place in 1 Chron, xviii. 1. it appears to be Gath, and its adjacent towns; but why that was called the bridle of Ammabh, or the bridle of a cubit, as it may be rendered, is not eafy tofay. The conjecture of Kimchi is, that there was a pool or river of water, fo Ammab is thought to fignify; and Aquila renders it a water-courfe, which paffed through the city, having been brought from without it into it, the communication of which from place to place it may be David cut,off, by ftopping or turning its ftream; but interpreters more generally fuppofe that Gath was built upon an hill called Ammah, fee 2 Sam. ii.:24. thought to be the fame with the 4mgaris of Pliny‘, though that is fometimes read Angaris, a mountain he places in Palefiine; and that it was called Mesbeg, a bridle,
HIS chapter gives a relation of the wars of David with his enemies, and his victories|having as an enemy to Saul, and Saul to him; but things taken a different turn, his and his people’s enmity againft David and his people appeared; wherefore he went and fought them, and made them his fubjeéts, whereby was fulfilled. the prophecy of Balaam, Numb. xxiv. 17. as it referred to David: and meafured them with a line, either their country and fields, to diftribute among his people,.or rather the foldiers he took prifoners; which, as Procopius Gazeus fays, were fo numerous that they could not be told, and therefore they were ordered to lie proftrate on the ground, and they were meafured with a line, as it follows: ca ffing them down to the ground; or ordering them to lie down; though fome underftand this of cafting down their cities, towers, and ftrong-holds, and evelling them with the ground: even with two lines meafured be; with one, fo it may be fupplied, as the Vulgate Latin, to put to death, and with one full line, to keep alive: that is, in meafuring them with his lines, he divided them into two parts, one he put todeath, and the other, the full line, which contained the moft, he faved alive; though it feems according to our verfion, and fo moft underftand it, that David flew two thirds, and faved one, and fo Fofepbus *. This muft be underftood of the army of the Moabites that fell into his hands, fo Fo epbus, who perfifted and refufed to fubmit, not of all the inhabitants of the larid., The Jews. fay 4; that the reafon of this fevere treatment of them, was becaufe they flew the father, and mother, and brethren of David, whom he left to the caré and cuftody of the king of Moab, when he fied from Saul, fee i Sam. xxii. 3. fince after that they are heard no more of; though it fhould rather be imputed to their enmity.againft the people of J/rael. ~The phrafe of meting out the valley of Succoth feems to be an allufion to this fact, P/ 1x. 6. the pfalm being written on occafion of the victories here related: and fo the Moabites became David's fervants; the inhabitants ofthe land who were left in it, perhaps. that part of the foldiers preferved alive were brought home captives: and Jreught gifts; payed a yearly tribute to king David, as they afterwards did to Solomon and to Reboboam, until the revolt of the ten tribes, and then they paid it unto the kings of J/rael, to the times of bab, fee 2 Kings iti.
becaufe being a frontier city, and being very ftrong and powerful, erected into a kingdom, it was a curb and bridle upon the Jraelites; but now David taking it out’ of their hands, opened his way-for the more eafy fubduing the reft of their country: or the word may be rendered Metheg and her mother, ie. Gath, the metropolis, fince that and her daughters, or towns, are faid tobe taken, 1 Chron. xviii. 1. and Metheg might be one of them. thews.
y. 2. And be fmote Moab, &c.| He next went againft that, and invaded it, the people of it always troublefome and diftreffing to the children of Vrael,; andthough.the king of it had fhewn fome ' favour to David, yet it was when he confidered 4, 5. though thefe gifts may be diftinct from, and befides the tribute paid, which is fuppofed in their being fervants, fee 2 Chrow, xviis 11, Thus the Arabians * carried gifts to the king of Perfia befides tribute.
. y¥. 3. 4nd David alfo Jmote Hadadezer the fon of Rebod, king of Zobab, &c.]. Called fometimes Aram-Zobabh, ahd was a part of Syria, as its name Benjamin of Tudela * takes it to be the fame with Haleb. or Aleppo, Fofephus' calls it Sophene; being)but that is placed by Ptolemy * beyond the Euphrates; whereas this country muft be between that river and the land of J/rac/, and was contiguous to him Jit, and near Damajfcus; and it was fo near the pe of Ifracl, aiid being conquered by David, that’ became a controverfy with the ‘ews, whether it he was not to be reckoned part of it, and in feveral things they allow it to be equal to it '. the firft king of this part of Syria, and then his fon the fecond and laft; he is called Hadarezer in 1 Chron. xviii. 3. the letters D and R being freguently changed in the Hebrew tongue: him David fought with, and overcame, as be went to recover bis border at the river Euphrates; which fome underftand of Hadadezer, fo Farchi and Kimchi,| who attempted to recover part of his dominions that had been taken by fome one or another from him, which lay upon the river Euphrates; endeavoured to enlarge his dominions, and carry them as far as the river, and eftablifh the borders of them; aid whilft he wasdoing this, or attempting it, David fell upon him, and routed him; or rather this refers to David, who confidering that the antient border of the land of J/rael, as given to Abraham, reached to the river Euphrates, Gen. xv. 18. he fet out on an expedition to recover this border, and whereas the country of this king lay in his way, he invaded that; upon which Hadadezer rofe up againft him, and was conquered by him, andjos by this means the border was recovered to the kingdom of J/rael, and reached fo far, as is plain it did in. Solomon’s time, 1 Kings iv. 21—24.
it‘and he feems to be the firft king of Dam afeus, which; joined to the kingdom of Zodab, and all the kings of Dama/cus afterwards were called by the Rehob was fame name 5 though Fofepbus ®, who alfo {peaks of Adad being king ot Damafcus and of the Syrians, yet makes him different from this Hadadezer, to whofe affiftance he fays he came: David Slew of the Syrians 22,000 men; that is, of the Syrians of Damajcus,
¥. 6. Then David put garrifens in Syria of Damafcus, 8cc.] Which was Cele-Syria, and lay between Libanus and Antilibanus, the chief city of which was Damajcus; which Curtius * calls Damajfcus of Syria, being the head of it, Jf vii. 8, in the prinor he cipal places of which he put garrifons of foldiers to keep the country in fubjection to him; or he put commanders or governors, as the Targum, in the chief cities, and fo Ben Gerfom and R. I/aiab interpret it: and the Syrians became fervants to David, and brought gifts; or paid him tribute by way of homage,. acknowledging themfelves his fubjeéts: and the Lord preferved David whitherfoever be went; he covered his head in the day of battle, and faved him from the hurtful fword. 03d y. 7. And David took the fhields of gold that were the fervants of Hadadexer, 8c.) ‘That were found with them, which they had in‘ their hands;' thefe muft be fuppofed to be with the principal officers of his army; or golden chains, as Aguila, golden bracelets on their arms, as the Septuagint; the Syriac verfion is quivers of gold, fach as they p¥t arrows into, and, fo Farchi and R. Ifeiab ~underftand it of fuch, and referto Fer. li. a1: and fo Fofepbus"; and brought them to Jerufalem; where they were laid up, and converted to the ufe of the fanctuary Solomon built; fee Cant. iv. 4.
y. 4. And David took from him 1000 chariots, lor and 700 horfemen, &c.] Chariots are not in the ‘text here, it is only 1700 horfemen; but it is fupplied from 1 Chron, xviii. 4. where the word is exprefly mentioned, and there the horfemen are faid to be 7000, as in the Septuagint verfion here, and in Fofepbus™; which may be reconciled by obferving with Kimchi and Abarbinel, that here the chief officers are meant, there all the chariots and horfemen that were under their command are mentioned, which together made up that large number;
¥. 8. And from Betab, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, &c.} ‘Which, in 1 Chron. xviii. 8. are called Tibhath and Chun, they having different or elfe here is jnames; or their names might be changed upon this:
meant the ranks and companies of horfe David took, ‘which were 700; and thefe having ten in a, company or rank, made 7000; and there the complement of foldiers in thofe companies and ranks are intended: aud 20,000 footmen; the fame as in 1 Chron, xviii. 4. and fo in Fofephus": and David boughed all the chariot-horfes; or ham-ftringed them, as’ Fofbua was ordered to do with refpect to the Canaanites, Fofe. xi. 6. he did not kill them, which might feem cruel and’ unmerciful to the brute-creatures, but ham-ftringed them, that they might be ufelefs for war; and the reafon of it was, that horfes might not be multiplied in J/rae/ for that purpofe, that fo their truft and confidence might not be conqueft of them, and the one might be the names they went by with the Syriens, and the other the Tfraelites called them by; the latter is the fame with Serothab in Ezek. xlvii. 16. and the Barathena of
Ptolemy *, placed by him near Me/opotamia; in the
Arabic verfion of 1 Chron. xviii. they are called - Emefa and Baalbec, the former was a city of Cale-
Syria, the latter was at the foot of mount Lebanon;
fee the note on 4mos i. 5. king David took exceedin much brafs; whereby he was furnifhed and able to give the large quantity he did for the fervice of the temple, 1 Chron. xxix. 7. The Septuagint verfion adds here what is expreffed in 1 Chron. xviii. 8, ‘* wherewith Solomon made the brazen fea, ahd the placed in them; fee Deut. xvii. 16. but referved of pillars, and the lavers, and all the vefiels.?. pe
¥. 9. When Toi king of Hamath, &c.] Which ~ them for an hundred chariots; for his own ufe, not for war, but for grandeur; which accounts in fome meafure for the number of chariots and horfes So- was another fmall kingdom in Syria, perhaps lately erected to defend themfelves againft Hadodadi lomon had, 1 Kings iv. 26. 2 Chron. i. 14, thejand this the firft king of it, at leaft the firft we numberof horfes referved is fuppofed to be 400, four horfes being ufed in a chariot, which Farchi where in the Targum he is called king of Mutiorb.:
Hamath lay to the north of the land of Canaan; fee
¥. 5. And when the Syrians of Damafcus came to Succour Hadadezer king of Zobab, &c.] Thefejbe feem to have had no king at this time, or, if they had, Hadadezer was their king, which is not improbable; and Nicholas of Damajfcus ° an heathen writer, is clear for it, whom he calls 4dad, who, he fays, reigned over Dama/cus, and the other Syria without Phenicia, who made war with David king of Fudea, and was routed by him at Euphrates: } 'T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 8. 1. 2. Mifn. Demai, ¢. Numb. xxxiv. 8. and>the note there:vitis faid‘to three days journey from Tripoli, and that it ftands in the mid-way to leppo, on a very goodly $ plain, replenifhed with corn and cotton-wool, bur much ruinated, and falls more and more to decay = at this day (fays my author, who travelled in thofe parts in the beginning of the laft century) there ig —— fearce one half of the wall ftanding, which hath been very fair and ftrong. The king of this place 6. §, 11. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.
Ch. viii ¥.16—13. I. SWMWU EI.;. - heard that David bad {mitten all the hoft of Hadadegers the news of which foon reached him, he being in the neighbourhood..
¥. 10, Then Tot fent foram bis fon unto king David, &c.) Who is called Hadoram in 1 Chron. xviii 10. though the Syriac and Arabic verfions read Yoram there: to falute bim; to enquire of his welfare after his fatigue in the battles he had had with the Moabites and Syrians, and to wifh him all happinels and profperity for the future: and to blefs him, to congratulate him on his victory, and to wifh him fuccefs in all after wars he might be engaged in; and particularly to give: him thanks for delivering him from fo great an enemy as Hadadezer had been to him, as alfo to bring a prefent to him, which is fometimes called a bleffing; fee Gen. xxxiii. 11. becaufe he bad fought againft Hadadezer, and {mitten him; that is, David had, which had endeared him to Toi: for Hadadezer bad wars with Toi; was an enemy of his, fought to take his kingdom from him, and had had many battles with him; and though he could not conquer him, he fadly harrafied him, being too mighty for him: and Joram brought with him. veffels of filver, and veffels of gold, and veffels of brafs, as a prefent to David, in. gratitude for his deliverance from his enemy by him, and as a token of his homage and fubjection to him; at leaft as a fion that he put himfelf under his protection, and defired to be his friend and ajly.. The word Yoram, though not in the Hebrew text, iswightly fupplied; for none elfe ean be fuppofed to bring the prefent. _ y. 11. Which alfo king David did dedicate unto the Lord, &c.|. He devoted it to facred ufes, particularly to the building of the houfe of the Lord, ashe alfo had the gold and the brafs he took from Hadadexer: together with the filver and the gold he had. dedicated of all nations which be fubdued; who. are after particularly mentioned; he didnot convert the fpoils he took to his own ufe, but obferved the law God gave tothe kings of Jrael, thatthey fhould not greatly multiply to themfelves filver and gold, Deut. xvii. 17. He fet it apart, aad laid it up for the fervice of the fanctuary; and this accounts for the abundance of gold, filver, and brafs, which David had amafied together, and left to his fon Solomon to build the temple with; fee 1 Chron. xxviii. and xxix.
y. 12. Of Syria, &c.) Of Syria,of Damafeus, as diftin& from Syria~Zobah, Hadadezer was king of, after-mentioned; this is omitted in 1 Chron. xviii, rr. and of Moab; who brought him gifts and prefents, and were tributaries tohim, y.2. and of the children-of Ammon; who very probably joined the Moadites, and were conquered and {poiled at the fame time: and of the Philiftines;. when Meiheg-Ammab was taken from them, yur. and of Amalek, tor though we have no account of any war of his with that people, fince he was king, yet he doubtlefs had, and had been victorious and {poiled them; fee Pf. Ixxxiii. 7...and of the fpoil of Hadadexer, fon of Rebob, king of Zobab; fee y. 35 45 5, 6. Thefe conquefts of David are confirmed by the teftimony of Eupolemus, an heathen writer, who fays that he overcame the Syrians by Euphrates, and the_Affyrians in Galadene, (or Gilead) and the Phenicians, that he fought againtt, the Idumeans, (or Edomites), the Ammonites, Maabites, Itureans, Nabatheans, and Nabdaans, alfo jagaintt Syron king of Tyre and Phenicia; all whom he obliged to pay tribute to the Fews*.
¥.13. And David gat bim a name, &c.). Fame and reputation in the feveral nations of the world for valour and courage; for the many and fignal victories that he obtained; the Fewifh writers generally refer this to his humanity in burying the dead bodies of his enemies flain in war, which gained him great efteem among all, and even his very enemies; but nothing of that kind is pointed at here, but his conquetts: or be made bimfelf a name, erected a triumphal arch ° in memory of his victories: when he returned from fmiting of the Syrians im the valley of falt; being 18000 men 3; in the relation of this fa& in diferent places fome difficulties arife, both as to the people finirten, and their numbers, and by whom; in this place they are faid to be Syrians, but in 1 Chron. xviii. 12. and inthe title of Pf Ix. which was compofed on account of thefe victories, they are called Edomites, and faid to be of Edom; which may be reconciled by obferving, that the Syrians and Edomites were confederates in this war; and that whereas the latter were auxiliaries to the former, the - whole body. of the-army might be called Syrians, of which 2720060 were flain that were properly Syrians, and 18000 Edomites, in all 40,000; which was a very great flaughter: or the fenfeis, that when he had fimitten the 22,000 Syrians, and was upon the return, he met with a body of Edomites, who came to the affiftance of the Syriaus, and he flew 18,000 of them; and the Jews fay, as Farchi obferves, there were two battles; and if fo, this would remove all the difficulties ftarted; as for the numbers flain, here 18000, and Pf. lx. 12000, itis reconciled by obferving, that 4di/bai firft began the attack upon. the Edomites, and flew 6000 of them; and then Yoad fell upon them, and flew r2000 more, in all r8000: in 1 Chrog. xviii. 12 this flaughter is afcribed to Abifbai, becaufe he be~ gan it, even the whole number; and in Pf Ix. to Foab, the 1200 flain by him, who feconded Abifbai 3 and the wholeis here attributed to David, becaufe he was king, under whom Abijbai and Foab ferved as generals: and no lefs difficult is it to afcertain the place where this laughter was made, called the valley of falt; it feems by our text, that it was in Syria, but in other places as if it was in Edom; fee 2 Kings xiv. 7. 2 Chron, xxv.11. but in Edom itfelf is no fuch valley to be found, though there is in Syria; one. traveller “ tells us, that in the way from Aleppo to the banks of Euphrates are many villages, among which is oné of note called Tedith; famous for a fynod held here by the Fews, in the year from the creation 3498, of which Ezra was the fcribe;, when were placed the books of the old teftament in the order in which they now are; and near this town, he fays, is the valley of falt, memorable for the victory here recorded: others fay“ about three or four hours journey from Aleppo is the valley of falt, near which is a falt fpring, whofe waters running over the place leave, when dried by the fun, \a great quantity of excellent falt; this falt is a together in the Gaddoul, or falt- houfe; but. by others * we are informed, that near about an hour’s diftance from the city of Tadmor (fee 1 Kings ix. 18. 2 Chron. viii. 3, 4.) is to be feen a large valley of falt, affording great quantities thereof; and it is thought that this is more
. Jy the valley of falt mentioned here, than anme napern about four hours from Aleppo, and has fometimes paft forit;
counts thew: but a modern writer‘, in his account of Palmyra, the fame with Zadmor, {peaks of of a great plain, all covered with falt, from whence the whole country round is fupplied. This plain is about a league from Palmyra, and extends itfelf towards the eaitern part of Idumea, (or the capital city of which was Bozra; and indeed this valley being both in Syria, and reaching to the borders of Edom, bids fair to be the valley here was only orie high-prieft at a tire; indeed there was a fagan, or deputy-prieft, on occafion; a id and which the above ac- fo Abarbinel fays, that Zadok was the high-prieft _ and Abimelech his fecond or deputy 5 but the truth the cafe was this, Adiathar was high only, and continued fo until the time of So when he was thruft out of; his office, and Zadok put into it; and Abimelech his fon and Zadok were Edom) the principal priefts under him, the one of the — family of Jthamar, the other of Lieazar; fo the Zargum on 1 Chron. xviil. 16, calls them Sagas, or deputies of the high-priefthood. Zadok is men=_
{poken of. |; tioned firft, though Abimelech was the fon of the v.14. And he put garrifons in Edom, &c.] To keep the inhabitants in fubjection to him; as their forts and ftrong-holds came into his hands, he placed companies of foldiers in them for the faid purpofe; or governors, as the Targzm, men of his own nation, into whofe hands he put their principal cities, who governed them for him, and underhim. ‘archi interprets it of officers to collect the tribute he exacted of them: shroughout all Edom put he garrifons;
y. 16. And Joab the fon of Zeruiah was over hoft, &c.| Which was not only dwing to-his rela-| tion to David, being his fifter’s fon, but to his promife that whoever fmote the Febufites firft, fhould be chief and captain; that is, fhould have the command of the army under him 5 this Yoad did, and fo was entitled to this office, and put into it, and continued in it, 1-Chron. xi. 6. and Febopraphat the fon of Abilud was recorder, of memorable events, who kept a diary of whatfoever remarkable happened, which were digefted into a chronicle, hiftory, or annals; fee E fo the Targum, he ‘* was appointed over the memorials;” or book of memorials, as Kimchi interprets it; that is, to take care of it, and fee that prefent high-prieft, becaufe he was in great favour with David, as afterwards with Solomon, in whofe days the high-priefthood was tranflated to him; the family of £4 being now upon the decline, and near being removed from the high-priefthood, as was foretold by Samuel it fhould; and Seraiah was the [cribe; or fecretary of ftate; in 1 Chron. xviii. 16. appointed heis called Shay/ba, he feemsto have had two names, _ ¥. 18. And Benaiab the fon of Feboiada was over which is obferved to both the Cherethites and Pelet bites, &c.] Thefe ac-. cording to Sofephus » were the king’s body-guards, became,and this man is exprefsly faid to be fet over his guards, ch. xxiit, 23. and which fome think were Of the nation of the Pbilifiines, famous for ar- 29, 40. chery, and. flinging of ftones:; and fo the Targum tenders it, ** was appointed over the archers and fo Choriti in Virgil! ave quivers for artows; the great ufe of which in fighting Da- -)vd had obferved, and therefore got a felet com= pany of thefe men, partly to teach J/rae/, and partly to © guard himfelf; but others are of opinion, that. David would never fuffer fuch as were heathens to be fo near his perfon, and therefore take them to. be J/rae/ites; and fo fome Jewifh writers fay they were two families in J/rael; which is much better. law than to interpret them as others do of the Sambedrim, and even of the Urim and Thummim, as in the Targum on 1 Chron. xviii. 17, fee the note on’ Zepé. ii. 5. and it is moft probable, that they were: /raelites, who were David's guards, and confifted of the chiefs that were with him in Peilifia, and. particularly at Zzk/ag, which lay on the fouth of the t;| Cherethites, 1 Sam, xxx. 14. and fo had their name {from thence, and among the chief of thofe thar thejcame to him at Zik/ag, there was one named Peesb, from whence might come the Pelesbites, and they were all of them archers; fee 1 Chron, xii. 25 3. end Davia’s fons were chief rulers; princes, princes of the blood; or chief about the king, as in’ 1 Chron, xviii. 17. they were conftant: attendants: wasjat court, waiting on the king, ready at hand to do what he pleafed to order-; they were the chief minifters, and had the management of the principal affairs at court. barbinel thinks thatthis refp not only Davia’s fons, but Benaiah, and the family d, vi. 1.jof the Cherethites and Pelethites; who had none of them particular pofts: affigned them, which were fettled and known.as thofe before ‘mentioned had, but were always near at hand, to do whatfoever the fhew, that the whole country was brought into, fubjection to him: and all they of Edom David's fervants; and hereby were fulfilled the oracle delivered to Rebekah, and the prophetic bleffing of J/aac, Gen. xxv. 23. and xxvit. and the Lord preferved David whitherJoever be went, fee the note on y. 6. flingers;”
y.15. And David reigned over all I/rael, &c.] Not only over Yudab, but over all the tribes of J rael, and over the whole land of Canaan, as promifed to Abrabam, Gen. xv. 18. reaching to the river Euphrates, as Syria did, now conquered by David: and David executed judgment and juftice unto all bis people; when he returned from his wars, he heard and tried all caufes impartially, brought before him, and gave fentence according to the of God, and adminiftered righteous judgment without any refpeét to perfons 3 all had juftice done them that applied unto him, whether high or low, rich or poor; and indeed during his wars he was| not negligent of the civil government of his fubjects, and the diftribution of juftice to them by proper officers, in which he was a type of Chri fee Jf. xis. cand Fer. sedil.-55. 6.
every. thing worthy of notice was inferted in it; or was remembrancer®; one that put the king mind, what was to be done every day, or in certain cafes, and fo R. I/aiah explains it, thejand king’s counfellor; fome take him to be chancelking commanded them; and which feems injagree with the literal/order and conftr n words; which are, and Benaiah the fon of Feb the Cherethites and Pelethites, and th David, were princes, or chief rulers; | lor, as: Luther and others”. who according to Gufetius ™ brought.t
¥.17. And Zadok: the fon of Abitub, and Abimelech the fon of Abiathar, were the priefts, &c. or prefents to the king, and did tha |priefts did to the Lord..
Not high-priefts, as Fo/fepbus ' fuggetts, for there ati chapter relates David’s enquiry after.the the houfe of Saul; that is, femaining of living: that pofterity of Saul, whether any were living, and where they were, wy. 1—4. and being inform-
I may foew the kindne/s of God unio him, great kindnefs, fome large favour or ‘benefit; for the word ed of one, he fent for him, and kindly received him, ¥. 5—8. and reftored to him the land of his God added to things, as to trees, mountains, &e. ferves to fet forth the excellency of them; and this.
fathers, and appointed a perfon to till it for him, and bring him the fruits of it, and maintained him at his own table, ¥. g—13.
¥.1. And David faid, &c.} To fome of his courtiers: is there yet any that is left of the houfe of
Saul? which queftion was put by him, not in order to deftroy them, left they fhould difturb his government, as was ufual with other princes, and efpecially fuch who got their crowns by ufurpation; but to prevent any fufpicion of that kind in the perfons he enquired of, he adds, that I may JSeew him kindnefs for Fonathan’s fake? not tor Sauls fake, who had been his implacable enemy, though he had fworn to him that he would not cut off his feed; but for Sonathan’s fake, his dear friend, whofe memoty was precious tohim. Some of the Fewi/h writers havethought, becaufe this follows upon the. account ‘given of the officers of David, both in his camp and court, that this queftion was occafioned by a thought that came into his mind, while he was appointing officers, that if there were any of Saul’s family, and efpecially any defcendent of Fonathan, that was fit for any poft or office, he would put him into one; but this feems to be a long time after David had fettled men in his chief offices; for Mepbibofheth, after an enquiry found out, was but five years of age when his father was flain, and fo but 12 when David was made king over all J/rael, and yet now he was married, and had a young fon, ¥. 12. fo that it was a long time after David was eftablifhed in the kingdom that he thought of this; which is to be imputed to his being engaged fo much in war, and having fuch a multiplicity of bufinefs on his hands.
y¥.2. And there was of the boufe of Saul a fervant whofe name was Ziba, &c.] Or there was a fervant that belonged to Sau/’s family; not that any of Saul’s family was a fervant; and this fervant the Fews commonly fay was a Canaanitifh fervant, and who upon the death of his mafter was not made free, but became the inheritance and poffeffion of his children after him, Lev. xxv. 46. tho’
kindnefs is in imitation of God, or fuch as he had fworn in the prefence-of God to thew; and that is exprefled in the fame language, « Sam. xx. 14. and Ziba faid unto the king, Fonathan bath yet a on; a fon fill living: which is /ame on bis feet; on both his feet, as the Targum; the occafion of which is recorded in ch. iv. 4. fee the note there.
¥.4. And the king faid unto bim, where is he? &c.] In what part of the land, city, or town, does he dwell? and Ziba faid unio the king, bebold, he is in the houfe of Machir, the fon of Ammiel; a defcendent of Machir, the fon of Manaffeh, to whom the land of Gilead was given, which lay on the other fide Fordan: in Lodebar, a place in that country, perhaps the fame with Lidbir in Fof, xiii. 26. Here it may be his mother’s relations lived, and here he might dwell in obfcurity, and lie hid from the knowledge of David; who it might be feared by his friends, would have difpatched him, had he known where he was, Some take it to be an appellative, and render it, as 4barbinel obferves, without any thing; as if he was fo poor that he had not any thing to fupport himfelf with. No mention as yet is made of his name, perhaps becaufe the hiftorian had given it before, ch. iv. 4. _ ¥. 5. Then king David fent, &c.] Meffengers; it may be Ziba, none being more proper than he that knew him, and where he was: and fetched him out of tke houfe of Machir, the fon of Ammiel, from Lodebar; they demanded him in the king’s name, and being delivered to them, they brought him from thence to Ferufalem.
¥. 6. Now when Mephibofheth, the fon of fonathan, the fon of Saul, 8&c.| For that was his name, though fometimes called Merib-baal, 1 Chron. viii. 34. and this’ was his relation to Jonathan and Saul, che fon of the one, and grandfon of the other: was come unto David; to his court and palace in Jerufalem, being thither brought; for he could not go of himfelf, being lame: he fell on his face, and did reverence; to him as a king, in a civil way, and in the beft manner he could, confidering that he was lame on his feet: and David faid, Me-
Fofephus ™{ays he was made free by Saul: and phibofbeth! is it he? having learnt what his name when they had called him unto David, who it feems was now at court, or in Jerufalem, on fome account or another; or was in David’s fervice, in fome inferior poft or another; however having been a quondam fervant of Saul, it was thought he could give the beft intelligence fof his family, and whether any were living, and therefore was fent for; and when he was come into the king’s prefence, the king faid unto him, art thou Ziba? forhe had been told before by fome of his courtiers what his name was: and be faid, thy fervant is he; or my name is Zida, and I am at thy command.
was, this he expreffed with great vehemency and affection, as glad that he had found one of Fonathan’s pofterity: and be anfwered, bebold thy fervant; he an{fwered to his name, ae ce his fubjection to David, and was ready to take the oath of allegiance to him, and give him homage, and ferve him in what way he could,
¥.7. And David faid unto him, fear not, &c.J He might obferve a dejection in his countenance, a trembling in his limbs, and might difcover figns of fear left David fhould cut him off, becaufe he jwas of the feed royal: for Iwill furely fhew thee
¥. 3. And the king faid, is there not yet any of kindnefs for Fonathan thy father’s fake; whom he ee 2, a 7 Dak very va ee A es. her loved as his own foul, and to whom he had {worn that he would not cut of his kindnefs from his houfe for ever, and now remembring his oath was determined to obferve it:
guifhed from him, and oppofed to him in the nes claufe; and who would ftand in no need of ft from any other quarter, being a gueft at the king’s and will réftore thee alt table continually; or elfe Mephibofbeth, who ( the land of Saul thy father; his grand-father, fuch fornetimes Keing called fathers; which David had taken to him, as crown-lands, or in the right of his wife; or as being confifcated by J/bbofbeth’s rebellion: and thou fhalt eat bread at my table continually; he gave him an apartment inthe court, and fervants, and in which Ziba’s family and fervants would havea’ thare: but Mepbibofheth mafter’s fon foall eat always at my table, wherefore the land was to be tilled not for him perfonally, but for his family, and for what ufes he fhould a place at his table, admitted him to be a gueft with him as long as he fhould live; which was a very great favour and high honour, and fhewed what an unfhaken. friendfhip he had for his father, and would maintain with:him. This was jal the kindnefs of God he meant to fhew to him.
fay with refpect to the infirmities of his body, the rejection of his family by the Lord, their der of,high treafon for rebellion againft David, and the low circumftances he was brought into now under; though one of the royal family, the fon of a prince, and grandfon of a king; fuch was think fit to put the produce of it to: now Ziba bad is5 /ous, and 20 jfervants; who were enough to cultivate a confiderable quantity of land. | had y.11. Then faid Ziba unto the king, according to the king hath commanded his fervant, fo fall thy ervané’ do, &c.}] Till the land, and bring the. fruits of it to Mephibofheth, for the fupport of his family; he promifed very fair, had he been as ajfaithful to his trutt: as for Mephibofbeth, faid the king, be fhall eat at my table, as one of the king’s one fo' fons; which is repeated, for the confirmation of it, which he might) and to fhew that he fhould be treated with equal refpect, and fare as the king’s fons themfelves did; attain-;though the claule aid the king is not in the origijnal text, and the words are thought by Abarbinel and,and others to be the words of Ziéa continued; who promifed to do what the king had ordered, though Mephibofbeth had eaten at his table, as one of the
¥.8. And he bowed himfelf, &c.] In token. of gratitude, and as a fign of humility, and of the fenfe he had of his unworthinefs to enjoy fuch favour: and Jaid, what is thy fervant that thou Joouldft look on fuch a dead dog as lam? mean, and bafe, and worthlefs;
his humility, and the fenfe he’ had of his-being undeferving of any favour from the king, and fays this with admiration and aftonifhment.
¥.-9. Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s fervant, &c.| Who had been his fervant: aad faid unto him, 1 have given unto thy mafter’s fon, meaning either as fome the fon of Mephibofheth, Micha after mentioned; or rather Mepbibofbeth himfelf, the. erandfon of Saul, whofe fervant Ziba had been: all that pertained to Saul, and to all bis houfe all his ‘paternal eftate, or what he had acquired, or in any wife belonged to him and his family; which David had in pofleffion, and which he readily and chearfully delivered up te Mephibofbeth, having fo great a regard to the memory of his fa~ ther.
y. 10. Thou therefore, thy fons, and thy fervants, &c.}] Which were many, and whofe numbers are after given: fhall till the land for him; manure it, plough it, fow it, and reap it: and thou fbalt bring in the fruits; the corn and oil, and wine, the land produces,: that thy mafter’s fon may have food to eat, meaning either Micha, the fon of Mephibofeeth, fine Mephibofbeth feems to be diftin- king’s fons, and needed not any thing, and needed not to eat at the king’s table; and if it was his pleafure, he would maintain him out of this eftate like the fon of a king; but the phrafe my table feems to be too arrogant for Zida to fay, and ra-’ ther fits the mouth of David the king. ers
¥.12. And Mephibofbeth had a young fon, whofe name was Micha, &c.] What his age was is not faid; from him {prung a progeny of feveral generations, 1 Chron, vill. 34—40. and all that dwelt. in the boufe of Ziba were servants to Mephibofbeth 5 his fons and his fervants. by
¥. 13. So Mephibofheth dwelt in Ferufalem, &c. | Either in fome apartments in the king’s palace, or in fome houfe in the city provided for him; for he returned not to Ledebar, nor to any manfion-houfe upon the eftate of Saul reftored unto him: for be did eat continually at the king’s table; to which he was invited, and he accepted of: and was lame on both bis feet; or though he was", yet this was no objection to David, he admitted him notwithftanding his infirmity; nor any ob{truction to Mephibofheth, who found ways and means to be carried to the king’s table daily,