2 Samuel 9:11
in 2 Samuel 9And Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do all that my lord the king has commanded.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s own sons.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king commandeth his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.
KJV
Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Said the king - There is nothing in the Hebrew to warrant the insertion of these words. The words are: “So Mephibosheth ate at my table as one of the king’s sons.” Only it follows that the narrator is David himself.
This site's exposition
as one of the king’s sons
on 2 Samuel 9:11-13
Ziba agrees to the terms, and the chapter states its own outcome twice over, that Mephibosheth eats at David's table as one of the king's sons. Henry reads David's kindness here as a figure of the kindness of Christ toward those who bring nothing of their own to the relationship, since David owed Jonathan a debt he was under no obligation to repay in kind to the son. The chapter closes on the ordinary furniture of a settled life, a son named Micha and a household of servants, and one clause that will not let the reader forget how the man arrived, lame on both his feet, eating continually at a king's table.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
How unfaithful Ziba was to him we shall find afterwards, ch. xvi. Now because David was a type of Christ, his Lord and son, his root and offspring, let his kindness to Mephibosheth serve to illustrate the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards fallen man, which yet he was under no obligation to, as David was to Jonathan.
David's Kindness to Jonathan's Son. 1 And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake? 2 And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:93%@v1-3
Then said Ziba unto the king, according to all the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
So shall thy servant do - The promises of Ziba were fair and specious, but he was a traitor in his heart, as we shall see in the rebellion of Absalom, and David’s indulgence to this man is a blot in his character; at this time however he suspected no evil; circumstances alone can develope the human character. The internal villain can be known only when circumstances occur which can call his propensities into action; till then he may be reputed an honest man.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
So will your servant do. Mephivoshes will eat at my table. Tsivoh said, "So will your servant do." And Dovid responded, "Mephivoshes will eat at my table.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Those who dwelled in the house of Tsivoh. His children and his slaves. 3 Mentioned in verse.
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. 6 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
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| צִיבָא֙ | tziva' | Ziba | H6717 → | 16 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| כְּכֹל֩ | kekhol | according to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְצַוֶּ֜ה | yetzaveh | he will command | H6680 → | 494 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֤י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַבְדּ֔וֹ | avdo | servant his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| כֵּ֖ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה | yaaseh | he will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ | ʾavdekha | servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וּמְפִיבֹ֗שֶׁת | umefivoshet | and Mephibosheth | H4648 → | 18 times |
| אֹכֵל֙ | ʾokhel | [was] eating | H398 → | 810 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שֻׁלְחָנִ֔י | shulchani | table my | H7979 → | 71 times |
| כְּאַחַ֖ד | keachad | like one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מִבְּנֵ֥י | mibenei | from [the] children of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
צִיבָא֙Ziba
tziva'H6717 →16 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
כְּכֹל֩according to all
kekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יְצַוֶּ֜הhe will command
yetzavehH6680 →494 times
אֲדֹנִ֤יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַבְדּ֔וֹservant his
avdoH5650 →799 times
כֵּ֖ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
יַעֲשֶׂ֣הhe will do
yaasehH6213 →2628 times
עַבְדֶּ֑ךָservant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
וּמְפִיבֹ֗שֶׁתand Mephibosheth
umefivoshetH4648 →18 times
אֹכֵל֙[was] eating
ʾokhelH398 →810 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שֻׁלְחָנִ֔יtable my
shulchaniH7979 →71 times
כְּאַחַ֖דlike one
keachadH259 →971 times
מִבְּנֵ֥יfrom [the] children of
mibeneiH1121 →4930 times
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 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 19:17along with a thousand men of Benjamin, as well as Ziba the steward of the house of Saul and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan before the king
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 16:1–4
When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a…
- 2 Samuel 9:2
And there was a servant of Saul’s family named Ziba. They summoned him to David, and the king inquired, “Are you Ziba?” “I am your servant,” he replied.
- 2 Samuel 19:26–27
“My lord the king,” he replied, “because I am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled so that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ But my servant Ziba…
- 2 Samuel 9:10
You and your sons and servants are to work the ground for him and bring in the harvest, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, is…
- 2 Samuel 16:1–4
Through
2 Samuel 19:26“My lord the king,” he replied, “because I am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled so that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ But my servant Ziba…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 9:3
So the king asked, “Is there anyone left of Saul’s family to whom I can show the kindness of God?” Ziba answered, “There is still Jonathan’s son, who is lame in both feet.”
- 2 Samuel 16:2–3
“Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine…
- 2 Samuel 4:4
And Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the report about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up…
- 2 Samuel 9:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.