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2 Samuel 21:8-11

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

8. 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: 9. And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell [all] seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first [days], in the beginning of barley harvest. 10. And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night. 11. And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

2 Samuel 21:8-11 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on 2 Samuel 21:8

Theological / Devotional

Two sons of Rizpah. Rizpah was one of the concubines of Saul, with whom Abner had been charged with committing adultery (ch. 3:7).

Whom she brought up. Literally, “whom she bore.” There is no valid reason for translating the Hebrew verb, yalad, employed in this phrase, “to bring up.” The difficulty, of course, is that Adriel was the husband of Merab, not of Michal (1 Sam. 18:19). The simplest solution seems to be to accept the reading of two Hebrew manuscripts, one of the recensions of the LXX, and the Syriac, which here read “Merob” for “Michal.” Merab was the one who was originally to be given to David, but who was given to Adriel instead, David receiving Michal (1 Sam. 18:20-27). Unless Michal had children through her marriage to Phalti (1 Sam. 25:44), she died childless (2 Sam. 6:23).

By SdaBc