David welcomes Jonathan’s son
United Kingdom · Draft · BSB
Content revision: 267a143c61dc94f4 · No editorial review date recorded
Date: David’s Jerusalem reign · Exact date unknown
David seeks a surviving member of Saul’s house to whom he can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake. He restores Saul’s land to Mephibosheth and gives him a continuing place at the royal table.
Mephibosheth is Jonathan’s son, not the different son of Saul with the same name in chapter 21. The promise to Jonathan explains David’s action. The chapter has no precise date against the campaigns surrounding it in the book.
Primary Scripture
9:1 Then David asked, “Is there anyone left from the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for the sake of Jonathan?”
9:2 And there was a servant of the house of Saul named Ziba. They summoned him to David, and the king inquired, “Are you Ziba?” “I am your servant,” he replied.
9:3 So the king asked, “Is there anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I can show the kindness of God?” Ziba answered, “There is still Jonathan’s son, who is lame in both feet.”
9:4 “Where is he?” replied the king. And Ziba said, “Indeed, he is in Lo-debar at the house of Machir son of Ammiel.”
9:5 So King David had him brought from the house of Machir son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.
9:6 And when Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he fell facedown in reverence. Then David said, “Mephibosheth!” “I am your servant,” he replied.
9:7 “Do not be afraid,” said David, “for surely I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”
9:8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”
9:9 Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “I have given to your master’s grandson all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.
9:10 You and your sons and servants are to work the ground for him and bring in the harvest, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, is always to eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
9:11 And Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do all that my lord the king has commanded.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s own sons.
9:12 And Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth.
9:13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table, and he was lame in both feet.
Related Scripture
1 Samuel 20:14–17 · recollection
Jonathan asks David to maintain kindness toward his house.
Location evidence
Jerusalem is explicitly named as Mephibosheth’s new home. The royal table’s location is not known, and Lo-debar’s uncertain site is left unpinned.
Event map marker: Identified site; [longitude, latitude] = [35.234167, 31.776667]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.
Jerusalem: Identified site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.234167, 31.776667]. Classification source: editorial.
OpenBible.info: Jerusalem (CC BY 4.0)
OpenBible.info: Jerusalem (CC BY 4.0)
For the class
What does covenant loyalty require after the other person has died?
Interpretation and reuse
Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.
Record source: editorial (content/authored/united-kingdom.json)
Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.
Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm