Bible Strands
2 Samuel 21:10
And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain from heaven poured down on the bodies, she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports that Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, places sackcloth on a rock and physically guards the exposed corpses of Saul’s executed family members during the barley harvest. This action follows immediately after the Gibeonites hang the seven men on a hill before the LORD.
The words — The Hebrew וַתִּקַּח (va.tikkaḥ) translates literally to “and she took,” while וַתַּטֵּהוּ (va.tattēhū) means “and she spread it out,” both highlighting her deliberate physical handling of the sackcloth.
The thread — The account of Rizpah’s vigilance directly intersects with Deuteronomy 21:23’s prohibition against leaving a hanged body on the tree overnight, and her identification as Saul’s concubine recalls the earlier narrative in 2 Samuel 3:7.
Why it lands — The text records her refusal to permit birds or field beasts to touch the corpses until rain falls, requiring the reader to acknowledge her sustained protective action without adding moral commentary.
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 Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 21:23 you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
- 2 Samuel 3:7 Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”
- 1 Kings 18:41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
- 1 Kings 21:27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.
- Joel 2:23 Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
- Zechariah 10:1 Ask the LORD for rain in springtime; the LORD makes the storm clouds, and He will give everyone showers of rain and crops in the field.
- Deuteronomy 11:14 then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.
- Deuteronomy 21:13 and put aside the clothing of her captivity. After she has lived in your house a full month and mourned her father and mother, you may have relations with her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
- Jeremiah 5:24 They have not said in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rains, both autumn and spring, in season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.’
- Jeremiah 14:22 Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.