1 THEN there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.
2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto 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 unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)
3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.
5 And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,
6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose. And the king said, I will give them.
7 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.
8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:
9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.
10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:
13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.
14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.
15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.
16 And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.
17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.
18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.
19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Beth-lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.
21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.

22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants

1Then there was a famine in the dayes of Dauid three yeeres, yeere after yeere, and Dauid enquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloodie house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

2And the king called the Gibeonites, and said vnto them, (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the children of Israel had sworne vnto them: and Saul sought to slay them, in his zeale to the children of Israel and Iudah)

3Wherefore Dauid said vnto the Gibeonites, What shall I doe for you? and wherwith shall I make the atonement, that ye may blesse the inheritance of the Lord ?

4And the Gibeonites saide vnto him, We will haue no siluer nor golde of Saul, nor of his house, neither for vs shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What you shall say, that will I doe for you.

5And they answered the king, The man that consumed vs, and that deuised against vs, that we should be destroied from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,

6Let seuen men of his sonnes bee deliuered vnto vs, and wee will hang them vp vnto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whome the Lord did chuse. And the king said, I will giue them.

7But the king spared Mephibosheth the sonne of Ionathan the sonne of Saul, because of the Lords othe that was between them, betweene Dauid, and Ionathan the sonne of Saul.

8But the king tooke the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare vnto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the fiue sonnes of Michal the daughter of Saul, whome she brought vp for Adriel the sonne of Barzillai the Meholathite.

9And hee deliuered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord: and they fell all seuen together, and were put to death in the dayes of haruest, in the first dayes, in the beginning of barley haruest.

10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah tooke sackecloth, and spread it for her vpon the rocke, from the beginning of haruest, vntill water dropped vpon them out of heauen, and suffered neither the birds of the aire to rest on them by day, nor the beastes of the fielde by night.

11And it was tolde Dauid what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah the concubine of Saul had done.

12 And Dauid went and tooke the bones of Saul, and the bones of Ionathan his sonne from the men of Iabesh Gilead, which had stollen them from the street of Bethshan where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slaine Saul in Gilboa.

13And hee brought vp from thence the bones of Saul, and the bones of Ionathan his sonne, and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.

14And the bones of Saul and Ionathan his sonne buried they in the countrey of Beniamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they perfourmed all that the king commanded: and after that, God was entreated for the land.

15 Moreouer, the Philistines had yet warre againe with Israel, and Dauid went down, and his seruants with him, and fought against the Philistines, and Dauid waxed faint.

16And Ishbi-benob which was of the sonnes of the gyant, (the weight of whose speare weighed three hundred shekels of brasse in weight) he being girded with a new sword, thought to haue slaine Dauid.

17But Abishai the sonne of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of Dauid sware vnto him, saying, Thou shalt goe no more out with vs to battell, that thou quench not the light of Israel.

18And it came to passe after this, that there was againe a battell with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sonnes of the Gyant.

19And there was againe a battell in Gob, with the Philistines, where Elhanan the sonne of Iaare-Oregim a Bethlehemite, slewe the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staffe of whose speare was like a weauers beame.

20And there was yet a battell in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on euery hand sixe fingers, and on euery foote sixe toes, foure and twenty in number, and he also was borne to the Gyant.

21And when he defied Israel, Ionathan the sonne of Shimea the brother of Dauid, slew him.

22These foure were borne to the Gyant in Gath, and fell by the hand of Dauid, and by the hand of his seruants.

I == Num 27:21

II == Josh 9:3 , 15-17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

III == 2nd Sam 20:19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VI == 1st Sam 10:24 , 26 ; 11:4

 

 

VII == 1st Sam 18:3 ; 20:8 , 15 , 42 ; 23:18

 

VIII == 2nd Sam 3:7

 

 

 

 

IX == 2nd Sam 6:17

 

 

 

X == Deut 21:23 ; 2nd Sam 3:7 ; 21:8

 

 

 

 

 

 

XII == 1st Sam 31:10 , 11-13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XIV == Josh 7:26 ; 18:28 ; 2nd Sam 24:25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XVII == 2nd Sam 18:3 ; 1st Kings 11:36 ; 15:4 ; Ps 132:17

 

 

XVIII == 1st Chr 11:29 ; 20:4

 

 

XIX == 1st Chr 20:5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXI == 1st Sam 16:9 ; 17:10 , 25-26

 

XXII == 1st Chr 20:8

1 During David's reign there was a famine for three successive years. David had recourse to the LORD, who said, "There is bloodguilt on Saul and his family because he put the Gibeonites to death."

2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but survivors of the Amorites; and although the Israelites had given them their oath, Saul had attempted to kill them off in his zeal for the men of Israel and Judah.)

3 David said to the Gibeonites, "What must I do for you and how must I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?"

4 The Gibeonites answered him, "We have no claim against Saul and his house for silver or gold, nor is it our place to put any man to death in Israel." Then he said, "I will do for you whatever you propose."

5 They said to the king, "As for the man who was exterminating us and who intended to destroy us that we might have no place in all the territory of Israel,

6 let seven men from among his descendants be given to us, that we may dismember them before the LORD in Gibeon, on the LORD'S mountain." The king replied, "I will give them up."

7 The king, however, spared Meribbaal, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that formed a bond between David and Saul's son Jonathan.

8 But the king took Armoni and Meribbaal, the two sons that Aiah's daughter Rizpah had borne to Saul, and the five sons of Saul's daughter Merob that she had borne to Adriel, son of Barzillai the Meholathite,

9 and surrendered them to the Gibeonites. They then dismembered them on the mountain before the LORD. The seven fell at the one time; they were put to death during the first days of the harvest - that is, at the beginning of the barley harvest.

10 Then Rizpah, Aiah's daughter, took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock from the beginning of the harvest until rain came down on them from the sky, fending off the birds of the sky from settling on them by day, and the wild animals by night.

11 When David was informed of what Rizpah, Aiah's daughter, the concubine of Saul, had done,

12 he went and obtained the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh-gilead, who had carried them off secretly from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them at the time they killed Saul on Gilboa.

13 When he had brought up from there the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan, the bones of those who had been dismembered were also gathered up.

14 Then the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan were buried in the tomb of his father Kish at Zela in the territory of Benjamin. After all that the king commanded had been carried out, God granted relief to the land.

15 There was another battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his servants and fought the Philistines, but David grew tired.

16 Dadu, one of the Rephaim, whose bronze spear weighed three hundred shekels, was about to take him captive. Dadu was girt with a new sword and planned to kill David,

17 but Abishai, son of Zeruiah, came to his assistance and struck and killed the Philistine. Then David's men swore to him, "You must not go out to battle with us again, lest you quench the lamp of Israel."

18 After this there was another battle with the Philistines in Gob. On that occasion Sibbecai, from Husha, killed Saph, one of the Rephaim.

19 There was another battle with the Philistines in Gob, in which Elhanan, son of Jair from Bethlehem, killed Goliath of Gath, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's heddle-bar.

20 There was another battle at Gath in which there was a man of large stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot - twenty-four in all. He too was one of the Rephaim.

21 And when he insulted Israel, Jonathan, son of David's brother Shimei, killed him.

22 These four were Rephaim in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his servants

v 1. This famine was probably near the end of David’s reign, and by the third year, he recognized it to be a judgment of the Lord. We are not previously told that Saul had killed some of the Gibeonites. They were the ones who deceived Israel into making an alliance with them, Josh. 9:15-21. That agreement should not have been made, but it had been kept for centuries, and Saul was very wrong in breaking it in his zeal.

v 2-6. David desired to make atonement, and they didn’t ask for payment or for the death among the Israelites. According to Ex, 21:26, they could have asked to be freed from their position of servitude. However, Saul had tried to exterminate them, so they asked that seven of his male descendants be turned over to them to be hung near his home. They did not ask this out of malice, but that God’s justice be performed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 7--9. Because of David’s promise to Jonathan, he spared Mephibosheth. He selected two sons of Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, v 11, one, another Mephibosheth, and five sons of Adriel. Scholars disagree on this, but I agree with Matthew Henry that very simply, the sons were by Merab, who Saul had given to Adriel instead of to David. Then perhaps Merab died and they were brought up by Michal. This may be one of the reasons she was given to Adriel while David was in exile. The seven were all hung in the beginning of barley harvest.

 

 

 

v 10,11. If one was executed for personal sin, the body was not to be left hanging overnight, Deut. 21,22,23. Rizpah might have left her two sons and the other five to the birds if they had acted corruptly, but they had died for Saul’s sins,or if they had a part in it, it was under his orders. Realizing the drouth was judgment from God, she did not take the bones down for burial, but watched over them about six months, from the beginning of barley harvest till the fall rains came. This would not only have been heart rending to her, but the odor would have been overpowering for a while.

V 12-14. David was impressed with Rizpah’s devotion, and remembered how the bodies of Saul and his sons had been so shamefully displayed by the Philistines. He therefore brought back their bones from the grave along with the bones of the seven, and gave them proper burial in the family sepulcher, thus appeasing God’s wrath.

 

 

 

v 15-22. In battle with the Philistine giant, whose bronze spearhead weighed seven and one half pounds, David was getting faint, and was nearly killed by him. His nephew, Abishai, came to his aid and killed the giant, but David’s men charged him that he was too valuable to be risked in battle any more.  Several more giants listed were killed in these battles, and the giants largely disappeared from this time on. This Goliath was killed many years after the one killed by David. The giant with twenty four toes and fingers was killed by the son of David’s brother Shimei, not the Shimei who threw stones at David.