Thou therefore , and thy sons - shall till the land - It seems that Ziba and his family had the care of the whole estate, and cultivated it at their own expense, yielding the half of the produce to the family of Mephibosheth. Ziba was properly the hind, whose duty and interest it was to take proper care of the ground, for the better it was cultivated the more it produced; and his half would consequently be the greater. read more
So shall thy servant do - The promises of Ziba were fair and specious, but he was a traitor in his heart, as we shall see in the rebellion of Absalom, and David's indulgence to this man is a blot in his character; at this time however he suspected no evil; circumstances alone can develope the human character. The internal villain can be known only when circumstances occur which can call his propensities into action; till then he may be reputed an honest man. read more
Did eat continually at the king ' s table - He was fit for no public office, but was treated by the king with the utmost respect and affection. read more
The facts are: 1 . David, remembering his love for Jonathan, inquires whether there were any survivors of the house of Saul; and being informed of the proximity of Ziba, an old servant, he sends for him. 2 . He is told that a son of Jonathan, lame of foot, is a sojourner in the house of Machir. 3 . Being sent for, Mephibosheth, on appearing before the king, falls on his face and pays reverence, but is spoken to kindly. 4 . Being assured by David that there was no need for fear,... read more
( THE KING 'S PALACE .) Mephibosheth before the king. We have here a picture of— I. EXTRAORDINARY VICISSITUDES IS LIFE . A prince by birth, deprived of his father, crippled by a heedless footstep, carried into exile and poverty, recently a helpless dependent in a remote district, is conducted into the presence of one who was once a shepherd boy, afterwards a wandering outlaw, and now the greatest monarch on earth! Such changes: 1 . May be largely, though not... read more
All the land of Saul thy father. David probably restored to Mephibosheth not only the lands at Gibeah, which Ziba had managed to hold, but Saul's estates generally. There seems, nevertheless, to have been on Ziba's part a grudge against Mephibosheth for thus getting back from the king what he had hoped to keep as his own. The privilege of being the king's friend, and eating at his table, was an honour that would be more highly prized than even the possession of the estates. read more
A dead dog. At first sight this extreme self-humiliation makes us look on Mephibosheth as a poor creature, whom early misfortune and personal deformity had combined to depress But really this is to impose on an Oriental hyperbole a Western exactness of meaning. When in the East your entertainer assures you that everything he has to his last dirhem is yours, he nevertheless expects you to pay twice the value foreverything you consume; but he makes his exaction pleasant by his extreme... read more
Thy master's son. Strictly Mephibosheth was Saul's grandson, but words of relationship are used in a very general way in Hebrew. read more
That thy master's son may have food to eat. Instead of "son," Hebrew ben , some commentators prefer the reading of a few Greek versions, namely, "house," Hebrew, beth. But the difficulty which they seek to avoid arises only from extreme literalness of interpretation. Though Mephibosheth ate at the king's table, he would have a household to maintain—for he had a wife and son—and other expenses; and his having "food to eat" includes everything necessary, as does our prayer for "daily... read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 9:9
I have given unto thy master ' s son - Unless Ziba had been servant of Jonathan, this seems to refer to Micha, son of Mephibosheth, and so some understand it; but it is more likely that Mephibosheth is meant, who is called son of Saul instead of grandson. Yet it is evident enough that the produce of the land went to the support of Micha, (see 2 Samuel 9:10 ;), for the father was provided for at the table of David; but all the patrimony belonged to Mephibosheth. read more