2 Samuel 19:17

17 A thousand men from Benjamin were with him. Ziba too, the servant of Saul's house, along with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, rushed to the Jordan ahead of 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 came back and arrived at the Jordan River. Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and bring him across the Jordan.
16 Gera's son Shimei, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried down with the people of Judah to meet King David.
17 A thousand men from Benjamin were with him. Ziba too, the servant of Saul's house, along with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, rushed to the Jordan ahead of the king
18 to do the work of ferrying over the king's household and to do whatever pleased him. Gera's son Shimei fell down before the king when he crossed the Jordan.
19 He said to the king, "May my master not hold me guilty or remember your servant's wrongdoing that day my master the king left Jerusalem. Please forget about it, Your Majesty,
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