2 Samuël 21:6

6 Laat ons zeven mannen van zijn zonen gegeven worden, dat wij hen den HEERE ophangen te Gibea Sauls, o, gij verkorene des HEEREN! En de koning zeide: Ik zal hen geven.

2 Samuël 21:6 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 21:6

Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us
They settled upon this number, either because they were seven, and no more of the Gibeonites, whom Saul slew, as the Jew say ^F9; two hewers of wood, two drawers of water, a keeper (of a synagogue), a scribe, and a servant; but perhaps the true reason was, they knew there were no more besides Mephibosheth, for whom David had a great respect, and therefore required no more:

and we will hang them up unto the Lord;
not to gratify a revengeful spirit of theirs, but in honour to the justice of God, and to appease his wrath:

in Gibeah of Saul, [whom] the Lord did choose;
which was Saul's native place, and where he always lived; so that to hang them there was to the greater disgrace of him and his family; and he being chosen of the Lord to be a king of Israel, was an aggravation of his crime in violating the oath made to the Gibeonites

and the king said, I will give [them];
for though he had sworn to Saul that he would not cut off his seed, yet as he had a divine direction in this case, as appears by the Lord's being pleased with it, and was entreated for the land by it, this oath of his was dispensed with; nor did he cut them off himself but delivered them to others, according to the will of God.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F9 T. Hieros. Kiddushin, fol. 65. 2.

2 Samuël 21:6 In-Context

4 Toen zeiden de Gibeonieten tot hem: Het is ons niet te doen om zilver en goud met Saul en met zijn huis; ook is het ons niet om iemand te doden in Israel. En hij zeide: Wat zegt gij dan, dat ik u doen zal?

5 En zij zeiden tot den koning: De man die ons te niet gemaakt, en tegen ons gedacht heeft, dat wij zouden verdelgd worden, zonder te kunnen bestaan in enige landpale van Israel;

6 Laat ons zeven mannen van zijn zonen gegeven worden, dat wij hen den HEERE ophangen te Gibea Sauls, o, gij verkorene des HEEREN! En de koning zeide: Ik zal hen geven.

7 Doch de koning verschoonde Mefiboseth, den zoon van Jonathan, den zoon van Saul, om den eed des HEEREN, die tussen hen was, tussen David en tussen Jonathan, Sauls zoon.

8 Maar de koning nam de twee zonen van Rizpa, dochter van Aja, die zij Saul gebaard had, Armoni en Mefiboseth; daartoe de vijf zonen van Michals zuster, Sauls dochter, die zij Adriel, den zoon van Barzillai, den Meholathiet, gebaard had;