2 Samuel 21:1 NIV

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 2 Samuel 21:1

famine . One of the thirteen mentioned. See note on Genesis 12:10 . year after year = the year after that year: i.e. 932. David being now fifty-eight. the LORD . Hebrew. Jehovah . App-4 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 2 Samuel 21:1

THINGS PERTAINING TO THE REIGN OF DAVID(2 Samuel 21-24)THREE YEARS OF FAMINE;RIZPAH'S LOVE;MILITARY HEROESSome of the problems and questions that confront us in this chapter are undoubtedly due to the imperfection of the text as it has come down to us. "There are many places in this chapter which have suffered much from the ignorance or carelessness of transcribers; and, indeed, I suspect that the whole has suffered so materially as to distort, if not misrepresent the principal facts."[1] Many... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 2 Samuel 21:1

2 Samuel 21:1. Three years, year after year— Houbigant reads it, for three successive years. The crime for which the three years of famine were sent, was the murder of many of the Gibeonites by Saul, with a determined purpose utterly to destroy the remainder; and this contrary to the public oath and faith, which had been given them for their security, in cold blood, in time of peace, when the Gibeonites were unarmed and destitute of assistance, only to shew how zealous he was to oblige the... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 21:1

1. the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites—The sacred history has not recorded either the time or the reason of this massacre. Some think that they were sufferers in the atrocity perpetrated by Saul at Nob ( :-), where many of them may have resided as attendants of the priests; while others suppose it more probable that the attempt was made afterwards, with a view to regain the popularity he had lost throughout the nation by that execrable... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 2 Samuel 21:1-6

1. Saul’s broken treaty with the Gibeonites 21:1-6Internal references in 2 Samuel 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... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 2 Samuel 21:1-14

A. Famine from Saul’s Sin 21:1-14In this first subsection the writer reminds the reader that breaking covenants results in God withdrawing the blessing of fertility. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 21:1-22

The Famine and some Exploits against the Philistines1. It is for Saul, and for his bloody house] rather, ’upon Saul and his house rests bloodshed.’ The Gibeonites] The lives of the Gibeonites had been spared, through fear of God’s anger being excited by any breach of the covenant made with them (Joshua 9, especially Joshua 9:20). 2. Amorites] Strictly speaking, the Gibeonites were Hivites (Joshua 9, 7), especially 2 Samuel 21:20). 2. Amorites] Strictly speaking, the Gibeonites were Hivites... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 21:1-25

These chapters contain six appendices, which have been placed at the end of the book in order not to interrupt the history of the reign. These appendices are (1) the account of a famine (2 Samuel 21:1-14); (2) exploits against the Philistines (2 Samuel 21:15-22); (3) a psalm of David (2 Samuel 22); (4) David’s last words (2 Samuel 23:1-7); (5) further exploits against the Philistines and a list of David’s heroes (2 Samuel 23:8-29); (6) the census of the people (2 Samuel 24). Of these six, the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 2 Samuel 21:1

XXI.(1) Then there was.—Read, and there was, there being no indication of time in the original. It is plain from 2 Samuel 21:7 that the events here narrated occurred after David had come to know Mephibosheth; and if in 2 Samuel 16:7 there is (as many suppose) an allusion to the execution of Saul’s sons, they must have happened before the rebellion of Absalom. There is no more definite clue to the time, and the expression “in the days of David” seems purposely indefinite. The narrative is... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - 2 Samuel 21:1-22

Rizpah 2 Samuel 21:0 Dr. John Brown's paragraphs on 'Rizpah' in 'Notes on Art'. Horæ Subsecivæ. References. XXI. 8-10. J. H. Jellett, The Elder Son, p. 90. XXI. 9. J. M. Neale, Sermons for Some Feast Days in the Christian Year, p. 103. XXI. 12-14. J. Mackay, Jonathan, the Friend of David, p. 217. XXII. 29. R. E. Hutton, The Crown of Christ, vol. i. p. 205. XXII. 36. A. MacLeod, Days of Heaven Upon Earth, p. 184. XXII. 40, 61. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture 2 Samuel, etc.,... read more