2 Samuel 9:4

4 And the king said unto him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said unto the king, "Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar."

2 Samuel 9:4 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 9:4

And the king said unto him, where is he?
&c.] In what part of the land, city, or town, does he dwell?

and Ziba said unto the king, behold, he [is] in the house of Machir,
the son of Ammiel;
a descendant of Machir, the son of Manasseh, to whom the land of Gilead was given, which lay on the other side Jordan:

in Lodebar;
a place in that country, perhaps the same with Debir in ( Joshua 13:26 ) . Here it may be his mother's relations lived, and here he might dwell in obscurity, and lie hid from the knowledge of David; who, it might be feared by his friends, would have dispatched him, had he known where he was. Some take it to be an appellative, and render it, as Abarbinel observes, "without anything"; as if he was so poor that he had not anything to support himself with. No mention as yet is made of his name, perhaps because the historian had given it before, ( 2 Samuel 4:4 ) .

2 Samuel 9:4 In-Context

2 And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, "Art thou Ziba?" And he said, "Thy servant is he."

3 And the king said, "Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him?" And Ziba said unto the king, "Jonathan hath yet a son who is lame in his feet."

4 And the king said unto him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said unto the king, "Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar."

5 Then King David sent and fetched him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

6 Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come unto David, he fell on his face and did reverence. And David said, "Mephibosheth." And he answered, "Behold thy servant!"