2 Samuel 16:5

5 And king David hath come in unto Bahurim, and lo, thence a man is coming out, of the family of the house of Saul, and his name [is] Shimei, son of Gera, he cometh out, coming out and reviling;

2 Samuel 16:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 16:5

And when King David came to Bahurim
The Targum is, Alemath, perhaps the same that is said to be a city of the Levites, given unto them out of the tribe of Benjamin, ( 1 Chronicles 6:60 ) for the man next described, who was of this place, was a Benjaminite, ( 2 Samuel 19:16 ) ; (See Gill on 2 Samuel 3:16); David was not yet come to the city itself, but into the neighbourhood of it, the fields adjacent to it: and

behold, thence came out a man of the family of Saul;
a descendant of a branch of his family, who had entertained a private grudge and secret enmity against David, to whom he imputed the fall of the family of Saul:

whose name [was] Shimei, the son of Gera:
which might be a name common in the tribe of Benjamin, one of Benjamin's sons being named Gera, ( Genesis 46:21 ) . Some say ^F19 he was the same with Nebat, the father of Jeroboam; but he was of the tribe of Ephraim, this of Benjamin:

he came forth, and cursed still as he came;
he came out of Bahurim, of which place he was, and all the way he came continued cursing David, until he came near unto him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 Hieron. Trad. Helb. in 2. Reg. fol. 79. B.

2 Samuel 16:5 In-Context

3 And the king saith, `And where [is] the son of thy lord?' and Ziba saith unto the king, `Lo, he is abiding in Jerusalem, for he said, To-day do the house of Israel give back to me the kingdom of my father.'

4 And the king saith to Ziba, `Lo, thine [are] all that Mephibosheth hath;' and Ziba saith, `I have bowed myself -- I find grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king.'

5 And king David hath come in unto Bahurim, and lo, thence a man is coming out, of the family of the house of Saul, and his name [is] Shimei, son of Gera, he cometh out, coming out and reviling;

6 and he stoneth David with stones, and all the servants of king David, and all the people, and all the mighty men on his right and on his left.

7 And thus said Shimei in his reviling, `Go out, go out, O man of blood, and man of worthlessness!