The Second Book of Samuel

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- Chapter 21 -

And a famine occurred, during the days of David, for three years continuously. And David consulted the oracle of the Lord. And the Lord said: “This is because of Saul, and his house of bloodshed. For he killed the Gibeonites.”

Therefore, the king, calling for the Gibeonites, spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel, but were the remnant of the Amorites. And the sons of Israel had sworn an oath to them, but Saul wished to strike them in zeal, as if on behalf of the sons of Israel and Judah.

Therefore, David said to the Gibeonites: “What shall I do for you? And what shall be your satisfaction, so that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?”

And the Gibeonites said to him: “There is no quarrel for us over silver or gold, but against Saul and against his house. And we do not desire that any man of Israel be put to death.” The king said to them, “Then what do you wish that I should do for you?”

And they said to the king: “The man who unjustly afflicted and oppressed us, we ought to destroy in such manner that not even one of his stock may be left behind in all the parts of Israel.

Let seven men from his sons be given to us, so that we may crucify them to the Lord in Gibeon of Saul, formerly the chosen place of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord which had been made between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul.

And so the king took the two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of Michal, the daughter of Saul, whom she conceived of Adriel, the son of Barzillai, who was from Meholath,(a)

and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites. And they crucified them on a hill in the sight of the Lord. And these seven fell together in the first days of the harvest, when the barley is beginning to be reaped.

Then Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, taking a haircloth, spread it under herself on a rock, from the beginning of the harvest until water dropped from heaven upon them. And she did not permit the birds to tear them by day, nor the beasts by night.

And it was reported to David what Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

And David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of his son Jonathan, from the men of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines had suspended them after they had slain Saul at Gilboa.

And he brought the bones of Saul, and the bones of his son Jonathan, from there. And they collected the bones of those who had been crucified.

And they buried them with the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan, in the land of Benjamin, to the side of the sepulcher of his father Kish. And they did all that the king had instructed. And after these things, God showed favor again to the land.

Four Battles against the Philistines

(1 Chronicles 20:4–8)

Then the Philistines again undertook a battle against Israel. And David descended, and his servants with him, and they fought against the Philistines. But when David grew faint,

Ishbibenob, who was of the ancestry of Arapha, the iron of whose spear weighed three hundred ounces, who had been girded with a new sword, strove to strike down David.

And Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, defended him, and striking the Philistine, he killed him. Then David’s men swore an oath to him, saying, “You shall no longer go out to war with us, lest you extinguish the lamp of Israel.”

Also, a second war occurred in Gob against the Philistines. Then Sibbecai from Hushah struck down Saph, from the stock of Arapha, of the ancestry of the giants.

Then there was a third war in Gob against the Philistines, in which Adeodatus, a son of the forest, a weaver from Bethlehem, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like the beam used by a cloth maker.(b)

(c)

A fourth battle was in Gath. In that place, there was a lofty man, who had six digits on each hand and each foot, that is, twenty-four in all, and he was from the origins of Arapha.

And he blasphemed Israel. So Jonathan, the son of Shimei, the brother of David, struck him down.(d)

These four men were born of Arapha in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and his servants.

Footnotes

(a)21:8 Of Michol:They were the sons of Merob, who was married to Hadriel: but they are here called the sons of Michol, because she adopted them, and brought them up as her own.(Challoner)

(b)21:19 The term ‘polymitarius’ refers to fine weaving, with many colors; whereas the term ‘texentium’ refers to the coarse weaving of fabrics.(Conte)

(c)21:19 Adeodatus the son of the Forrest:So it is rendered in the Latin Vulgate, by giving the interpretation of the Hebrew names, which are Elhanan the son of Jaare.(Challoner)

(d)21:21 Israel is not God, so how can anyone blaspheme against Israel? by saying something against Israel that implies something blasphemous against God.(Conte)

There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, “It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

The king called the Gibeonites and said to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the children of Israel had sworn to them; and Saul sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah);

and David said to the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? And with what should I make atonement, that you may bless the LORD’s inheritance?”

The Gibeonites said to him, “It is no matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” He said, “I will do for you whatever you say.”

They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and who plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the borders of Israel,

let seven men of his sons be delivered to us, and we will hang them up to the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” The king said, “I will give them.”

But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

He delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites; and they hanged them on the mountain before the LORD, and all seven of them fell together. They were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, at the beginning of barley harvest.

Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water poured on them from the sky. She allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on them by day, nor the animals of the field by night.

David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

So David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hanged them in the day that the Philistines killed Saul in Gilboa;

and he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son. They also gathered the bones of those who were hanged.

They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father; and they performed all that the king commanded. After that, God answered prayer for the land.

Four Battles against the Philistines

(1 Chronicles 20:4–8)

The Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. David grew faint;

and Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of bronze in weight, he being armed with a new sword, thought he would kill David.

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “Don’t go out with us to battle any more, so that you don’t quench the lamp of Israel.”

After this, there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was of the sons of the giant.

There was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite’s brother, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

There was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on every hand and six toes on every foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was born to the giant.

When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, killed him.

These four were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.