2 Samuel 21:2
in 2 Samuel 21At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.)
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah);
KJV
And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)
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This verse in 2 Samuel 21
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe Gibeonites met the children of Israel, and although other nations were slaughtered, they were kept for hewers of wood and drawers of water. And of such value were they in God's eyes that the family of Saul was destroyed for the wrong done to them. Where would you put them? Among the goats? But they were not slain, and they were avenged by the determination of God. Among the sheep? But holy Scripture says they were not of the same merit as the Israelites.
This site's exposition
for Saul, and for his bloody house
on 2 Samuel 21:1-2
Three years of famine drive David to enquire of the Lord rather than assume a cause, continuing the pattern of a king who asks before he acts. The answer reaches back to Joshua 9, where Israel swore an oath to the Gibeonites and was bound to keep it even though the Gibeonites had gained it by deceit. Saul's zeal against them, an act nowhere else told in Scripture, breaks that sworn oath a generation later, and the guilt falls on the whole land for one king's private violence. The parenthesis in verse 2 names the Gibeonites for what they were, not Israelites but the remnant of the Amorites, spared only by a promise Israel could not honestly break.
This site's exposition
a remnant of the Amorites
The Gibeonites were Hivites by descent (Joshua 9:7). Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes take the Amorites here as a name for all the Canaanite peoples. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the zeal of Saul for Israel and Judah as a show of the law against the Canaanites, turned to kill the one remnant the Israelites had taken an oath to spare.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
3 ), or perhaps many of them were remarkably pious, and he sought to destroy them when he slew the priests their masters. That which made this an exceedingly sinful sin was that he not only shed innocent blood, but therein violated the solemn oath by which the nation was bound to protect them. See what brought ruin on Saul's house: it was a bloody house.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Sought - That is, he sought how he might cut them off with some colour of justice, aggravating their faults, and punishing them worse than they deserved; oppressing them with excessive labours, and intending by degrees to wear them out.
And the king called the Gibeonites,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The remnant of the Amorites - The Gibeonites were Hivites, not Amorites, as appears from Jos 11:19: but Amorites is a name often given to the Canaanites in general, Gen 15:16; Amo 2:9, and elsewhere.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah--Under pretense of a rigorous and faithful execution of the divine law regarding the extermination of the Canaanites, he set himself to expel or destroy those whom Joshua had been deceived into sparing.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The way in which the writer here refers to the history of the league with the Gibeonites Josh. 9 shows that the Book of Joshua was not a part of the same work as the Books of Samuel. Of the Amorites - The Gibeonites were Hivites Jos 9:7; Jos 11:19; and in many enumerations of the Canaanite nations the Hivites are distinguished from the Amorites. But “Amorite” is often used in a more comprehensive sense, equivalent to “Canaanite” (as Gen 15:16; Deu 1:27), and denoting especially that part of the Canaanite nation which dwelt in the hill country Num 13:29; Deu 1:7, Deu 1:20, Deu 1:24, and so includes the Hivites.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
On account of Shaul. On account of the sin regarding Shaul who was buried immediately and secretly as the men of Yovish Gilod stole his body and buried him. [Consequently] he was not eulogized with the respect due him.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֥א | vaiyikra' | and he summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לַגִּבְעֹנִ֖ים | lagivonim | <to> the Gibeonites | H1393 → | 7 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְהַגִּבְעֹנִ֞ים | vehagivonim | and the Gibeonites | H1393 → | 7 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מִבְּנֵ֧י | mibenei | [were] from [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הֵ֗מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| מִיֶּ֣תֶר | miyeter | from [the] remnant of | H3499 → | 102 times |
| הָאֱמֹרִ֔י | haemori | the Amorite[s] | H567 → | |
| וּבְנֵ֤י | uvenei | and [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| נִשְׁבְּע֣וּ | nishbeu | they had sworn an oath | H7650 → | 186 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| וַיְבַקֵּ֤שׁ | vayvakesh | and he had sought | H1245 → | 225 times |
| שָׁאוּל֙ | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| לְהַכֹּתָ֔ם | lehakotam | to strike down them | H5221 → | 499 times |
| בְּקַנֹּאת֥וֹ | bekanoto | because was zealous he | H7065 → | |
| לִבְנֵֽי־ | livnei- | for [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וִיהוּדָֽה׃ | vihudah | and Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
וַיִּקְרָ֥אand he summoned
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
הַמֶּ֛לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לַגִּבְעֹנִ֖ים<to> the Gibeonites
lagivonimH1393 →7 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֑םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
וְהַגִּבְעֹנִ֞יםand the Gibeonites
vehagivonimH1393 →7 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
מִבְּנֵ֧י[were] from [the] people of
mibeneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֣לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הֵ֗מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
כִּ֚יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
מִיֶּ֣תֶרfrom [the] remnant of
miyeterH3499 →102 times
הָאֱמֹרִ֔יthe Amorite[s]
haemoriH567 →
וּבְנֵ֤יand [the] people of
uveneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
נִשְׁבְּע֣וּthey had sworn an oath
nishbeuH7650 →186 times
לָהֶ֔םto <the> them
lahem
וַיְבַקֵּ֤שׁand he had sought
vayvakeshH1245 →225 times
שָׁאוּל֙Saul
shaulH7586 →402 times
לְהַכֹּתָ֔םto strike down them
lehakotamH5221 →499 times
בְּקַנֹּאת֥וֹbecause was zealous he
bekanotoH7065 →
לִבְנֵֽי־for [the] people of
livnei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וִיהוּדָֽה׃and Judah
vihudahH3063 →819 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
Genesis 15:16In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 21:26
He committed the most detestable acts by going after idols, just like the Amorites whom the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.)
- Daniel 8:23
In the latter part of their reign, when the rebellion has reached its full measure, an insolent king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne.
- Exodus 12:40
Now the duration of the Israelites’ stay in Egypt was 430 years.
- Matthew 23:32–35
Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:16
hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.
- 1 Kings 21:26
Through
Deuteronomy 7:16You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:33
They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
- Judges 8:27
From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
- 1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
- Exodus 23:33
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
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 & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 2.33; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.