Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 19:17
And [there were] a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king.
17. And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him ] Omit there were, and join this clause to 2Sa 19:16.
they went over Jordan before the king ] Ziba and his retinue dashed into the river and crossed it the word for went over is a peculiar one, expressing impetuous movement to shew their zeal by meeting the king on the eastern bank.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Before the king – i. e., to meet the king. Compare 2Sa 20:8. The king was on the east bank, and they crossed over (by the ford) from the west bank to go to him.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
A thousand men of Benjamin with him; whom he brought, partly to show his power and interest in the people, whereby he was able to do David either great service or great disservice; and partly as intercessors on his behalf, and as witnesses of Davids clemency or severity, that in him they might see what the rest of them might expect.
And Ziba; who, being conscious of his former abuse of David, and of his master Mephibosheth, which he knew the king would understand, designed to sweeten Davids spirit towards him, by his great officiousness and forwardness in meeting him, and congratulating his return.
They went over Jordan before the king; they did not tarry on this side Jordan, waiting till the king came over, as the most of the men of Judah did; but went over Jordan to pay their respects and duty to the king there, to express their eager and impatient desire to see the king.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. Ziba, the servant of the houseof SaulHe had deceived his master; and when ordered to makeready the ass for the lame prince to go and meet the king, he slippedaway by himself to pay court first; so that Mephibosheth, being lame,had to remain in Jerusalem till the king’s arrival.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him,…. Of which tribe he was, and these were either a band of soldiers, of which he was the chiliarch; or tenants of his, which showed him to be a great man; or his neighbours, and persons of some figure, whom he prevailed upon to come as intercessors for him:
and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul; who had imposed upon David, and got his master’s inheritance from him, knowing that David would be undeceived by Mephibosheth his master, when he came to Jerusalem; and therefore that he might be more tenderly dealt with, and come off the better, he was thus forward to meet the king, and pay his respects to him:
and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him: which made a considerable appearance; see 2Sa 9:10;
and they went over Jordan before the king: to meet him on the other side, both Shimei and his a thousand men, and Ziba with his sons and servants.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
There also came along with Shimei a thousand men of Benjamin, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and twenty servants (see 2Sa 9:10); and they went over the Jordan before the king, viz., through a ford, and the ferry-boat had crossed over to carry over the king’s family, and to do whatever seemed good to him, i.e., to be placed at the king’s sole disposal. And Shimei fell down before the king, , i.e., “when he (David) was about to cross over the Jordan,” not “when Shimei had crossed over the Jordan;” for after what has just been stated, such a remark would be superfluous: moreover, it is very doubtful whether the infinitive with can express the sense of the pluperfect. Shimei said, “Let not my lord impute to me any crime, and do not remember how thy servant hath sinned.”
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(17) Before the king.Comp. the same phrase in 2Sa. 20:8. In both cases before is, literally, before the face of, and is equivalent to saying they went over Jordan to meet the king. In their eagerness to prove their very doubtful allegiance, they dashed through the waters of the ford, and met the king on the eastern side of the Jordan.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
SHIMEI’S CONFESSION AND PARDON, 2Sa 19:15-23.
17. A thousand men of Benjamin with him From which it seems that Shimei was a man of much power and influence among the Benjamites.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Sa 19:17 And [there were] a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king.
Ver. 17. And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him. ] And, as some think, under him as their captain; for he was of the house of Saul, and haply a great man in that tribe.
And they went over Jordan before the king,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ziba: 2Sa 19:26, 2Sa 19:27, 2Sa 9:2, 2Sa 9:10, 2Sa 16:1-4
Reciprocal: 2Sa 9:11 – Ziba