2 Samuel 21:6
in 2 Samuel 21let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang them before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” “I will give them to you,” said the king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto Jehovah in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah. And the king said, I will give them.
KJV
Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose. And the king said, I will give them.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 21
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul--The practice of the Hebrews, as of most Oriental nations, was to slay first, and afterwards to suspend on a gibbet, the body not being left hanging after sunset.
This site's exposition
the man who consumed us
on 2 Samuel 21:5-7
They ask for seven of his male descendants, to hang them “before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul”, and the king agrees. Verse 7 spares Mephibosheth son of Jonathan because of the oath between David and Jonathan, so one oath costs seven lives and another saves one.
This site's exposition
let seven of his male descendants
Albert Barnes reads seven as a sacred number, fitting a judicial death meant to answer God's wrath over a broken oath. Adam Clarke takes sons to mean grandsons or near kin. Some suppose the seven had helped Saul against Gibeon, and Clarke replies that the text gives no proof.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), that if there were any hardship in it, they might bear the blame, and not David or his house. By our old law, if a murderer had judgment given against him upon an appeal, the relations that appealed had the executing of him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
), to satisfy his justice, not to gratify any revenge of our own--for the good of the public, not for our own reputation." (5.) The nomination of the persons they left to David, who took care to secure Mephibosheth for Jonathan's sake, that, while he was avenging the breach of one oath, he might not himself break another (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+odd-straight-quotes
Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Seven men of his sons - Meaning sons, grandsons, or other near branches of his family. It is supposed that the persons chosen were principal in assisting Saul to exterminate the Gibeonites. But where is the proof of this?
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Seven men - Seven was a sacred number not only with the Hebrews but with other Oriental nations Num 23:1, Num 23:29, and is therefore brought in on this occasion when the judicial death of the sons of Saul was a religious act intended to appease the wrath of God for the violation of an oath Num 25:4. Whom the Lord did choose - Rather, “the Lord’s chosen,” or elect. The same phrase is applied to Moses Psa 106:23, to the Israelites Isa 43:20, and to Christ Isa 42:1.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יֻתַּן | yenaton- | let it be given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָ֜נוּ | lanu | to <the> us | ||
| שִׁבְעָ֤ה | shivah | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| אֲנָשִׁים֙ | ʾanashim | men | H582 → | 566 times |
| מִבָּנָ֔יו | mibanav | from descendants his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וְהוֹקַֽעֲנוּם֙ | vehokaanum | and we will impale them | H3363 → | 8 times |
| לַֽיהוָ֔ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּגִבְעַ֥ת | begivat | at Gibeah of | H1390 → | |
| שָׁא֖וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| בְּחִ֣יר | bechir | [the] chosen one of | H972 → | |
| יְהוָ֑ה ס | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֶתֵּֽן׃ | ʾeten | I will give [them] | H5414 → | 2011 times |
יֻתַּןlet it be given
yenaton-H5414 →2011 times
לָ֜נוּto <the> us
lanu
שִׁבְעָ֤הseven
shivahH7651 →394 times
אֲנָשִׁים֙men
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
מִבָּנָ֔יוfrom descendants his
mibanavH1121 →4930 times
וְהוֹקַֽעֲנוּם֙and we will impale them
vehokaanumH3363 →8 times
לַֽיהוָ֔הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּגִבְעַ֥תat Gibeah of
begivatH1390 →
שָׁא֖וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
בְּחִ֣יר[the] chosen one of
bechirH972 →
יְהוָ֑ה סYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אֶתֵּֽן׃I will give [them]
ʾetenH5414 →2011 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 11:4When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and relayed these words in the hearing of the people, they all wept aloud.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:34
Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 10:26
Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.
- Judges 2:4
When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
- 1 Samuel 15:34
Through
1 Samuel 10:24Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 1:39
Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!”
- 1 Kings 1:25
For today he has gone down and sacrificed an abundance of oxen, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest.…
- Deuteronomy 17:15
you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not…
- 1 Kings 1:39
Through
1 Samuel 10:26Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 11:4
When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and relayed these words in the hearing of the people, they all wept aloud.
- 1 Samuel 11:4
Through
Genesis 40:22But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had described to them in his interpretation.
it leads to
- Genesis 40:19
Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. Then the birds will eat the flesh of your body.”
- Genesis 40:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.