2 Samuel 21

2 Samuel 21 serves as a concluding narrative appendix to David's reign, addressing the resolution of national bloodguilt incurred by Saul and highlighting God's providence in preserving Israel against the Philistine giants.

• A three-year famine prompts David to seek the Lord, revealing it as a judgment for Saul's bloodguilt against the Gibeonites.
• David negotiates with the Gibeonites to resolve the blood-debt, resulting in the execution of seven of Saul's descendants.
• Rizpah's vigil leads to the proper burial of the remains of Saul, Jonathan, and the executed men, after which the famine ceases.
• A series of skirmishes against the Philistines culminates in the defeat of four giants by David and his servants.

• Three years of famine in the days of David.
• The Gibeonites (a remnant of the Amorites) were victims of Saul's unprovoked violence.
• Seven descendants of Saul were handed over to expiate the bloodguilt.
• Rizpah’s mourning vigil over the bodies.
• Four Philistine giants defeated by David's men.

This passage demonstrates that covenant-breaking has long-term consequences and underscores the biblical requirement for justice to be satisfied before divine judgment is removed. It frames the latter years of David's reign within the context of God's sovereignty over both internal justice and external enemies.

God requires justice for broken covenants, and the Lord remains the ultimate deliverer of his people even when human strength fails.

The chapter functions as an epilogue, moving from the resolution of a domestic, spiritual crisis (the famine) to the resolution of external, military threats (the giants).

• The restoration of the land's fruitfulness once the bloodguilt was expiated (2 Samuel 21:14).

• The danger of breaking sworn covenants (2 Samuel 21:1-2).

• The Gibeonites were a Hivite people who had secured a treaty with Joshua (Joshua 9), which Saul had violated in his misguided 'zeal' (קָנָא) for Israel.
• The practice of hanging, while often a form of execution, was also a public statement of divine judgment or public disgrace.

• The concept of 'bloodguilt' (דָּם) was a serious socio-legal issue in the Ancient Near East; blood unjustly shed required restitution to the victim's clan or to God.
• David's interaction with the Gibeonites reflects the serious binding nature of oaths made in the name of the Lord.

• This chapter is part of a complex appendix (2 Samuel 21-24) that interrupts the chronological flow of 2 Samuel 20, likely organized thematically to reflect on David's reign.

• The passage assumes the history of Joshua 9, where the Israelites swore an oath to the Gibeonites. It demonstrates how covenant obligations from one era apply to subsequent generations.
• Matthew Henry observes that judgments like this famine can 'look a great way back,' serving as a reminder that God’s justice is not erased by time or human forgetfulness.

• Joshua 9:3-27 (The origin of the Gibeonite covenant).
• 1 Samuel 31 (The death of Saul and Jonathan at Gilboa, which provided the context for the bones being in Jabesh-gilead).

• רָעָב [H7458]: Famine; used here to describe the physical consequence of divine withholding of blessing.
• כָּפַר [H3722]: Atonement; used in the sense of 'expiate' or 'make a settlement' regarding the bloodguilt.
• דָּם [H1818]: Blood; frequently used in the plural 'bloods' to denote violent bloodshed or bloodguilt.
• שָׁבַע [H7650]: To swear; literally to 'seven' oneself, highlighting the intensity and binding nature of the oath mentioned in v2.

• The text distinguishes the seven descendants who were executed from the bones of Saul and Jonathan, which David later retrieved for burial.
• The repetition of the word 'days' (יוֹם) connects the different periods of judgment, harvest, and war.

• The exact identity of the 'brother of Goliath' in v19 is a textual difficulty; some interpret this as an error or a variant account of the famous battle with Goliath.
• Chronological placement of these events within David's life is uncertain as they are part of a thematic appendix.