2 Samuel 19:17

17 There were a thousand men of Binyamin with him, also Tziva the servant of the house of Sha'ul with his fifteen sons and twenty servants; and they rushed into the Yarden 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 The king started back and arrived at the Yarden, while Y'hudah came to Gilgal in order to meet the king and bring the king over the Yarden.
16 Shim'i the son of Gera, the Binyamini from Bachurim, hurried and came down with the men of Y'hudah to meet King David.
17 There were a thousand men of Binyamin with him, also Tziva the servant of the house of Sha'ul with his fifteen sons and twenty servants; and they rushed into the Yarden ahead of the king
18 to ferry the king's household across and do whatever else the king wanted done. Shim'i the son of Gera fell down before the king when he was ready to cross the Yarden
19 and said to the king, "May my lord not hold me guilty of a crime. Don't remember the wrong your servant did on the day my lord the king left Yerushalayim. May the king not take it to heart!
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.