2 Samuel 19:17

17 along with a thousand men of Benjamin, as well as Ziba the steward of the house of Saul and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan before the king

2 Samuel 19:17 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 19:17

And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him
Of which tribe he was, and these were either a band of soldiers, of which he was the chiliarch; or tenants of his, which showed him to be a great man; or his neighbours, and persons of some figure, whom he prevailed upon to come as intercessors for him:

and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul;
who had imposed upon David, and got his master's inheritance from him, knowing that David would be undeceived by Mephibosheth his master, when he came to Jerusalem; and therefore that he might be more tenderly dealt with, and come off the better, he was thus forward to meet the king, and pay his respects to him:

and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him:
which made a considerable appearance; see ( 2 Samuel 9:10 ) ;

and they went over Jordan before the king:
to meet him on the other side, both Shimei and his a thousand men, and Ziba with his sons and servants.

2 Samuel 19:17 In-Context

15 So the king returned, and when he arrived at the Jordan, the men of Judah came to Gilgal to meet him and escort him across the Jordan.

16 Then Shimei son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David,

17 along with a thousand men of Benjamin, as well as Ziba the steward of the house of Saul and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan before the king

18 and crossed at the ford to carry over the king’s household and to do what was good in his sight. When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell down before the king

19 and said, “My lord, do not hold me guilty, and do not remember your servant’s wrongdoing on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king not take it to heart.