2 Samuel 21:2

The people of Gibeon were not Israelis; they were a small group of the Amor people-group whom the Israelis had solemnly promised to protect. But Saul had tried to kill all of them because he ◄was very zealous/wanted very much► to enable the people of Judah and Israel to be the only ones living in that land. So the king summoned the leaders of Gibeon

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)

In Context

1During the time that David ruled, there was a famine in Israel for three years. David prayed to Yahweh about it. And Yahweh said, “ In order for the famine to end, Saul’s family needs to be punished [MTY] because Saul killed many people from Gibeon city.”

3and said to them, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends/up for what was done to your people, in order that you will bless us who belong to Yahweh?”

Read all of 2 Samuel 21

Cross References

Deuteronomy 7:16You must get rid of all the people-groups that Yahweh our God will enable you to conquer. Do not [SYN] act mercifully toward any of them. And do not worship their gods, because if you do that, it would be like falling into a trap from which you will never be able to escape.

Joshua 9:15So Joshua agreed to make a peace agreement with the men from Gibeon to not kill them. All the Israeli leaders vowed to do what Joshua said in the agreement. Then the men from Gibeon returned home.

1 Samuel 15:8Saul’s army captured Agag, the king of the Amalek people-group, but they killed everyone else.

2 Kings 10:31But Jehu did not obey all the laws of Yahweh, the God of the Israeli people. He did not stop committing the sins that Jeroboam had committed, sins that led the Israeli people to sin.

Luke 9:54When two of his disciples, James and John, heard about that, they said, “Lord, do you (sg) want us (exc) to pray that God will send fire down from heaven, as the prophet Elijah did long ago, and destroy those people?”

Romans 10:2I declare truthfully about them that although they ◄zealously seek/very much want to know► God, they do not understand how to seek/know him correctly.

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 21:2-10

A Famine in Israel; The Gibeonites Avenged. ( b. c. 1021.) 1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the Lord . And the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites. 2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study 2 Samuel 21:2