2 Samuel 9:12
in 2 Samuel 9And Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.
KJV
And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Mephibosheth was five years old at Saul’s death. He may have been thirteen at David’s accession to the throne of Israel. In the eighth year of David’s reign over all Israel he would have been twenty-one. His having a son at this time indicates that we are about the 10th year of David’s reign. Micha - Or Micah; who, as far as we know, was Mephibosheth’s only son, and had a numerous posterity (marginal references).
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 Awakening4 voices
David had too long forgotten his obligations to Jonathan, but now, at length, they are brought to his mind. It is good sometimes to bethink ourselves whether there be any promises or engagements that we have neglected to make good; better do it late than never. The compendium which Paul gives us of the life of David is this ( Acts xiii.
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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.
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), that is, they all lived upon him, and made a prey of his estate, under pretence of waiting on him and doing him service. The Jews have a saying, "He that multiplies servants multiplies thieves." Ziba is now pleased, for he loves wealth, and will have abundance.
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And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha,.... What his age was is not said from him sprung a progeny of several generations, 1Ch 8:34, and all that dwelt in the house Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth; his sons and his servants.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micah--Whether born before or after his residence in Jerusalem, cannot be ascertained. But through him the name and memory of the excellent Jonathan was preserved (see 1Ch 8:34, 35;
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How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Those who dwelled in the house of Tsivoh. His children and his slaves. 3 Mentioned in verse.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
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.
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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלִמְפִיבֹ֥שֶׁת | velimfivoshet | and [belonged] to Mephibosheth | H4648 → | 18 times |
| בֵּן־ | ben- | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| קָטָ֖ן | katan | young | H6996 → | |
| וּשְׁמ֣וֹ | ushemo | and name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| מִיכָ֑א | mikha' | [was] Mica | H4316 → | |
| וְכֹל֙ | vekhol | and every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מוֹשַׁ֣ב | moshav | <the> resident of | H4186 → | |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| צִיבָ֔א | tziva' | Ziba | H6717 → | 16 times |
| עֲבָדִ֖ים | ʾavadim | [were] servants | H5650 → | 799 times |
| לִמְפִיבֹֽשֶׁת׃ | limfivoshet | of Mephibosheth | H4648 → | 18 times |
וְלִמְפִיבֹ֥שֶׁתand [belonged] to Mephibosheth
velimfivoshetH4648 →18 times
בֵּן־a son
ben-H1121 →4930 times
קָטָ֖ןyoung
katanH6996 →
וּשְׁמ֣וֹand name his
ushemoH8034 →864 times
מִיכָ֑א[was] Mica
mikha'H4316 →
וְכֹל֙and every
vekholH3605 →5413 times
מוֹשַׁ֣ב<the> resident of
moshavH4186 →
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
צִיבָ֔אZiba
tziva'H6717 →16 times
עֲבָדִ֖ים[were] servants
ʾavadimH5650 →799 times
לִמְפִיבֹֽשֶׁת׃of Mephibosheth
limfivoshetH4648 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
2 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 Chronicles 8:8Shaharaim had sons in the country of Moab after he had divorced his wives Hushim and Baara.
it leads to
- Ruth 1:1
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land…
- Genesis 25:6
But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
- Ruth 1:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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.