{"id":60112,"date":"2018-07-09T17:43:50","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-272\/"},"modified":"2023-02-20T09:14:08","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T07:14:08","slug":"wall-272","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-272\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-II Samuel-9"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"272","date":"20260914","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"272","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"59788","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - II Samuel Chapter 9 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - II Samuel Chapter 9","slug":"jps-audio-bible-ii-samuel-chapter-9","old_id":"59788","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"272","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"II Samuel 9","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/JPS_Audio_Bible_II_Samuel_Chapter_9","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"272","date":"20260914","wall_id":"272"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"112851","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Promises, Promises ","post_title":"Promises, Promises","slug":"promises-promises-4","old_id":"112851","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"272","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And the curious incident of the dead dog metaphor\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

David made a promise to Jonathan that he would watch over his descendants. He searches the land for any remaining descendants and is told there is a young, handicapped man who is left. Earlier, in an aside, the text explained that Mephiboshet\u2019s legs were broken when his maidservant dropped him as a baby upon hearing about the death of Saul and Jonathan.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Although Mephiboshet could have been in line after Ish Boshet was killed, it seems like his handicap kept him out of the spotlight. David summons Mephiboshet to elevate him to David\u2019s table and to give him all the lands of his grandfather, Saul. During the audience, \u201c[Mephibosheth] prostrated himself again, and said, \u2018What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?\u2019 (verse 8). Mephiboshet\u2019s choice of words is interesting here. He uses the exact same phrase that David used back in I Samuel 24 after he cut Saul\u2019s cloak. \u201cAgainst whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A single flea?\u201d (I Samuel 24:15).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why would Mephiboshet use this same phrase? It is possible that this was simply a turn of phrase that one used at the time to mean someone low and insignificant. Indeed, Abner uses a similar phrase for the opposite effect when Ish Boshet accuses him of sleeping with Saul\u2019s concubine (II Samuel 3:8). Later, the phrase will be used by Abishai to describe Shimei, when Shimei curses David as he flees Jerusalem from Absalom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But there may be another reason. After David uses it to describe himself, Saul suddenly snaps out of his rage and begins to cry. He recognizes David and proclaims that he knows David is more righteous than he and that David will surely be king. He then charges David: \u201cSo swear to me by the LORD that you will not destroy my descendants, or wipe out my name from my father\u2019s house\u201d (I Samuel 24:22). Jonathan and David\u2019s promise was made in secret, but Saul\u2019s was made out in public, in front of his ministers. If this story had been relayed to Mephiboshet, then now Mephiboshet might be using this exact phrase to remind David of the promise he made to Saul.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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\u201cIs there anyone still left of the House of Saul,\u201d asks David, \u201cthat I may show him kindness (chesed<\/em>) for the sake of Jonathan?\u201d (2 Samuel 9:1).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The wording of this question, as well as its appearance immediately after the long description of David\u2019s victories over his enemies in chapter 8, evoke the memory of an oath David made many years earlier, on the eve of his final escape from Saul\u2019s court. On that day, Jonathan promised to gauge his father\u2019s intentions towards David. But he asked David for a promise in return: \u201cNor shall you fail to show me the LORD\u2019s faithfulness, while I am alive,\u201d he requested, asking for a covenant, \u201cnor, when I am dead, shall you ever discontinue your kindness (chesed<\/em>) to my house\u2014not even after the LORD has wiped out every one of David\u2019s enemies from the face of the earth\u201d (1 Samuel 20:14-15).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

David keeps his side of this old covenant. As soon as his enemies are defeated, he seeks out Jonathan\u2019s son Mephibosheth, and promises to give him Saul\u2019s lands. He goes on to make another promise: \u201cyou shall always,\u201d he tells Jonathan\u2019s son, \u201ceat bread at my table.\u201d (2 Samuel 9:7). This is an especially resonant promise in the context of David\u2019s covenant with Jonathan, since Jonathan\u2019s side of the covenant consisted of observing King Saul\u2019s response to David\u2019s absence from his table \u2013 or, in Saul\u2019s words, his \u201cbread\u201d. When the king responded with rage, Jonathan spoke up in David\u2019s defense, and was attacked \u2013 both verbally and physically \u2013 by his father. At that point he realized that there was no hope for reconciliation and kept his promise to warn David away. In a way, David\u2019s method of honoring his own promise keeps the memory of Jonathan\u2019s chesed<\/em>\u00a0alive: Mephibosheth\u2019s presence at a king\u2019s table mirrors David\u2019s earlier absence, and brings to mind the circumstances of that absence and the faithful prince who braved his father\u2019s wrath.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Sadly, David\u2019s chesed<\/em>\u00a0towards Mephibosheth won\u2019t be as steadfast. The interplay between absence and presence will take a sinister turn during Absalom\u2019s rebellion, when Mephibosheth will fail to come to the king\u2019s aid. Like Saul before him, David won\u2019t take well to a courtier\u2019s absence, and will retaliate by granting Mephibosheth\u2019s lands \u2013 the very lands he gives to Jonathan\u2019s son in chapter 9 \u2013 to the slave Ziba. Even Mephibosheth\u2019s protestations that Ziba prevented him from attending David won\u2019t move the king to undo this verdict; David will decree, instead, that Mephibosheth and Ziba will share Saul\u2019s land.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Illustration from the Morgan Bible of Mephibosheth kneeling before David, c. 1240 \/ 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He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"272","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"David doesn\u2019t believe what Ziba implies about Mephiboshet - yet...","post_main_content_content":"

In our chapter, David asks if there is anyone still alive from Saul\u2019s descendants with whom he might \u201ckeep faith for the sake of Jonathan\u201d. David is told by Ziba, Saul\u2019s servant, that there remains a son of Jonathan,\u00a0Mephiboshet, whose feet are crippled (see 4:4). Ziba adds that Mephiboshet is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel \u201cin Lo-Devar.\u201d King David has him brought from Lo-Devar (9:1-6). \u201cLo-Devar\u201d, clearly a place name, is identified by some as Hirbet \u2018Um \u2018A-Dabar, 15 km northeast of Bet Shean.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 17:27 says that Machir son of Ammiel was \u201cfrom Lo\u2019 (ending here with \u2018aleph)\u00a0 Devar\u201d. There does not seem to be a significant difference between \u201cLo-Devar\u201d and \u201cLo\u2019-Devar\u201d. But the Rabbinic Sages made creative use of these variants, particularly \u201cLo\u201d spelled with a <\/span>vav <\/span><\/i>indicating possession, and \u201cLo\u2019\u201d spelled with an <\/span>aleph <\/span><\/i>indicating negation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Talmud (Shabbat 56a) understands that Ziba slandered Mephiboshet by suggesting to David that Mephiboshet \u201chad something\u201d (Lo-Devar, lit. \u201cto him, a thing\u201d) against David, perhaps even plotting to overthrow David and claim the Kingship of Israel for himself. But David realized that Ziba was lying and therefore he rejected his slanderous suggestion. But David wisely understands that Mephiboshet came \u201cfrom no such thing\u201d (Mi-Lo\u2019-Devar), that he had no designs on David\u2019s throne. This explains why, in the continuation of our chapter, David receives Mephiboshet with the honor due the grandson of King Saul, the son of his faithful friend, Jonathan. This midrashic interpretation of our chapter serves to illustrate how, at least here (compare 16:1-4), David rejected Ziba\u2019s slander (leshon ha-ra\u2019<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

David may be seen here as acting in accordance with contemporary halakhic teaching. The highly influential Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (Poland, died 1933), known popularly as the Chofetz Chaim, devoted considerable attention to the Laws of Slander. In his Hilkhot Leshon Ha-Ra\u2019,<\/em> Chapter 7, Halakhot 1-2, the Chofetz Chaim rules that it is forbidden to believe Leshon Ha-Ra\u2019.<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Even if the speaker spoke publicly before several people one should not consider it to be true. One may not believe what is being said even if the speaker spoke in the presence of the one spoken of, and even if the one spoken of hears what is being said about him and remains silent. How much more so if the speaker only says that he would be willing to say what he is saying in the presence of the one spoken of. People often err in this. Even if the one spoken about now keeps silent, though it is not in his nature to remain silent, this time he may have decided not to argue, or he may have realized that the listeners would believe the speaker more than himself. For unfortunately people often believe Leshon Ha-Ra\u2019, though the victim denies it a hundred times.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":60185,"alt":"","title":"2sam9-gossip","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","width":400,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","medium_large-width":400,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","large-width":400,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","1536x1536-width":400,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","2048x2048-width":400,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","post_full_size-width":400,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","home_baner-width":400,"home_baner-height":300}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"David Rejects Slander","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"David doesn\u2019t believe what Ziba implies about Mephiboshet - yet...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":60185,"alt":"","title":"2sam9-gossip","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","width":400,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","medium_large-width":400,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","large-width":400,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","1536x1536-width":400,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","2048x2048-width":400,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","post_full_size-width":400,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-gossip.jpg","home_baner-width":400,"home_baner-height":300}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"272","date":"20260914","wall_id":"272"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"805","name":"Gossip","old_id":"1205"},{"term_id":"834","name":"David","old_id":"1234"}]},{"order":5,"id":"58693","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Keeping Faith? ","post_title":"Keeping Faith?","slug":"keeping-faith","old_id":"58693","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":56443,"post_title":"Moshe Halbertal","slug":"moshe-halbertal","old_id":"56443","first_name":"Moshe ","last_name":"Halbertal ","description":"Prof. Moshe Halbertal is a professor of Jewish thought and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a professor of law at New York University (NYU) and the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. His latest book, co-authored with Stephen Holmes, The Beginning of Politics: Power in the Biblical Book of Samuel was published by Princeton University Press in 2017. Halbertal was the recipient of the Michael Bruno Memorial Award of the Rothschild Foundation and the Goldstein-Goren Book Award for the best book in Jewish thought in the years 1997 to 2000. In 2010, Halbertal was named a member of Israel\u2019s Academy for the Sciences and the Humanities.","short_description":"Prof. Moshe Halbertal is a professor of Jewish thought and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a professor of law at New York University (NYU) and the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56444,"alt":"","title":"Moshe-Halbertal","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","width":500,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":500,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","large-width":500,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"272","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"David\u2019s private motivations and his public justifications for seeking out Mephiboshet are two very different things","post_main_content_content":"

David\u2019s veiled and ambivalent attitude toward the fate of Saul\u2019s descendants is only gradually and sketchily disclosed in our narrative as David secures his kingdom, sitting safe and sound in his Jerusalem stronghold. After Saul\u2019s family had been largely decimated, David issued the following request to locate a survivor from the family: \u201cAnd David said \u2018Is there anyone who is still left from the house of Saul, that I may keep faith with him for the sake of Jonathan?\u2019\u201d (9:1).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

An old slave of Saul\u2019s was sought out as a possible source of intelligence on the matter, and he informed David that Jonathan had a surviving crippled son named Mephibosheth living among Saul\u2019s old loyalists. Brought to David\u2019s court, Mephibosheth approached the king submissively, terrified at what could happen to him as a living remnant of the former, now-deposed dynasty. But David reassured him, restoring to him Saul\u2019s household property that David had presumably confiscated after the destruction of Saul\u2019s family. These comforting gestures seem completely sincere and wholehearted. Yet David added to the \u201cfavor\u201d bestowed upon Jonathan\u2019s son another item that sheds an ambiguous light on David\u2019s motivations. Keeping faith, in a formal sense, with the oath he had sworn to Jonathan, David arranged for Mephibosheth to eat at his table in court and to be treated as if he were close kin to David: \u201cAnd Mephibosheth dwelled in Jerusalem, for at the king\u2019s table he would always eat\u201d (9:13).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Yet this apparent privilege was also a way to maintain tight control over Mephibosheth, making him a virtual prisoner in David\u2019s court, a condition underscored by Mephibosheth\u2019s physical immobility, \u201clame in both his feet\u201d (9:13). In light of this move, David\u2019s initial request, \u201cIs there anyone who is still left from the house of Saul that I may keep faith with him for the sake of Jonathan?\u201d acquires a harsher or at least a more ambiguous edge. It is true that David could have publicly justified his move to keep the last crippled remnant of Saul\u2019s dynasty under virtual house arrest by invoking his sacred obligation to honor a promise to Jonathan. But, as we have been arguing, justification and motivation, while conceptually distinct, are not always easy or even possible to unscramble in any particular case.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Excerpts from The Beginning of Politics: Power in the Biblical Book of Samuel,<\/em>\u00a0Moshe Halbertal and Stephen Holmes, Princeton University Press, 2017, pp. 57-58.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56668,"alt":"","title":"halbertal-book 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from:\u201cThe Beginning of Politics: Power in the Biblical Book of Samuel\u201d ","tile_main_caption":"Keeping Faith?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"David\u2019s private motivations and his public justifications for seeking out Mephiboshet are two very different things","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56668,"alt":"","title":"halbertal-book 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He holds a graduate certificate degree in Gender Studies from Utah State University, and is pursuing a PhD on the intersection between Jewish thought and gender studies at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies. ","short_description":"Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky is the Director of Interdisciplinary Learning and Educational Outreach at the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston, NJ.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56119,"alt":"","title":"tzvi_sinensky","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","width":240,"height":280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":280,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","medium_large-width":240,"medium_large-height":280,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","large-width":240,"large-height":280,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","1536x1536-width":240,"1536x1536-height":280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","2048x2048-width":240,"2048x2048-height":280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","post_full_size-width":240,"post_full_size-height":280,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","home_baner-width":240,"home_baner-height":280}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"272","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Justice, kindness, loyalty\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

This chapter ties together many of the threads we have seen throughout the narrative spanning the end of I Samuel and the beginning of II Samuel. Instead of seeking vengeance, or at least ignoring the progeny of Saul, David seeks out any surviving family members, and ensures that they eat at the king\u2019s table. Not only is he performing kindness to the house of Saul, but, as David explicitly notes, he is particularly looking to reward the progeny of Jonathan, his beloved friend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And yet, as we have noted, despite the vicious divide between Saul and Jonathan regarding their view of David, the latter, as he underscored in his eulogy, saw the two as inextricably interconnected. To the end, David not only put to death those who were so brazen as to kill Saul and members of his royal family, but, recalling his loyal oath to Jonathan, he goes out of his way to perform kindness for his children.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Appropriately, it turns out that the sole survivor is Mephiboshet, son of Jonathan, who had become a cripple on the very battlefield that saw the death of his father and grandfather. For David, this is, if anything, even greater reason to treat Mephiboshet with extraordinary kindness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is more, it is perhaps in this story more than any other, in which we are witness to David\u2019s genuine magnanimity. In previous episodes, David could have easily acted with kindness out of enlightened self-interest: he consolidated his rule by ensuring that Saul\u2019s backers remained as sympathetic as possible toward him. Yet here, in the words of Mephiboshet, he was extending himself to \u201ca dead dog\u201d (v. 8). David\u2019s commitment to justice and kindness in this episode are not mere acts of political self-interest, as evidenced in his goodness to Saul and Jonathan\u2019s family long after the family\u2019s influence had dramatically declined.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the end, this is David\u2019s ethical legacy: for all the unjustified hatred spewed upon him by Saul and his enemies, David avoids the vengeance cycle, and instead shows not just healthy political instincts, but a true commitment to kindness and justice, the ultimate hallmarks of the Davidic dynasty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":60203,"alt":"","title":"2sam9-table","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table.jpg","width":1000,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table-300x150.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table-768x384.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table-840x420.jpg","home_baner-width":840,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Forming David\u2019s Ethical Legacy","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Justice, kindness, loyalty\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":60203,"alt":"","title":"2sam9-table","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table.jpg","width":1000,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table-300x150.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table-768x384.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table-840x420.jpg","home_baner-width":840,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"272","date":"20260914","wall_id":"272"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"461","name":"Kindness","old_id":"861"},{"term_id":"834","name":"David","old_id":"1234"},{"term_id":"895","name":"Loyalty","old_id":"1295"}]},{"order":7,"id":"62076","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"From Mephibosheth To The Baal Shem Tov (Besht) ","post_title":"From Mephibosheth To The Baal Shem Tov (Besht)","slug":"from-mephibosheth-to-the-baal-shem-tov-besht","old_id":"62076","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34235,"post_title":"Marc Gitler","slug":"marc-gitler","old_id":"34235","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Gitler","description":"Rabbi Marc Gitler, a recipient of the Wexner Fellowship, was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and earned an MPA from NYU . 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34236,"alt":"","title":"Marc Gitler","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","width":407,"height":407,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","medium_large-width":407,"medium_large-height":407,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","large-width":407,"large-height":407,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","1536x1536-width":407,"1536x1536-height":407,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","2048x2048-width":407,"2048x2048-height":407,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","post_full_size-width":407,"post_full_size-height":407,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","home_baner-width":407,"home_baner-height":407}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"272","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"From shame to fame","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter introduces a second survivor of Saul\u2019s family, his grandson Mephibosheth. Like his uncle Ish-Bosheth, this Benjaminite is cursed with a horrific name.<\/p>\r\n

The former king\u2019s name translates to man of shame. His nephew, the surviving grandson of Saul, and son of David\u2019s closest friend Jonathan is the Mouth of Shame. The wheels of fortune turn rapidly.<\/p>\r\n

Only a couple of decades earlier a young man from the smallest of all tribes left home to find his father\u2019s missing donkeys and returned home as king of Israel. As God\u2019s anointed, he restored peace and dignity by uniting the twelve tribes. But following his death, Saul\u2019s family is one of shame. The short-lived reigned of Ish-Bosheth, ended with his beheading; and the tragic life of Mephibosheth, crippled and exploited by his servants.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Generations later, much closer to our time, a humble Jew, Reb Israel Ben Eliezer appeared in the Ukraine and revolutionized the stagnant Judaism of his time. He was, and is better known as the Besh\u201dt, an acronym for Ba\u2019al Shem Tov-master of the great name.<\/p>\r\n

I find it fascinating that over time Boshet (shame) develops a sort of alliterative cognate Besh\u201dt, describing a person who has not only a sterling reputation, but has mastered the Divine name. Shame so closely related to fame. Boshet marking the rapid decline of Saul\u2019s reign, Besh\u2019t the incredible ascent of Rab Israel\u2019s Hasidism.<\/p>\r\n

In one of his greatest moments, King David transforms the familial shame back to royalty. He ignores the hatred of Saul, the struggle with Ish-Bosheth, the envy and anger of Michal, and showers Jonathan\u2019s son with kindness. Remarkably he also ignores Mephibosheth\u2019s handicap, despite Ziba, and the narrator\u2019s narrow and negative description of him as cripple and lame. David looks beyond the sad life of Mephibosheth and treats him as a Besh\"t.\u00a0 A majestic display of dignity demonstrating why, despite his many personal flaws, David remains the greatest of kings and dynasties for the Jewish people.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62077,"alt":"","title":"2sam9-besht","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","width":416,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht-260x300.jpg","medium-width":260,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","medium_large-width":416,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","large-width":416,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","1536x1536-width":416,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","2048x2048-width":416,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","post_full_size-width":416,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht-364x420.jpg","home_baner-width":364,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"From Mephibosheth To The Baal Shem Tov (Besht) ","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"From shame to fame","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":62077,"alt":"","title":"2sam9-besht","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","width":416,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht-260x300.jpg","medium-width":260,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","medium_large-width":416,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","large-width":416,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","1536x1536-width":416,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","2048x2048-width":416,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht.jpg","post_full_size-width":416,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2sam9-besht-364x420.jpg","home_baner-width":364,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"272","date":"20260914","wall_id":"272"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"551","name":"Names","old_id":"951"},{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"}]},{"order":8,"id":"60173","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Luxurious House Arrest ","post_title":"Luxurious House Arrest","slug":"luxurious-house-arrest","old_id":"60173","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. 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9:13 \u201cAnd Mephibosheth dwelled in Jerusalem, for at the king\u2019s table he would always eat. And he was lame in both his feet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Commentary: The refrain-like repetition of this clause [\u201cfor at the king\u2019s table he would always eat\u201d] should give us pause. David is indeed treating Jonathan\u2019s crippled son like one of his own sons, \u201ckeeping faith\u201d or \u201cshowing kindness\u201d to the offspring of his dead comrade, as he had pledged. He surely means his benefaction to be publicly perceived. At the same time, it is clearly in David\u2019s interest to keep the only conceivable Saulide pretender to the throne close at hand, under easy scrutiny. Mephibosheth\u2019s condition is ostensibly that of an unofficially adopted son, but with an uneasy suspicion that it is really a kind of luxurious house arrest.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Luxurious House Arrest","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Mephiboshet fed, and scrutinized","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"272","date":"20260914","wall_id":"272"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"834","name":"David","old_id":"1234"},{"term_id":"895","name":"Loyalty","old_id":"1295"}]},{"order":9,"id":"60208","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Mutual Loyalty? ","post_title":"Mutual Loyalty?","slug":"mutual-loyalty","old_id":"60208","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. 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In chapter 4, we encountered Mephiboshet (nee Meriv-Baal), son of Jonathan, who was crippled when dropped by his nurse as they were fleeing from David\u2019s ostensible vengeance against the House of Saul. At that instance, we noted David\u2019s fierce loyalty to those who befriended him, such as Jonathan, and observed that the reference to a son was likely a foreshadowing of future events. Here is where they begin to come to fruition\u2014but not yet entirely.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ziba, one of Saul\u2019s retainers, identified Mephiboshet to David, who summoned him to his presence. Mephiboshet clearly approached David in great trepidation. David, however, in keeping with that aforementioned loyalty, made him a promise: \u201cFear not, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake. I will restore all the land of Saul your father, and you will eat bread at my table continually\u201d (7). Ziba, who had 15 sons and 20 servants, was put in charge of the lands that David restored to Saul\u2019s grandson, while Mephiboshet himself remained on in Jerusalem in order to avail himself of the king\u2019s hospitality on an ongoing basis.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is literary foreshadowing in the concluding verse, too, detailing the extent of Mephiboshet\u2019s disability (\u201che was crippled in both legs\u201d), which is irrelevant to his current status, but will recur with significance in the continuation (chapter 16 ff.).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Stay tuned.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":60212,"alt":"","title":"2sam9-foreshadowing","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-foreshadowing.jpg","width":512,"height":465,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-foreshadowing-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-foreshadowing-300x272.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":272,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-foreshadowing.jpg","medium_large-width":512,"medium_large-height":465,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-foreshadowing.jpg","large-width":512,"large-height":465,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-foreshadowing.jpg","1536x1536-width":512,"1536x1536-height":465,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-foreshadowing.jpg","2048x2048-width":512,"2048x2048-height":465,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-foreshadowing.jpg","post_full_size-width":512,"post_full_size-height":465,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-foreshadowing-462x420.jpg","home_baner-width":462,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Mutual 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\u201cJonathan and David\u201d<\/a><\/u> by Chana Shor: Explore this important Biblical relationship.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Source Sheets - II Samuel 9","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"272","date":"20260914","wall_id":"272"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":14,"id":"60174","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - II Samuel 9 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - II Samuel 9","slug":"points-to-ponder-ii-samuel-9","old_id":"60174","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"272","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. Opposites - and inversions<\/em>. Mephiboshet, Jonathan\u2019s son, is crippled and poor. Ziba, Saul\u2019s servant, was a rich man, with 20 servants of his own. By the end of the story, Mephiboshet is wealthy, and Ziba is his servant.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Words and deeds<\/em>. The change in relationship between the Mephiboshet and Ziba is also in the words used to describe them. Ziba is called \u201cservant\u201d and \u201csteward\u201d (literally, \u201cyouth\u201d - na\u2019ar; verses 2, 9, 12), and Mephiboshet is \u201cyour master\u2019s grandson\u201d (verses 9-10).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. What isn\u2019t being told<\/em>. What is the real relationship between Mephiboshet and Ziba? What does Ziba think of the new arrangements? We\u2019re not told. But you can imagine. And wait to find out. In 7 chapters (ch. 16), we\u2019ll meet these two characters again. And what happened in today\u2019s chapter will be important background for that encounter.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

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