2 Samuel 21 5

2 Samuel 21:5 kjv

And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,

2 Samuel 21:5 nkjv

Then they answered the king, "As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel,

2 Samuel 21:5 niv

They answered the king, "As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel,

2 Samuel 21:5 esv

They said to the king, "The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel,

2 Samuel 21:5 nlt

Then they replied, "It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in the territory of Israel.

2 Samuel 21 verses

2 Samuel 21 5 Meaning

This verse conveys the demand of the Gibeonites to King David concerning the famine afflicting Israel. They attribute the disaster to the actions of King Saul, whom they describe as having utterly destroyed and oppressed them. To atone for this bloodguilt and cleanse the land, the Gibeonites demand that Saul's descendants be delivered to them so that they may exact a retribution of similar magnitude, removing the cause of their suffering and the associated defilement from the land of Israel. This demand for the extinction of the house of Saul, particularly his descendants, serves as a means of expiation for the broken covenant and the bloodshed, aiming to appease divine judgment and end the famine.

2 Samuel 21 5 Context

The events of 2 Samuel 21 occur during a severe three-year famine that has afflicted Israel. King David, concerned about this sustained affliction, inquires of the Lord about its cause. The Lord reveals that the famine is a consequence of Saul's breach of covenant and his slaughter of the Gibeonites. Years prior, during Joshua's time, Israel had sworn a solemn oath (a treaty or covenant) before the Lord to spare the Gibeonites' lives (Josh 9). Saul, out of what is described as misguided "zeal for the children of Israel and Judah" (2 Sam 21:2), violated this ancient oath by seeking to annihilate them, likely seeing them as a threat or an impure element within Israel. This unpunished act of bloodshed, a direct transgression against a divine oath, had defiled the land and brought about divine judgment in the form of famine. Having identified the sin, David seeks expiation by asking the surviving Gibeonites what recompense they desire, to which they respond with the request found in verse 5, demanding justice against Saul's house to remove the bloodguilt.

2 Samuel 21 5 Word analysis

• And they answered the king: Refers to the Gibeonites responding directly to King David's question in verse 3 ("What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement?"). Their answer dictates the course of action for lifting the divine judgment.
• "The man": Refers unequivocally to Saul, singling him out as the primary transgressor and the source of their grievance and Israel's curse.
• "who consumed us": From the Hebrew root kalָh (כָּלָה, transliterated killanu here), meaning to be completed, to come to an end, to be utterly destroyed, finished, consumed, or annihilated. It emphasizes a complete destruction and wiping out of their community. This is not mere harm, but a comprehensive effort to eliminate them.
• "and crushed us": From the Hebrew root dalal (דָּלַל, transliterated vaydallelēnu here), meaning to be low, be in a low state, to be weak, impoverished, brought down, or oppressed. It suggests a state of being utterly diminished, downtrodden, and severely weakened, both in numbers and in spirit. Together, "consumed and crushed" powerfully describes the profound and devastating impact of Saul's actions.
• "let him be delivered to us": This is a direct demand for the responsibility and punishment to be handed over to them, the injured party, to mete out the judgment as they see fit within their understood legal framework. The "him" here, in light of the next phrase, implicitly refers to Saul's lineage, representing his house or enduring corporate entity.
• "that we may consume him": The Gibeonites explicitly mirror the verb kalah (consume/destroy) used to describe Saul's actions against them. This is a call for retributive justice, an "eye for an eye" (Lev 24:19-20), where the punishment reflects the crime. Here, it signifies their right to eliminate the cause of their suffering and the bloodguilt that stemmed from Saul's transgression.
• "and his descendants": The Hebrew zeraʿ (זַרְעוֹ, zar'o) refers to his "seed" or offspring. This is a crucial element that highlights the ancient Near Eastern understanding of corporate responsibility, where the family or lineage could be held accountable for the grave sins of its head. In this context, it underscores that Saul's house carried the corporate bloodguilt for the covenant violation and murder. The famine was a judgment upon the entire nation due to this corporate guilt residing in Saul's lineage.
• "out of all the coasts of Israel": This phrase emphasizes the desire for a total eradication or purification, not just an isolated act of retribution. It means removal from the entire geographical land or national presence of Israel, underscoring the severe nature of the defilement and the need for comprehensive expiation to purify the land and restore divine favor.

2 Samuel 21 5 Bonus section

• The Gibeonites specified "seven" men (2 Sam 21:6) to be given for execution, a symbolic number signifying completeness and finality in ancient Israelite culture (e.g., seven days of creation, seven lamps in the tabernacle, total judgment). This choice aimed for a full expiation.
• The chosen method of death – hanging before the Lord in Gibeah, Saul's own territory (2 Sam 21:6) – also carried specific theological weight. In Deuteronomy 21:22-23, hanging on a tree made the executed person "accursed of God," reinforcing the idea that this was not merely execution but a symbolic act to remove a curse and purify the land from the specific sin of Saul's bloodguilty house.
• David's immediate concern after hearing their request was to ascertain who from Saul's house would be delivered, ultimately sparing Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, because of David's own solemn oath with Jonathan (2 Sam 21:7; 1 Sam 20:14-17). This highlights David's fidelity to his oaths and further emphasizes the absolute seriousness of covenants and their binding nature before God in this narrative.

2 Samuel 21 5 Commentary

2 Samuel 21:5 is a raw and potent demand for justice from a deeply wronged people within an ancient Near Eastern context. It showcases the severity of bloodguilt, particularly when an oath made before God is broken. Saul's actions against the Gibeonites were not just murder; they were a violation of a divinely sworn covenant, causing profound defilement that led to national suffering (the famine). The Gibeonites' request to "consume" Saul's "descendants" may seem harsh by modern standards, especially in light of the Old Testament law that later emphasized individual accountability (Deut 24:16; Ezek 18:20). However, within the specific framework of expiation for grave corporate bloodguilt that polluted the land and brought divine judgment (Num 35:33-34), the house, or "seed," of the offender could bear the consequences to bring about a purification and lift a curse. This was not viewed as simple revenge but a necessary sacral act of atonement to cleanse the land and appease God's wrath, allowing divine blessings to return to the nation. David, acknowledging the gravity of the divine curse indicated by the famine, had to allow the Gibeonites to name their terms of atonement to lift the guilt from Israel.