Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 21:6

Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, [whom] the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give [them].

6. seven men ] A sacred number, for their execution was to be a solemn religious act of expiation.

we will hang them up ] They were to be impaled or crucified, as a public exhibition of the punishment inflicted. In all probability they were put to death first. The practice corresponds to that of hanging a criminal’s body in chains on the scene of his crime, which was once common in England.

unto the Lord] For the punishment was demanded by divine justice. Cp. Num 25:4.

in Gibeah ] The home of Saul was to be the scene of the punishment.

whom the Lord did choose ] The exact title, the chosen of Jehovah, is nowhere else given to Saul, but is implied by 1Sa 10:24. That it should be thus used by his enemies is strange. Was it from a feeling that the fact of his divine election aggravated his guilt?

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Seven men – Seven was a sacred number not only with the Hebrews but with other Oriental nations Num 23:1, Num 23:29, and is therefore brought in on this occasion when the judicial death of the sons of Saul was a religious act intended to appease the wrath of God for the violation of an oath Num 25:4.

Whom the Lord did choose – Rather, the Lords chosen, or elect. The same phrase is applied to Moses Psa 106:23, to the Israelites Isa 43:20, and to Christ Isa 42:1.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 6. Seven men of his sons] Meaning sons, grandsons, or other near branches of his family. It is supposed that the persons chosen were principal in assisting Saul to exterminate the Gibeonites. But where is the proof of this?

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Unto the Lord; to vindicate his honour, which was injured by Sauls violation of the oath and covenant of God, and to appease his wrath.

In Gibeah of Saul; Sauls country, 1Sa 10:26; 11:4, for their greater shame.

Whom the Lord did choose; this is added to aggravate Sauls offence, that it was committed not only against them, but also against the Lord, who had chosen and advanced him, and therefore did little deserve this from Sauls hand, to have his laws broken, and his name dishonoured by perjury.

I will give them; having doubtless consulted God in the matter, who as he had before declared Sauls bloody house to be the causes of this judgment, so now commanded that justice should be done upon it, and that the remaining branches of it should be cut off; as sufficiently appears from hence, that God was satisfied and well pleased with the action; which he would not have been, if David had done it without his command; for then it had been a sinful action of Davids, and contrary to a double law of God, Deu 21:23; 24:16, which none but God himself could dispense with.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

6. Let seven men of his sons bedelivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeahof SaulThe practice of the Hebrews, as of most Orientalnations, was to slay first, and afterwards to suspend on a gibbet,the body not being left hanging after sunset. The king could notrefuse this demand of the Gibeonites, who, in making it, were onlyexercising their right as blood-avengers; and, although through fearand a sense of weakness they had not hitherto claimed satisfaction,yet now that David had been apprised by the oracle of the cause ofthe long-prevailing calamity, he felt it his duty to give theGibeonites full satisfactionhence their specifying the numberseven, which was reckoned full and complete. And if it should seemunjust to make the descendants suffer for a crime which, in allprobability, originated with Saul himself, yet his sons and grandsonsmight be the instruments of his cruelty, the willing and zealousexecutors of this bloody raid.

the king said, I will givethemDavid cannot be charged with doing this as an indirect wayor ridding himself of rival competitors for the throne, for thosedelivered up were only collateral branches of Saul’s family, andnever set up any claim to the sovereignty. Moreover, David was onlygranting the request of the Gibeonites as God had bidden him do.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us,…. They settled upon this number, either because they were seven, and no more of the Gibeonites, whom Saul slew, as the Jew say i; two hewers of wood, two drawers of water, a keeper (of a synagogue), a scribe, and a servant; but perhaps the true reason was, they knew there were no more besides Mephibosheth, for whom David had a great respect, and therefore required no more:

and we will hang them up unto the Lord; not to gratify a revengeful spirit of theirs, but in honour to the justice of God, and to appease his wrath:

in Gibeah of Saul, [whom] the Lord did choose; which was Saul’s native place, and where he always lived; so that to hang them there was to the greater disgrace of him and his family; and he being chosen of the Lord to be a king of Israel, was an aggravation of his crime in violating the oath made to the Gibeonites

and the king said, I will give [them]; for though he had sworn to Saul that he would not cut off his seed, yet as he had a divine direction in this case, as appears by the Lord’s being pleased with it, and was entreated for the land by it, this oath of his was dispensed with; nor did he cut them off himself but delivered them to others, according to the will of God.

i T. Hieros. Kiddushin, fol. 65. 2.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(6) Let seven men of his sons.The head of the house and his household were closely identified in all the ideas of antiquity. Saul being dead, his male descendants were considered as standing in his place, representing him, and responsible for his acts, just as is largely the case in legal affairs and matters of property at the present day. The number seven is, doubtless, fixed upon as being first, a considerable and sufficient number; and then, on account of its sacred associations, and as the representative of completeness.

We will hang them up.The sons of Saul are only to be given up by David; their actual execution is to be by the Gibeonites, and the method is that of hanging or fastening to a stake, either by impaling or by crucifixion, the word being used for both methods of execution.

Unto the Lordi.e., publicly. (Comp. a similar expression in Num. 25:4.) The sin had been outrageous; its punishment must be conspicuous. The place of execution is fitly chosen in the home of Saul. It seems strange that he should be here spoken of as the Lords chosen; but this and the expression unto the Lord go together; what Saul had done he had done as the head of the theocracy, as Gods chosen ruler, and now his family must be punished in the presence of Him against whom he had offendedbefore the Lord. The idea of regarding the execution of these men as a propitiatory human sacrifice is utterly destitute of any shadow of support.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

6. Seven men A sacred number, not only among the Israelites, but among other Oriental nations.

Hang them up Impale or crucify them. According to the Jewish interpreters the persons were first put to death, and then their bodies were impaled or tied upon a stake. Compare Jos 8:29, note.

Unto the Lord That is, to expiate his wrath.

Gibeah of Saul See marginal references. The place of Saul’s residence was chosen to make the punishment of his crimes more signal.

Whom the Lord did choose Mark the sentiment and the terrible irony. Hang up unto the Lord the sons of him whom the Lord chose!

I will give them David dared not refuse the demand, for the penal famine pressed upon the land, and the law had said, “The land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein but by the blood of him that shed it.” Num 35:33. It has been asked why similar satisfaction was not required for the massacre of the priests at Nob. 1Sa 22:9-19. “The answer is, that the people, and even the family of Saul, had no sympathy with or part in this tragedy, which none but an alien (Doeg) could be found to execute. But both the people and Saul’s family had made themselves parties in the destruction of the unhappy Gibeonites by their sympathy, their concurrence, their aid, and, above all, as we must believe, by their accepting the fruits of the crime.” Kitto.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments