Bible Strands
2 Samuel 19:17
along with a thousand men of Benjamin, as well as Ziba the steward of the house of Saul and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan before the king
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the moment David returns from exile in Mahanaim, as supporters gather at the Jordan to escort him back to Jerusalem. The account notes the arrival of a Benjamite contingent and Ziba’s household to meet the returning king.
The words — The text highlights אִ֣ישׁ ('ish), literally "man," and נַ֚עַר (Na.'ar), literally "servant" or "young man," to catalog the exact personnel accompanying Ziba.
The thread — The figure of Ziba, steward of Saul’s house, appears in 2 Samuel 9:2 and 9:10 when David assigns him to manage land for Mephibosheth, and in 2 Samuel 16:1 when he meets David during the flight from Absalom.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to observe how political loyalty shifts through documented personnel and resources rather than abstract declarations. It asks the reader to track how former royal servants realign their allegiance when the king’s circumstances change.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 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.
- 2 Samuel 16:1 When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine.
- 2 Samuel 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.
- 2 Samuel 19:26 “My lord the king,” he replied, “because I am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled so that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ But my servant Ziba deceived me,