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.
What does 2 Samuel 16:1 mean?
Ziba belied Mephibosheth. Great men ought always to be jealous of flatterers, and to be careful that they hear both sides.
Key themes
Read with
Keep this verse inside 2 Samuel 16:1-4 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Glossary
- David Person
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Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25 .
- Mephibosheth Person
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Exterminator of shame; i. e., of idols. (1. ) The name of Saul’s son by the concubine Rizpah (q. v. ), the daughter of Aiah.
- Mount of Olives Place
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Biblical hill. Modern identification: Mount of Olives.
- Ziba Person
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Post; statue, “a servant of the house of Saul” ( 2 Sam. 9:2 ), who informed David that Mephibosheth, a son of Jonathan, was alive.