2 Samuel 21:1-6

2 Samuel 21:1-6

[1] Then there was a famine  in the days  of David  three  years,  after  year;  and David  enquired  of  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,  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  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.

What does 2 Samuel 21:1-6 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Internal references in2Samuel enable us to date this incident early in David"s reign between Mephibosheth"s arrival in Jerusalem and the beginning of the Ammonite wars. Probably God sent judgment on Israel for Saul"s action soon after he died. Saul"s concubine watched over the bodies of her slain sons until the famine ended. If this took place later in David"s reign, she would have been very old, which is possible but unlikely. Also, David buried the bodies of Saul and Jonathan at this time. He would hardly have done this years later. The fact that David did not execute Mephibosheth suggests that this son of Jonathan had come under David"s protection by this time. That took place after David moved his capital to Jerusalem. After the Ammonite wars began, David might not have had time for what the writer described here. Consequently a date within996-993 B.C. for this famine seems reasonable.
Characteristically, David sought the Lord about the famine ( 2 Samuel 21:1; cf. Deuteronomy 28:47-48). Sometimes natural catastrophes such as famines resulted from Israel"s sins, but sin was not always the cause (cf. Job; John 9:2-3). There is no mention elsewhere in Samuel that Saul had broken the Israelites" treaty with the Gibeonites (cf. Joshua 9:3-27). Saul evidently refused to acknowledge Israel"s treaty with the Gibeonites ( Joshua 9) and put some of them to death. One writer suggested that Saul had made Gibeon his capital, and after a falling out with the native Hivite inhabitants Saul slaughtered them. [1] However there is nothing in the text that indicates he did this. Another possibility is that when Saul slew many of the priests at Nob he also executed many Gibeonites ( 1 Samuel 22:19). David asked the Gibeonites what punishment would satisfy them and atone for (cover) Saul"s sin of murder.
"Since the verb kipper [2] is used absolutely here, it is impossible to say from the construction alone whether it means to propitiate [3] or to expiate [4]. From the context, however, it is clear that it means both. David is seeking both to satisfy the Gibeonites and to "make up for" the wrong done to them. It is equally clear that he cannot achieve the latter with the former. There is no expiation [5] without propitiation [6]." [7]
"The inheritance of the Lord" probably refers to the nation of Israel (cf. 2 Samuel 20:19). The Gibeonites were content to have seven (a number symbolizing completeness) of Saul"s descendants (not necessarily sons) executed. This was in keeping with ancient Near Eastern and Mosaic laws (the lex talionis or law of revenge, Numbers 35:31). There are records of broken treaties leading to natural calamities in other ancient Near Eastern literature. [8] The Hebrew word translated "hang" ( 2 Samuel 21:6) means to execute in a way that the body suffers public humiliation (cf. Numbers 25:4). Probably they suffered execution and then their bodies were hung up so everyone could witness their fate.