2 Samuel 9:8
in 2 Samuel 9Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he did obeisance, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
KJV
And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
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This verse in 2 Samuel 9
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Mephibosheth’s humility of expression, even in the mouth of an Oriental, is painful. It was perhaps in part the result of his helpless lameness, and of the other misfortunes of his life. A dead dog - The wild dogs of the East, which still abound in every town, are the natural objects of contempt and dislike.
This site's exposition
eat bread at my table continually
on 2 Samuel 9:7-8
David restates the ground of his kindness, for Jonathan thy father's sake, and restores the land of Saul along with a permanent seat at his own table. Mephibosheth answers by calling himself a dead dog, the language of the lowest contempt in that world, and Wesley reads the bowed posture as a humbled heart matching a humbled condition. The distance between what David offers and what Mephibosheth expects is the chapter's whole argument, and the older writers read it as grace given to one who could not have asked for it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet. The matter is here settled concerning Mephibosheth. This grant of his father's estate is confirmed to him, and Ziba called to be a witness to it (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Bowed himself - It is good to have the heart humbled under humbling providences. If when divine providence brings our condition down, divine grace brings our spirits down, we shall be easy.
And he bowed himself,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁתַּ֕חוּ | vaiyishtachu | and he bowed down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֶ֣ה | meh | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ | ʾavdekha | [is] servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| פָנִ֔יתָ | fanita | you have turned | H6437 → | 135 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַכֶּ֥לֶב | hakelev | the dog | H3611 → | 32 times |
| הַמֵּ֖ת | hamet | <the> dead | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּמֽוֹנִי׃ | kamoni | [is] like me | H3644 → | 143 times |
וַיִּשְׁתַּ֕חוּand he bowed down
vaiyishtachuH7812 →172 times
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מֶ֣הwhat?
mehH4100 →752 times
עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ[is] servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
פָנִ֔יתָyou have turned
fanitaH6437 →135 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַכֶּ֥לֶבthe dog
hakelevH3611 →32 times
הַמֵּ֖ת<the> dead
hametH4191 →839 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
כָּמֽוֹנִי׃[is] like me
kamoniH3644 →143 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
1 Samuel 26:20So do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to look for a flea, like one who hunts…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 24:14
Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 25:29
And should someone pursue you and seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound securely by the LORD your God in the bundle of the living. But He shall fling…
- 1 Samuel 24:14
Through
2 Samuel 16:9Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head!”
it leads to
- Exodus 22:28
You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
- 2 Samuel 3:8
Abner was furious over Ish-bosheth’s accusation. “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah?” he asked. “All this time I have been loyal to the house of your father Saul, to…
- Job 31:30–31
I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse—
- 1 Samuel 26:6–11
And David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” “I will go with you,” answered Abishai.
- Exodus 22:28
Through
2 Samuel 3:8Abner was furious over Ish-bosheth’s accusation. “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah?” he asked. “All this time I have been loyal to the house of your father Saul, to…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 16:9
Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head!”
- Mark 6:18–19
For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife!”
- 2 Samuel 16:9
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); 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.