2 Samuel 17:27

27 When David arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Ammonite Rabbah, and Makir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim

2 Samuel 17:27 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 17:27

And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim
When he first came thither, ( 2 Samuel 17:24 ) ;

that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon:
who was either the son, or rather the brother of Hanun king of the Ammonites, that used David's ambassadors in so shameful a manner, whom David overcame and deposed, and set up this brother in his room; who had showed his dislike of his brother's conduct, and now makes a grateful return to David for his favours; though some say this was Hanun himself, as Jarchi, now become a proselyte, which is not so likely; others take this man to be an Israelite that continued in Rabbah, the metropolis of the Ammonites, after it was taken by David:

and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar;
the same that brought up Mephibosheth, from whom David received him and took him off of his hands, for which now he requited him, see ( 2 Samuel 9:5 ) ;

and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim;
a place that lay under the hills of Gilead ^F25; it had its name from the "fullers" who dwelt here for the convenience of fountains of water to wash their clothes in.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 Fuller's Pisgah-View, B. 2. c. 3. sect. 10. p. 94.

2 Samuel 17:27 In-Context

25 Absalom had made Amasa head of the army, replacing Joab. (Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, an Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, the mother of Joab.)

26 Israel and Absalom set camp in Gilead.

27 When David arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Ammonite Rabbah, and Makir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim

28 brought beds and blankets, bowls and jugs filled with wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans and lentils,

29 honey, and curds and cheese from the flocks and herds. They presented all this to David and his army to eat, "because," they said, "the army must be starved and exhausted and thirsty out in this wilderness."