2 Samuel 21:8-10
Contemporary English Version
8 (A) But Saul and Rizpah the daughter of Aiah had two sons named Armoni and Mephibosheth. Saul's daughter Merab[a] had five sons whose father was Adriel the son of Barzillai from Meholah.[b] David took Rizpah's two sons and Merab's five sons and 9 turned them over to the Gibeonites, who hanged[c] all seven of them on the mountain near the place where the Lord was worshiped. This happened right at the beginning of the barley harvest.[d]
Rizpah Takes Care of the Bodies
10 Rizpah spread out some sackcloth[e] on a nearby rock. She wouldn't let the birds land on the bodies during the day, and she kept the wild animals away at night. She stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until it started to rain.[f]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 21.8 Merab: Some Hebrew manuscripts and some manuscripts of one ancient translation. Most other manuscripts have “Michal,” Saul's daughter who was one of David's wives, but she never had any children (see 2 Samuel 6.23). According to 1 Samuel 18.19, Merab was Saul's daughter, and she married Adriel from Meholah.
- 21.8 Meholah: Also known as Abel-Meholah.
- 21.9 hanged: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 21.9 This … harvest: This would have been late in April.
- 21.10 sackcloth: See the note at 3.31.
- 21.10 started to rain: This may have been the beginning of the rainy season in September or October. It usually didn't rain from May to September. Or, it may have been a sign that now there would be enough rain again.
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