2 Samuel 19:24

And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Mephibosheth	וּמְפִבֹ֙שֶׁת֙ u.me.fi.Vo.shet	H4648	Mephibosheth · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
son	בֶּן ben-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Saul	שָׁא֔וּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
down	יָרַ֖ד ya.Rad	H3381	to descend (literally · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
meet	קִרְאָה qirʼâh	H7125	an encountering
king	הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
neither	וְלֹא ve.lo'-	H3808	not (the simple or abs. negation) · conjunction + negative particle
dressed	עָשָׂ֨ה 'a.Sah	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
feet	רַגְלָ֜יו rag.Lav	H7272	a foot (as used in walking) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
trimmed	עָשָׂ֣ה 'a.Sah	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
beard	שְׂפָמ֗וֹ se.fa.Mo	H8222	the beard (as a lippiece) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
washed	כִבֵּ֔ס khi.Bes	H3526	to trample · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
clothes	בְּגָדָיו֙ be.ga.Dav	H899	a covering · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
day	הַיּוֹם֙ hai.yOm	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
king	הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
departed	יָלַךְ yâlak	H3212	to walk (literally or figuratively)
day	הַיּ֖וֹם hai.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
came	בָּ֥א ba'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
peace	בְשָׁלֽוֹם ve.sha.Lom	H7965	safe · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute

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

2 Samuel 9:6-10 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Me…
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 16:3 And the king said, And where is thy master’s son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall th…
Isaiah 15:2 He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be bal…
Jeremiah 41:5 That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent,…
Matthew 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fas…
Romans 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Hebrews 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 19:24-30

The day of David's return was a day of bringing to remembrance, a day of account, in which what had passed in his flight was called over again; among other things, after the case of Shimei, that of Mephibosheth comes to be enquired into, and he himself brings it on. I. He went down in the crowd to meet the king (Sa2 19:24), and as a proof of the sincerity of his joy in the king's return, we are here told what a true mourner he was for the king's banishment. During that melancholy time, when one of the greatest glories of Israel had departed, Mephibosheth continued in a very melancholy state. He was never trimmed, nor put on clean linen, but wholly neglected himself, as one abandoned to grief…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 19:24

Mephibosheth . . . came down to meet the king--The reception given to Mephibosheth was less creditable to David. The sincerity of that prince's grief for the misfortunes of the king cannot be doubted. He had neither dressed his feet--not taken the bath, nor trimmed his beard--The Hebrews cut off the hair on the upper lip (see on Lev 13:45), and cheeks, but carefully cherished it on the chin from ear to ear. Besides dyeing it black or red colors, which, however, is the exception, and not the rule in the East, there are various modes of trimming it: they train it into a massy, bushy form, swelling and round; or they terminate it like a pyramid, in a sharp point. Whatever the mode, it is al…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 19:24

Neither dressed his feet - He had given the fullest proof of his sincere attachment to David and his cause; and by what he had done, amply refuted the calumnies of his servant Ziba.

John Gill on 2 Samuel 19:24

And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king,.... Not down to Jordan, but Jerusalem; when the king was come thither, he came from his own dwelling to the king's palace; he is called the son of Saul, though he was his grandson, and grandsons are sometimes called sons; though in the Septuagint it is, the son's son of Saul; and the Syriac and Arabic versions are, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul: and had neither dressed his feet; had not cut his nails, as the Septuagint adds, his toenails; or rather had not washed his feet, as the Targum paraphrases it; which was frequently done in those countries, partly for refreshment, and partly to remove the filth of them contracted by…

Dictionary and topics

Beard — The mode of wearing it was definitely prescribed to the Jews (Lev. 19:27; 21:5). Hence the import of Ezekiel’s (5:1-4) description of the “razor” i.e., the agents of an angry providence being used…
King — Is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with authority, whether extensive or limited. There were thirty-one kings in Canaan (Josh. 12:9, 24), whom Joshua subdued. Adonibezek…
Mourn — Frequent references are found in Scripture to, (1.) Mourning for the dead. Abraham mourned for Sarah (Gen. 23:2); Jacob for Joseph (37:34, 35); the Egyptians for Jacob (50:3-10); Israel for Aaron…
Mourning — One marked feature of Oriental mourning is what may be called its studies publicity and the careful observance of the prescribed ceremonies. (Genesis 23:2; Job 1:20; 2:12)
Saul — Asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48. (2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, “asked for”), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first…
Beard · Untrimmed in mourning — Untrimmed in mourning
Beard, The · In affliction: Was neglected and untrimmed — In affliction: Was neglected and untrimmed
Feet, The · Of the Jews: Neglected in affliction — Of the Jews: Neglected in affliction
Mephibosheth · .His ingratitu — .His ingratitu

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

2 Samuel 19:24

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 19:24-30

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 19:24

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 19:24

John Gill on 2 Samuel 19:24

Dictionary and topics

2 Samuel 19:24

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 19:24-30

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 19:24

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 19:24

John Gill on 2 Samuel 19:24

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 19:24-30

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Samuel 19:24-30

Rashi on 2 Samuel 19:23