2 Samuel 21:7 kjv
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
2 Samuel 21:7 nkjv
But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the LORD's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
2 Samuel 21:7 niv
The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan son of Saul.
2 Samuel 21:7 esv
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the oath of the LORD that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
2 Samuel 21:7 nlt
The king spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, who was Saul's grandson, because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the LORD.
2 Samuel 21 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 20:8 | "Deal loyally with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you." | Jonathan asks David to uphold covenant. |
| 1 Sam 20:14 | "If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die;" | Jonathan seeks David's kindness for his house. |
| 1 Sam 20:15 | "you shall not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever..." | David commits to lifelong kindness for Jonathan's lineage. |
| 1 Sam 20:42 | "The Lord is between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever." | David & Jonathan affirm covenant before Lord. |
| 2 Sam 9:1 | David asks, "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?" | David actively seeks to honor his oath to Jonathan. |
| 2 Sam 9:3 | Ziba tells David, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet." | Identifies Mephibosheth in previous fulfillment of oath. |
| 2 Sam 9:7 | David says to Mephibosheth, "Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan..." | David's initial act of kindness to Mephibosheth based on covenant. |
| Josh 9:15 | "Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live..." | Original covenant with Gibeonites sworn by Israel's leaders. |
| Josh 9:19 | All the leaders said to all the congregation, "We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them." | Leaders affirm inviolability of Gibeonite oath. |
| 2 Sam 21:1 | "Now there was a famine in the days of David... because of Saul and his bloody house, for he put the Gibeonites to death." | Famine results from Saul breaking the Gibeonite covenant. |
| 2 Sam 21:2 | "The Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the people of Israel had sworn to them." | Reiteration of Saul's violation of a sacred oath. |
| Num 30:2 | "When a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath... he shall not break his word." | Divine command to keep oaths made to the Lord. |
| Deut 23:21 | "When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you..." | Emphasizes importance and obligation of vows. |
| Psa 15:4 | "...who swears to his own hurt and does not change." | Characteristic of a righteous person who upholds promises. |
| Jer 4:2 | "And if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness..." | Swearing by God implies truth and righteousness in upholding it. |
| Eze 17:18 | "He despised the oath by breaking the covenant... and shall not escape." | Consequences of despising a covenant and breaking an oath. |
| Rom 1:31 | Listing sins, including "faithless, heartless, ruthless" (some versions: "covenant-breakers"). | Breach of covenant as a mark of unrighteousness. |
| Deut 7:9 | "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love..." | God's character as a covenant-keeping God. |
| 1 Kin 8:23 | "O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you... keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart." | God's faithfulness to those who are faithful to Him. |
| Neh 9:32 | "O our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love..." | Further emphasizes God's consistent character of faithfulness. |
| Psa 89:34 | "I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went out from my lips." | God's absolute commitment to His own word and covenants. |
| 1 Sam 13:14 | "The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him to be commander over his people..." | David described as chosen due to his character and devotion to God. |
| 1 Kin 15:5 | "because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him..." | Highlights David's obedience and fidelity to the Lord. |
| Mic 6:8 | "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" | Ethical demands include doing justice and loving kindness. |
| Jas 2:13 | "For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!" | Connection between mercy and avoiding harsh judgment. |
| 1 Chr 10:13-14 | "So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord... Therefore the Lord put him to death..." | Saul's covenant unfaithfulness as reason for his demise. |
2 Samuel 21 verses
2 Samuel 21 7 Meaning
This verse explains King David's specific action of sparing Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul and son of Jonathan, from the broader judgment against Saul's house. David's decision was not arbitrary but rooted in a profound adherence to the sacred oath he and Jonathan had sworn to each other before the Lord. It highlights the sanctity of covenants and David's faithfulness to his commitments, even in the face of political and judicial pressures.
2 Samuel 21 7 Context
The chapter opens with a severe three-year famine plaguing Israel. When David inquired of the Lord, he received a divine revelation: the famine was a consequence of Saul's breach of a centuries-old covenant with the Gibeonites (from the time of Joshua, Josh 9). Despite this sacred oath, Saul, in his misguided zeal for Israel, had attacked and killed many Gibeonites. To atone for this bloodguilt and appease the Gibeonites, thereby lifting God's judgment from the land, David was instructed to ask them for their demand. They requested the lives of seven of Saul's male descendants for execution. This specific verse (2 Sam 21:7) interrupts the grim narrative of retribution to clarify why one particular individual, Mephibosheth, despite being a direct descendant of Saul through Jonathan, was expressly spared from this communal punishment, setting him apart from the other members of Saul's lineage.
2 Samuel 21 7 Word analysis
- "But" (אַךְ - ʾach): A strong adversative conjunction introducing a contrasting point. It signifies a decisive break from the preceding actions, marking Mephibosheth as a singular exception within the judgment against Saul's house. It highlights David's specific and intentional act.
- "the king": Refers to King David. The use of this title emphasizes his sovereign authority and responsibility in making such a grave decision, particularly one rooted in covenant.
- "spared" (חָמַל - chamal): To pity, have compassion on, or refrain from harming. This verb denotes an active choice of mercy or leniency. David chose to withhold the punishment due to Mephibosheth based on a higher obligation.
- "Mephibosheth": The personal name of Jonathan's son. His specific mention underscores the individual focus of this act of grace, distinguishing him from the general category of "Saul's house."
- "the son of Jonathan": This lineage is critical, establishing Mephibosheth's direct connection to David's covenant partner. It signifies the primary reason for David's leniency.
- "the son of Saul": Further clarifies Mephibosheth's identity as a descendant of the very king whose transgression led to the famine, highlighting the profound moral weight and integrity of David's decision to spare him. It showcases David's faithfulness overriding natural retribution.
- "because of": A causal conjunction, explicitly linking David's action directly to the following explanation, removing any ambiguity about his motives.
- "the Lord's oath" (שְׁבֻעַת יְהוָה - shevuʿat Yahweh): The cornerstone of this verse. This phrase signifies a vow or sworn promise made in the name of the Lord, invoking God as witness and guarantor. It elevates the promise from a human agreement to a sacred, inviolable divine covenant, binding David with profound spiritual obligation. This sanctity underpins David's ethical and political leadership.
- "between David and Jonathan": Pinpoints the specific parties of the solemn agreement. It reaffirms the deeply personal, yet spiritually binding, friendship and covenant shared by these two men.
- "the son of Saul": The reiteration of Saul's name here underscores that the covenant, despite being made with Jonathan, was intended to secure the future of Saul's lineage through Jonathan, thus honoring the comprehensive nature of the promise David had made.
- "But the king spared Mephibosheth": This opening phrase emphasizes David's conscious and deliberate act of showing favor. It sets the action as an exception to the overall context of judgment and retribution on Saul's family, immediately drawing attention to the underlying reason.
- "the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul": This genealogical description serves multiple purposes. It identifies Mephibosheth as both the direct inheritor of the covenant's benefits (through Jonathan) and simultaneously as a direct part of the condemned lineage (through Saul). This tension makes David's decision all the more significant.
- "because of the Lord's oath": This crucial phrase provides the divine and moral justification for David's actions. It wasn't simple mercy or favoritism but an unyielding commitment to a solemn, God-witnessed covenant, prioritizing divine law above the demands of expediency or personal vengeance.
- "between David and Jonathan the son of Saul": This part reiterates the participants and their relationship to Saul, stressing the deep personal and sacred nature of the commitment that compelled David to act with fidelity and honor his prior pledge, even years later and under new, severe circumstances.
2 Samuel 21 7 Bonus section
- The emphasis on "the Lord's oath" highlights the theological framework behind David's actions. It signifies that keeping vows is not merely a social obligation but a spiritual one, with God as the ultimate witness and enforcer. Breaking such an oath would invoke God's displeasure, similar to how Saul's breaking of the Gibeonite oath resulted in national calamity.
- This specific act of David is a subtle but powerful vindication of his reign as one that genuinely seeks to align with God's will, unlike Saul's who acted capriciously, leading to divine judgment. It underscores David's unique fidelity in leadership.
- David's kindness to Mephibosheth, as mandated by the covenant with Jonathan, foreshadows God's covenant loyalty. Just as David spared Mephibosheth out of an unbreakable vow, so God's people are spared judgment due to His enduring covenant with His Son, Jesus Christ.
2 Samuel 21 7 Commentary
This verse encapsulates the very essence of David's character as "a man after God's own heart." Amidst a period of severe national reckoning, where a famine was traced back to King Saul's breach of the Gibeonite covenant, David was compelled to seek atonement by delivering Saul's descendants to their aggrieved party. However, his unyielding commitment to his personal oath with Jonathan, which was made before the Lord, stood paramount. David chose to spare Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, demonstrating that even national judgment and the appeasement of bloodguilt did not override a sacred covenant witnessed by God Himself. This decision highlights David's understanding that God honors faithfulness, especially to promises sworn in His name, and exemplifies his commitment to walking in the Lord's ways, valuing loyalty and integrity above political convenience or popular demand. His act ensured justice was done while still upholding a prior, holy vow.