Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
David makes Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, a guest at his table, and restores to him all the estates of his father Jonathan and his grandfather Saul.
Vulgate Text: 2 Kings 9:1-13
1. And David said: Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for the sake of Jonathan? 2. Now there was a servant of the house of Saul named Ziba; and when they had called him to David, the king said to him: Are you Ziba? He answered: I am your servant. 3. And the king said: Is there no one still left of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him? Ziba said to the king: There is still a son of Jonathan, lame in his feet. 4. Where is he? said the king. And Ziba said to the king: Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar. 5. Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. 6. And when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell upon his face and prostrated himself. And David said: Mephibosheth! He answered: Here is your servant. 7. And David said to him: Fear not, for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of Jonathan your father, and I will restore to you all the fields of Saul your father, and you shall eat bread at my table always. 8. Bowing down, he said: Who am I your servant, that you have looked upon a dead dog like me? 9. Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him: All that belonged to Saul and to all his house, I have given to your master's son. 10. Therefore cultivate the land for him, you, and your sons, and your servants, and bring in food for your master's son, that he may be fed; but Mephibosheth your master's son shall always eat bread at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11. And Ziba said to the king: As you have commanded, my lord the king, your servant, so will your servant do; and Mephibosheth will eat at my table, as one of the king's sons. 12. Now Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micah; and all the household of Ziba served Mephibosheth. 13. But Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table; and he was lame in both feet.
Verse 1: For the Sake of Jonathan
1. FOR THE SAKE OF JONATHAN? -- Behold how faithful and constant in the friendship of Jonathan David was, inasmuch as he did good not only to the living, but also to the dead, enriching his son. For, as Theodoret says: "He who was kind to enemies never forgot his friends;" and, as Josephus says, "he was most mindful of those who had ever done him good."
Verse 7: The Fields of Saul Restored
7. I WILL RESTORE TO YOU ALL THE FIELDS OF SAUL YOUR FATHER -- which he had from his paternal inheritance before he became king, or had acquired for himself; for those he acquired after becoming king, as royal property, devolved by common law to the successor king, namely David.
Verse 8: A Dead Dog Like Me
8. YOU HAVE LOOKED UPON A DEAD DOG LIKE ME? -- as if to say: You have looked upon a dead dog, which I am: for he compares himself to and calls himself a dead dog, to humble himself and show his worthlessness, inasmuch as with his grandfather and father dead he was left an orphan, indeed a small child, lame, wretched, and destitute, and neglected by all, despised as a dead dog.
Verse 11: Mephibosheth at the King's Table
11. AND ZIBA SAID TO THE KING: AS YOU HAVE COMMANDED, MY LORD THE KING, YOUR SERVANT, SO WILL YOUR SERVANT DO; AND MEPHIBOSHETH WILL EAT BREAD AT MY TABLE AS ONE OF THE KING'S SONS. -- There is a difficulty here; for how does Ziba here say Mephibosheth will eat at his table, when David had just assigned him to his own table? Various authors reconcile this in various ways. I say therefore that the word "and" here is taken to mean "indeed" or "moreover," as it is elsewhere taken with emphasis, as if Ziba says: As you have commanded, king, so will your servant do, in supporting Micah the son of Mephibosheth; indeed moreover, if you wish, "Mephibosheth will eat at my table," as if to say: If you wish, I will continue to support Mephibosheth himself as magnificently as if he were a son of the king. So Sanchez.
Allegorical Interpretation
Allegorically, David, raising up the lowly and lame Mephibosheth, represents Christ, who chooses the weak and contemptible things of the world to confound the strong, 1 Corinthians 1, when, as Angelomus says, "He whom He sees to be weak in speech and action for the world's ministries and the carrying out of worldly affairs, He chooses for the divine ministry; because the one whom the world spurns through the pride of haughtiness, God acquires through the devotion of humility. For Mephibosheth is interpreted, beauty of shame. He therefore, whose speech and presence the pride of the world despises, will appear by God's gift useful for the spiritual ministry in the Church."