2 Samuel 3:7
in 2 Samuel 3Meanwhile, Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine?
KJV
And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish–bosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine?
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This verse in 2 Samuel 3
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah,.... By whom he had two sons, 2Sa 21:
This site's exposition
Abner had continued to strengthen his position in the house of Saul
on 2 Samuel 3:6-8
Abner has been strengthening “his position in the house of Saul”, and Ish-bosheth asks why he slept with Saul's concubine Rizpah. Taking a king's concubine was a claim on his throne. His answer, “Am I the head of a dog”, sets his loyal service against the charge.
This site's exposition
a concubine named Rizpah
John Gill notes that Rizpah bore Saul two sons, and her story returns at chapter 21. Albert Barnes reads her father’s name, Aiah, as Edomite or Horite. Matthew Henry notes that the text never says whether the charge was true.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Whether it was so or no does not appear, nor what ground he had for the suspicion: but, however it was, it would have been Ish-bosheth's prudence to be silent, considering how much it was his interest not to disoblige Abner.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah - For the sequel of her history, see the marginal reference. Aiah, was an Edomite, or rather Horite name Gen 36:24.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּלְשָׁא֣וּל | uleshaul | and [belonged] to Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| פִּלֶ֔גֶשׁ | pilegesh | a concubine | H6370 → | 37 times |
| וּשְׁמָ֖הּ | ushemah | and name her | H8034 → | 864 times |
| רִצְפָּ֣ה | ritzpah | [was] Rizpah | H7532 → | 4 times |
| בַת־ | vat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אַיָּ֑ה | ʾaiyah | Aiah | H345 → | 6 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַבְנֵ֔ר | ʾavner | Abner | H74 → | 63 times |
| מַדּ֥וּעַ | madua' | why? | H4069 → | 72 times |
| בָּ֖אתָה | batah | have you gone | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פִּילֶ֥גֶשׁ | pilegesh | [the] concubine of | H6370 → | 37 times |
| אָבִֽי׃ | ʾavi | father my | H1 → | 1212 times |
וּלְשָׁא֣וּלand [belonged] to Saul
uleshaulH7586 →402 times
פִּלֶ֔גֶשׁa concubine
pilegeshH6370 →37 times
וּשְׁמָ֖הּand name her
ushemahH8034 →864 times
רִצְפָּ֣ה[was] Rizpah
ritzpahH7532 →4 times
בַת־[the] daughter of
vat-H1323 →588 times
אַיָּ֑הAiah
ʾaiyahH345 →6 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַבְנֵ֔רAbner
ʾavnerH74 →63 times
מַדּ֥וּעַwhy?
madua'H4069 →72 times
בָּ֖אתָהhave you gone
batahH935 →2568 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
פִּילֶ֥גֶשׁ[the] concubine of
pilegeshH6370 →37 times
אָבִֽי׃father my
ʾaviH1 →1212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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
2 Samuel 12:8I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you…
it leads to
- Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- Romans 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
- 2 Samuel 9:7
“Do not be afraid,” said David, “for surely I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you…
- 2 Samuel 12:11
This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will…
- 2 Samuel 7:19
And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, You have also spoken about the future of the house of Your servant. Is this Your custom with man, O…
- Psalms 84:11
Through
1 Kings 2:17Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 1:2–4
So his servants said to him, “Let us search for a young virgin for our lord the king, to attend to him and care for him and lie by his side to keep him…
- 2 Samuel 12:8
I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you…
- 1 Kings 1:2–4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.