Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 9:11
Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.
11. As for Mephibosheth, said the king] There is nothing to warrant the insertion of the words “said the king:” nor can the words be Ziba’s assertion that he would himself have entertained Mephibosheth royally. It remains to follow the LXX. in reading at David’s table for “at my table,” and to take the clause along with the next two verses as the narrator’s conclusion of the story, thus: “ So Mephibosheth did eat at David’s table, as one of the king’s sons. ”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Said the king – There is nothing in the Hebrew to warrant the insertion of these words. The words are: So Mephibosheth ate at my table as one of the kings sons. Only it follows that the narrator is David himself.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 11. So shall thy servant do.] The promises of Ziba were fair and specious, but he was a traitor in his heart, as we shall see in the rebellion of Absalom, and David’s indulgence to this man is a blot in his character; at this time however he suspected no evil; circumstances alone can develope the human character. The internal villain can be known only when circumstances occur which can call his propensities into action; till then he may be reputed an honest man.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
These are the words, either, first, Of David; the words said he, or said the king, being supplied out of the former and following verses. Or, secondly, Of Ziba, being thus rendered and understood. Also Mephibosheth, if the king so please,
shall eat at my table, and shall be treated there according to his quality, as one of thy sons, as thou desirest; for the estate will suffice for that also.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Then said Ziba unto the king, according to all the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do,…. Till the land, and bring the fruits of it to Mephibosheth, for the support of his family; he promised very fair, had he been as faithful to his trust:
as for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons; which is repeated, for the confirmation of it, and to show that he should be treated with equal respect, and fare as the king’s sons themselves did; though the clause “said the king” is not in the original text, and the words are thought by Abarbinel and others to be the words of Ziba continued; who promised to do what the king had ordered, though Mephibosheth had eaten at his table, as one of the king’s sons, and needed not anything, and needed not to eat at the king’s table; and if it was his pleasure, he would maintain him out of this estate like the son of a king; but the phrase “my table” seems to be too arrogant for Ziba to say, and rather fits the mouth of David the king.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Ziba promised to obey the king’s command. The last clause of this verse is a circumstantial clause in form, with which the writer passes over to the conclusion of his account. But the words , “at my table,” do not tally with this, as they require that the words should be taken as David’s own. This is precluded, however, not only by the omission of any intimation that David spoke again after Ziba, and repeated what he had said once already, and that without any occasion whatever, but also by the form of the sentence, more especially the participle . There is no other course left, therefore, than to regard (my table) as written by mistake for : “but Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons.” The further notices in 2Sa 9:12 and 2Sa 9:13 follow this in a very simple manner. , “all the dwelling,” i.e., all the inhabitants of Ziba’s house, namely his sons and servants, were servants of Mephibosheth, i.e., worked for him and cultivated his land, whilst he himself took up his abode at Jerusalem, to eat daily at the king’s table, although he was lamed in both his feet.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
‘ Then said Ziba to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so shall your servant do.” As for Mephibosheth the king had said, “he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.”
Ziba accepted the king’s command (he actually had little option) and assured the king that he would carry out his will as a true ‘servant’. The king meanwhile confirmed that Mephibosheth would eat at the royal table, and would indeed be treated as one of the king’s sons. (‘The king had said’ is lacking in the Hebrew, but is clearly required. Compare verse 10a. The whole sentence is an added participial clause confirming the privilege that was to be Mephibosheth’s with ‘he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons’ being a kind of comment put into the first person). It was an exceedingly magnanimous gesture.
It should be noted that David nowhere refers to Mephibosheth’s lameness. It is Ziba and the writer who draw attention to his condition, the one to try to protect him from the king’s vengeance, the other so as to emphasise that he was no threat to the throne, and David’s magnanimity. There may also be the thought that his condition was a true picture of the house of Saul, as a house that could only stumble before God. David himself, however, appears to have treated him on a level of total normality. He was simply moved by loyalty to Jonathan, and ultimately by generosity, not by pity.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Sa 9:11. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, &c. Said the king, is not in the Hebrew. Houbigant renders the clause thus: afterwards Mephibosheth did eat at the king’s table, as one of the king’s sons. Dr. Delaney supposes, that David composed upon this occasion the 101st Psalm. Note; Our forfeited inheritance is restored to us in Christ; and, though we are utterly undeserving the least of his regard, he kindly condescends to invite us to his table below, and to sit down with him in his kingdom above.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Sa 9:11 Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.
Ver. 11. As for Mephibosheth, said the king. ] These last words are not in the original: and some there are that make it Ziba’s speech; as if he had said, Do, O king, as thou thinkest fitting: howbeit Mephibosheth might have his meals with me, and should by me be royally entertained as a king’s son.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ziba: 2Sa 19:17
According: 2Sa 16:1-4, 2Sa 19:26
Reciprocal: 2Sa 9:7 – eat bread 2Sa 9:10 – shall eat bread 2Sa 9:13 – he did eat 2Sa 19:33 – Come thou
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9:11 Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. {f} As for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.
(f) That Mephibosheth may have all things at commandment, as becomes a king’s son.