2 Samuel 9:4

4 And the king said, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Lo! 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 a servant, Ziba by name, of the house of Saul; whom when the king had called to himself, the king said to him, Whether thou art not Ziba? (Art thou Ziba?) And he answered, I am thy servant.

3 And the king said, Whether any man liveth of the house of Saul, that I do with him the mercy of God? And Ziba said to the king, A son of Jonathan liveth, feeble in the feet. (And the king said, Is there any man left of Saul's family, to whom I can show the kindness that God commandeth? And Ziba said to the king, A son of Jonathan liveth, who is lame, or crippled.)

4 And the king said, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Lo! he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.

5 Therefore king David sent, and took Jonathan's son from the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar. (And so King David sent for Jonathan's son, and brought him to Jerusalem from the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.)

6 And when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, [the] son of Saul, had come to David, he felled into his face, and worshipped. And David said, Mephibosheth! And he answered, I am present, thy servant. (And when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face, and honoured him. And David said, Mephibosheth! And he answered, I am thy servant.)