2 Samuel 9:2

"Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, `Are you Ziba?' And he said, `Your servant is he.'"

It appears from this that nobody was able to answer David's question (2 Samuel 9:1); but someone told him about Ziba whose close relation to Saul would enable him to provide the information David wanted.

Ziba apparently was in full possession of all the vast properties of the former king, but as Machir had been caring for Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9:4), it seems likely that Ziba had made himself quite wealthy in those intervening years after Saul's death. It is not revealed whether or not Ziba was paying anyone for the lease or rental of all those lands. Some commentators suggest that Ziba was paying David, but the fact of David's not being acquainted with Ziba until this incident makes that doubtful.