2 Samuel 16:1

And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
David	וְדָוִ֗ד ve.da.Vid	H1732	David · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
little	מְעַט֙ me.'At	H4592	a little or few (often adverbial or compar.) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
past	עָבַ֤ר 'a.Var	H5674	to cross over · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
top	מֵֽהָרֹ֔אשׁ me.ha.Rosh	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · preposition + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Ziba	צִיבָ֛א tzi.Va'	H6717	Tsiba · proper noun, a man's name
servant	נַ֥עַר Na.'ar	H5288	(concretely) a boy (as active) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Mephibosheth

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Samuel 25:18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched co…
2 Samuel 15:32 And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him…
1 Samuel 10:3 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to…
1 Samuel 16:20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
1 Samuel 17:17-18 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy…
2 Samuel 9:2-13 And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou…
2 Samuel 15:30 And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people…
2 Samuel 17:27-29 And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 16:1-4

We read before how kind David was to Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, how he prudently entrusted his servant Ziba with the management of his estate, while he generously entertained him at his own table, Sa2 9:10. This matter was well settled; but, it seems, Ziba is not content to be manager, he longs to be master, of Mephibosheth's estate. Now, he thinks, is his time to make himself so; if he can procure a grant of it from the crown, whether David or Absalom get the better it is all one to him, he hopes he shall secure his prey, which he promises himself by fishing in troubled waters. In order hereunto, 1. He made David a handsome present of provisions, which was the more welcome because it…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 16:1

Two hundred loaves of bread - The word loaf gives us a false idea of the ancient Jewish bread; it was thin cakes, not yeasted and raised like ours. Bunches of raisins - See on Sa1 25:18 (note). Summer fruits - These were probably pumpions, cucumbers, or watermelons. The two latter are extensively used in those countries to refresh travelers in the burning heat of the summer. Mr. Harmer supposes they are called summer fruits on this very account. A bottle of wine - A goat's skin full of wine; this I have already shown was the general bottle in the Eastern countries; see on Sa1 25:18 (note).

John Gill on 2 Samuel 16:1

And when David was a little past the top of the hill,.... Of the mount of Olives, the ascent of which he is said to go up by, and to come to the top of it, 2 Samuel 15:30, behold, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, met him; of whom see 2 Samuel 9:2; with a couple of asses saddled: and so fit to ride on, but for the present he used them to another purpose: and upon them two hundred loaves of bread; an hundred on each ass very probably: and an hundred bunches of raisins; or dried grapes, as the Targum: and an hundred of summer fruits: not in number, but in weight, as apples, pears, plums, apricots, &c. so the Targum, an hundred pounds of figs: and a bottle of wine: a cask or flagon of wi…

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The Church Fathers

It ought not to excite astonishment that Constantine was so far deceived as to send so many great men into exile: for he believed the assertions of bishops of high fame and reputation, who skillfully concealed their malice. Those who are acquainted with the Sacred Scriptures know that the holy David, although he was a prophet, was deceived; and that too not by a priest, but by one who was a menial, a slave and a rascal. I mean Ziba, who deluded the king by lies against Mephibosheth, and thus obtained his land. It is not to condemn the prophet that I speak in this way; but that I may defend the emperor, by showing the weakness of human nature, and to teach that credit should not be given only to those who advance accusations, even though they may appear worthy of credit; but that the other party ought also to be heard, and that one ear should be left open to the accused.
— Theodoret of Cyrus, ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 1.31

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Bunch — (1.) A bundle of twigs (Ex. 12:22). (2.) Bunch or cake of raisins (2 Sam. 16:1). (3.) The “bunch of a camel” (Isa. 30:6).
Flagon — Heb. ashishah, (2 Sam. 6:19; 1 Chr. 16:3; Cant. 2:5; Hos. 3:1), meaning properly “a cake of pressed raisins.” “Flagons of wine” of the Authorized Version should be, as in the Revised Version, “cakes…
Mephibosheth — Exterminator of shame; i.e., of idols. (1.) The name of Saul’s son by the concubine Rizpah (q.v.), the daughter of Aiah. He and his brother Armoni were with five others “hanged on a hill before the…
Raisins — Dried grapes; mentioned 1 Sam. 25:18; 30:12; 2 Sam. 16:1; 1 Chr. 12:40.
Ziba — Post; statue, “a servant of the house of Saul” (2 Sam. 9:2), who informed David that Mephibosheth, a son of Jonathan, was alive. He afterwards dealt treacherously toward Mephibosheth, whom he…
Ass (Donkey) · . — .
Bottles · Made of skins: Sometimes probably of large dimensions — Made of skins: Sometimes probably of large dimensions
Diet Of The Jews, The · Articles of, often sent as presents — Articles of, often sent as presents
Fruits · Divided into: Summer fruits — Divided into: Summer fruits
Mephibosheth · .His ingratitu — .His ingratitu
Raisins · Given by Ziba to David — Given by Ziba to David
Servants · Bad — Exemplified: Ziba — Bad — Exemplified: Ziba

2 Samuel 16:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 16:1-4

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 16:1

John Gill on 2 Samuel 16:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Samuel 16:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 16:1-4

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 16:1

John Gill on 2 Samuel 16:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 16:1-4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Samuel 16:1

Rashi on 2 Samuel 16:1