2 Samuel 16:5

5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth,[a] and cursed still as he came.

2 Samuel 16:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 16:5

And when King David came to Bahurim
The Targum is, Alemath, perhaps the same that is said to be a city of the Levites, given unto them out of the tribe of Benjamin, ( 1 Chronicles 6:60 ) for the man next described, who was of this place, was a Benjaminite, ( 2 Samuel 19:16 ) ; (See Gill on 2 Samuel 3:16); David was not yet come to the city itself, but into the neighbourhood of it, the fields adjacent to it: and

behold, thence came out a man of the family of Saul;
a descendant of a branch of his family, who had entertained a private grudge and secret enmity against David, to whom he imputed the fall of the family of Saul:

whose name [was] Shimei, the son of Gera:
which might be a name common in the tribe of Benjamin, one of Benjamin's sons being named Gera, ( Genesis 46:21 ) . Some say F19 he was the same with Nebat, the father of Jeroboam; but he was of the tribe of Ephraim, this of Benjamin:

he came forth, and cursed still as he came;
he came out of Bahurim, of which place he was, and all the way he came continued cursing David, until he came near unto him.


FOOTNOTES:

F19 Hieron. Trad. Helb. in 2. Reg. fol. 79. B.

2 Samuel 16:5 In-Context

3 And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.
4 Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.
5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.
6 And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.
7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. he came forth...: or, he still came forth and cursed
The King James Version is in the public domain.