Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

2 Samuel 21:8

in 2 Samuel 21

But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, as well as the five sons whom Merab daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she bare to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

KJV

But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

⋯

This verse in 2 Samuel 21

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Five sons of Michal - whom she brought up - Michal, Saul’s daughter, was never married to Adriel, but to David, and afterwards to Phaltiel; though it is here said she bore ילדה yaledah, not brought up, as we falsely translate it: but we learn from 1Sa 18:19, that Merab, one of Saul’s daughters, was married to Adriel.

This site's exposition

whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth

on 2 Samuel 21:8-9

The seven are named by mother, two sons of Rizpah, Saul's concubine, and five sons of Michal, though Clarke points out that Michal was never given to Adriel and that 1 Samuel 18:19 names her sister Merab as his wife, so the text likely means Michal raised sons she did not bear. Handed to the Gibeonites, all seven are hanged in the hill before the Lord and die together at the start of barley harvest, the same season in which Ruth once gleaned this land. The narrator fixes the date with a precision the rest of the chapter does not need, because the season is about to matter again.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Christ being made a curse for us, and dying to satisfy for our sins and to turn away the wrath of God, became obedient to this ignominious death. [2.] They were hanged up in Gibeah of Saul (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel--Merab, Michal's sister, was the wife of Adriel; but Michal adopted and brought up the boys under her care.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

Rizpah - See the marginal reference. A foreign origin was possibly the cause of the selection of Rizpah’s sons as victims. Sons of Michal - An obvious error for “Merab” (1Sa 18:19 note).

The words behind it

27 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּקַּ֣חand he took

    vaiyikachH3947 →966 times

  • הַמֶּ֡לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾetosh-H853 →10935 times

  • שְׁ֠נֵי[the] two

    sheneiH8147 →768 times

  • בְּנֵ֨י[the] sons of

    beneiH1121 →4930 times

  • רִצְפָּ֤הRizpah

    ritzpahH7532 →4 times

  • בַת־[the] daughter of

    vat-H1323 →588 times

  • אַיָּה֙Aiah

    ʾaiyahH345 →6 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhom

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • יָלְדָ֣הshe had borne

    yaldahH3205 →496 times

  • לְשָׁא֔וּלto Saul

    leshaulH7586 →402 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • אַרְמֹנִ֖יArmoni

    ʾarmoniH764 →

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • מְפִבֹ֑שֶׁתMephibosheth

    mefivoshetH4648 →18 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • חֲמֵ֗שֶׁת[the] five

    chameshetH2568 →343 times

  • בְּנֵי֙[the] sons of

    beneiH1121 →4930 times

  • מִיכַ֣לMichal

    mikhalH4324 →18 times

  • בַּת־[the] daughter of

    bat-H1323 →588 times

  • שָׁא֔וּלSaul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwhom

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • יָלְדָ֛הshe had borne

    yaldahH3205 →496 times

  • לְעַדְרִיאֵ֥לto Adriel

    leadrielH5741 →

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • בַּרְזִלַּ֖יBarzillai

    barzilaiH1271 →12 times

  • הַמְּחֹלָתִֽי׃the Meholathite

    hamecholatiH4259 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

3 in all, six open

The walk

7 stops

Each 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 18:19

    So when it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.

    it leads to

    • Judges 7:22

      And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the…

    • Judges 14:20

      and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 3:7

    Meanwhile, Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 21:8–11

      But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, as well as the five sons whom Merab daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel…

    • 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…

    • 2 Samuel 16:21–22

      Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who…

    • 1 Kings 2:21–22

      So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”

    • 1 Kings 2:17

      Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Samuel

Rizpah’s Kindness toward the Dead — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Rizpah’s Kindness toward the Dead — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 21 →

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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 21 →