2 Samuel 21:6

6 Seven men of his sons be given to us, that we crucify them to the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, sometime the chosen man of the Lord. And the king said, I shall give them to you. (Let seven of his kinsmen be given to us, so that we can hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, who was, at one time, the Lord's chosen man. And the king said, I shall give them to you.)

2 Samuel 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

2 Samuel 21:6 In-Context

4 And Gibeonites said to him, No question is to us upon gold and silver, but against Saul, and against his house; neither we will, that a man of Israel be slain. To whom the king said, What therefore will ye, that I do to you? (And the Gibeonites said to him, No answer shall be for us in gold or silver, but rather with Saul and his family; and we do not desire that just any man of Israel be killed. To whom the king said, And so what do ye desire, that I do for you?)

5 And they said to the king, We ought so to do away the man, that defouled and oppressed us wickedly, that not one soothly be left of his generation in all the coasts of Israel. (And they said to the king, We want to completely do away the man, who defiled and wickedly oppressed us, so that truly not one of his generation be left in all the coasts of Israel.)

6 Seven men of his sons be given to us, that we crucify them to the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, sometime the chosen man of the Lord. And the king said, I shall give them to you. (Let seven of his kinsmen be given to us, so that we can hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, who was, at one time, the Lord's chosen man. And the king said, I shall give them to you.)

7 And the king spared Mephibosheth (But the king spared Mephibosheth), the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, for the oath of the Lord, that was betwixt David and Jonathan, the son of Saul.

8 And so the king took (the) two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, which she childed to Saul, Armoni, and (another) Mephibosheth; and he took [the] five sons of Michal, the daughter of Saul (and he took the five sons of Saul's daughter Merab), which she engendered to Adriel, the son of Barzillai, that was of (the) Meholathites.