2 Samuel 9:4

4 The king said to him, "Where is he?" and Tziva answered, "He's there in the house of Makhir the son of 'Ammi'el, in Lo-D'var."

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 In Sha'ul's household there had been a servant named Tziva, and they summoned him to David. The king asked him, "Are you Tziva?" and he answered, "At your service."

3 The king said, "Is there anyone still alive from the family of Sha'ul, to whom I can show God's grace?"Tziva said to the king, "There is still Y'honatan's son with the lame legs."

4 The king said to him, "Where is he?" and Tziva answered, "He's there in the house of Makhir the son of 'Ammi'el, in Lo-D'var."

5 King David sent and took him from the house of Makhir the son of 'Ammi'el in Lo-D'var.

6 M'fivoshet the son of Y'honatan, the son of Sha'ul, came to David, fell on his face and prostrated himself. David said, "M'fivoshet!" and he answered, "Here is your servant!"