2 Samuel 21:1 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1-9

Here I. Were are told of the injury which Saul had, long before this, done to the Gibeonites, which we had no account of in the history of his reign, nor should we have heard of it here but that it came now to be reckoned for. The Gibeonites were of the remnant of the Amorites (2 Sam. 21:2), who by a stratagem had made peace with Israel, and had the public faith pledged to them by Joshua for their safety. We had the story Josh. 9:1-27, where it was agreed (21-23) that they should have their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1

Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year ,.... That is, three years running, one after another; some think this, though here related, was before the rebellions of Absalom and Sheba, and not after, and there are several things which may incline to it, as that the sin of Saul should otherwise be so long unpunished, and that the bones of Saul and Jonathan were not sooner removed, here related; and that there should be so many battles the Philistines after they... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 21:1

Then there was a famine - Of this famine we know nothing; it is not mentioned in any part of the history of David. Because he slew the Gibeonites - No such fact is mentioned in the life and transactions of Saul; nor is there any reference to it in any other part of Scripture. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1

EXPOSItION There was a famine in the days of David; Hebrew, and there was. There is an entire absence of any mark of time to show in what part of David's reign this famine took place. It does not even follow, from the mention of Mephibosheth's name, that it must have happened at a time subsequent to the sending for that prince from Machir's house; for it may have been the search after the descendants of Saul which made David remember the son of his old friend. The burial, however,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1

Seeking God's face. "David sought the face of the Lord" (Revised Version). The Authorized Version has here "inquired of the Lord," as in 2 Samuel 2:1 , where it is the translation of a different phrase. Doubtless the substantial meaning is the same. But, as with words, so with phrases, two are seldom wholly synonymous; and the differences are often instructive, suggesting each its own train of thought. So it is with these two phrases. That in the Revised Version leads us to think of— ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1-14

A story of deferred retribution. The facts are: 1 . A famine continuing for three years, and inquiry being made of the Lord by David, he is informed that it was in consequence of Saul's sin in slaying the Gibeonites. 2 . David, asking of the Gibeonites what he shall do for them by way of atonement for the wrong done, is informed that they seek not gold or the life of any man of Israel, but require that seven of Saul's family should be put to death, and hung up in Gibeah of Saul. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1-14

( GIBEON , GIBEAH .) Famine. "And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year" ( 2 Samuel 21:1 ). [ Summary of the remaining portion (or appendix) of this book: 1 . The famine. 2 . Victorious acts in wars with the Philistines ( 2 Samuel 21:15-22 ). 3 . David's song of thanksgiving (looking backward); 2 Samuel 22:1-51 4. 2 Samuel His last prophetic words (looking forward); 2 Samuel 23:1-7 . These two lyrical and prophetic productions... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 21:1

There is no note of time whatever, nor any clue as to what part of David’s reign the events of this chapter ought to be assigned.Enquired of the Lord - Hebrew “sought the face of the Lord,” quite a different phrase from that so often used in Judges (e. g. Judges 1:1) and the Books of Samuel, and probably indicating that this chapter is from a different source; an inference agreeing with the indefinite “in the days of David,” and with the allusion to the slaughter of the Gibeonites, which has... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Samuel 21:1

2 Samuel 21:1. Then there was a famine, &c. The things related here, and chap. 24., are, by the best interpreters, conceived to have been done long before Absalom’s rebellion. And this opinion is not without sufficient grounds. For, first, this particle, then, is here explained, in the days, that is, during the reign of David: which general words seem to be added as an intimation that these things were not done next after the foregoing passages, for then the sacred writer would have... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1-22

21:1-24:25 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERSThe writer of 2 Samuel has finished his historical record of David’s reign. Since the story of David’s sin with Bathsheba, the writer has mainly been concerned with showing how this one event changed the course of David’s life. He now returns and records various other stories and poems to show other difficulties David faced during his reign. He shows also how God cared for him during those difficulties. (The story of David’s closing years is given in the opening... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1-9

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 21:1

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1-14

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1-14

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 21:1

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Samuel 21:1

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1-22

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