2 Samuel 9:11

11 And Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do all that my lord the king has commanded.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table ^[a] like one of the king’s own sons.

2 Samuel 9:11 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 9:11

Then said Ziba unto the king, according to all the king hath
commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do
Till the land, and bring the fruits of it to Mephibosheth, for the support of his family; he promised very fair, had he been as faithful to his trust:

as for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my table, as one
of the king's sons;
which is repeated, for the confirmation of it, and to show that he should be treated with equal respect, and fare as the king's sons themselves did; though the clause "said the king" is not in the original text, and the words are thought by Abarbinel and others to be the words of Ziba continued; who promised to do what the king had ordered, though Mephibosheth had eaten at his table, as one of the king's sons, and needed not anything, and needed not to eat at the king's table; and if it was his pleasure, he would maintain him out of this estate like the son of a king; but the phrase "my table" seems to be too arrogant for Ziba to say, and rather fits the mouth of David the king.

2 Samuel 9:11 In-Context

9 Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “I have given to your master’s grandson all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.

10 You and your sons and servants are to work the ground for him and bring in the harvest, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, is always to eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

11 And Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do all that my lord the king has commanded.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s own sons.

12 And Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth.

13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table, and he was lame in both feet.

Footnotes

• [a]. LXX; Hebrew my table