Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The descendants of Saul, because of his having killed the Gibeonites against the pledge given to them, are crucified by God's command. Then, verse 15, four battles of David against the Philistines are recounted.
Vulgate Text: 2 Kings 21:1-22
1. Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years running, and David consulted the oracle of the Lord. And the Lord said: It is because of Saul and his house of blood, because he killed the Gibeonites. 2. So the king summoned the Gibeonites and said to them (Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but were remnants of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn to them, but Saul had sought to strike them down out of zeal, as though for the children of Israel and Judah). 3. So David said to the Gibeonites: What shall I do for you? And what shall be your atonement, that you may bless the Lord's inheritance? 4. And the Gibeonites said to him: It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; nor is it for us to put any man in Israel to death. And the king said: What then do you wish me to do for you? 5. And they said to the king: The man who consumed us and oppressed us unjustly, we must so destroy that not even one shall remain of his descendants in all the territory of Israel. 6. Let seven men of his sons be given to us, that we may crucify them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, the once-chosen of the Lord. And the king said: I will give them. 7. But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord that was between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8. So the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she had borne to Saul — Armoni and Mephibosheth — and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai, who was of Meholath, 9. and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, who crucified them on the mountain before the Lord; and these seven fell together, slain in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest. 10. And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself upon the rock, from the beginning of the harvest until water dropped upon them from heaven; and she did not allow the birds to tear them by day nor the beasts by night. 11. And David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, Saul's concubine, had done. 12. And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them when they killed Saul at Gilboa, 13. and he brought away from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of those who had been crucified, 14. and they buried them with the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin, on the hillside, in the tomb of Kish his father; and they did everything the king commanded, and God was appeased toward the land after that. 15. Now there was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down with his servants and they fought against the Philistines. And when David grew faint, 16. Ishbi-benob, who was of the race of Rapha, whose spearhead weighed three hundred bronze shekels, and who was girded with a new sword, attempted to kill David. 17. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, saying: You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you extinguish the lamp of Israel. 18. The second battle was also at Gob against the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was of the offspring of Rapha, of the race of giants. 19. The third battle was also at Gob against the Philistines, in which Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite struck down Goliath the Gittite, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's beam. 20. The fourth battle was in Gath, in which there was a tall man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, that is, twenty-four, and he was of the offspring of Rapha. 21. And he defied Israel; but Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, struck him down. 22. These four were born of Rapha in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and of his servants.
Verse 1: The Three-Year Famine
1. NOW THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE DAYS OF DAVID FOR THREE YEARS. — God sent this famine upon all Israel because its king Saul had unjustly killed the Gibeonites. Now the king is a public person and represents the commonwealth. What therefore the king sins, the commonwealth sins; and therefore God punished the public sin of the king with a public famine.
AND DAVID CONSULTED THE ORACLE OF THE LORD — through Zadok or Abiathar the High Priest, wearing the Breastplate in which were the Urim and Thummim as an oracle, as I discussed in Exodus 28:30.
AND THE LORD SAID: IT IS BECAUSE OF SAUL AND HIS HOUSE OF BLOOD, BECAUSE HE KILLED THE GIBEONITES — that is: This famine has been sent as punishment for sin, because Saul and his family unjustly shed much blood. Hence this sin must be expiated by blood, and the killing family must be killed.
Verse 2: Saul's Zeal Against the Gibeonites
2. AND SAUL SOUGHT TO STRIKE THEM DOWN OUT OF ZEAL, AS THOUGH FOR THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH. — This zeal of Saul was that he wanted to add the houses, villages, and lands of the Gibeonites to the tribe of Judah and the other tribes. But this zeal was foolish and stupid, both because it was against the pledge given to the Gibeonites by Joshua and the Hebrews; and because the Gibeonites had voluntarily entered into the Hebrew commonwealth, as well as their religion and faith. Therefore in this zeal of Saul the saying was true: "The highest law is the highest injustice."
Verse 3: David's Offer of Atonement
3. THAT YOU MAY BLESS THE LORD'S INHERITANCE — that is, that you may pray well for Israel; and thus God may avert from it the three-year famine which He brought upon it on their account.
Verse 5: The Gibeonites' Demand
5. THE MAN (Saul) WHO CONSUMED US AND OPPRESSED US UNJUSTLY, WE MUST SO DESTROY THAT NOT EVEN ONE SHALL REMAIN OF HIS DESCENDANTS. — Nine survived of Saul's line, namely Mephibosheth and his son, five sons of Michal by Adriel, and two sons of Saul by Rizpah his concubine. All of these the Gibeonites initially demanded to be given to them for execution; but seeing David intercede for Mephibosheth and his son, as being descended from Jonathan, to whom David had sworn friendship and loyalty, they therefore spared both and demanded the remaining seven for crucifixion.
On God's part this demand was just and holy. For God had sent this famine upon Israel precisely so that the descendants of Saul might be killed as atonement for Saul's sin; since Saul himself, being already dead, could not be punished and killed. For God is Lord of the life and death of all, both the guilty and the innocent; therefore He can punish guilty fathers through their innocent children, according to Deuteronomy 5:9: "I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation."
Verse 8: The Sons of Rizpah and Michal
SO THE KING TOOK THE TWO SONS OF RIZPAH. — David did not sin in handing over the sons of Saul, even the innocent ones, to the Gibeonites for crucifixion, because he saw that this was the will of God, who had sent the famine upon Israel for this purpose. So Abulensis, Cajetan, and others.
AND THE FIVE SONS OF MICHAL THE DAUGHTER OF SAUL, WHOM SHE HAD BORNE TO ADRIEL. — These were the sons not of Michal but of Merab, Michal's sister, whom Michal, being childless, had adopted as her own sons; for Merab was the wife of Adriel, but Michal was David's wife. But all the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin manuscripts have Michal, not Merab. The Chaldean, however, has: and the five sons of Merab, whom Michal the daughter of Saul had raised.
Verse 9: The Crucifixion on the Mountain
THEY CRUCIFIED THEM ON THE MOUNTAIN BEFORE THE LORD — namely to appease the Lord, as through a public atoning sacrifice and sin-offering. Note here that God is honored and glorified by the execution of justice. ON THE MOUNTAIN — namely on the hill of Gibeah, which had been the homeland and residence of Saul, so that the sin might be punished in the place where it had been committed by Saul.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BARLEY HARVEST — that is, at the beginning of spring at Passover, to indicate that they remained on the cross as an expiatory sacrifice for several months.
Verse 10: Rizpah's Vigil
And Rizpah (the mother of two of the crucified, and a relative of the others) TAKING SACKCLOTH, SPREAD IT FOR HERSELF UPON THE ROCK, FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE HARVEST UNTIL WATER DROPPED UPON THEM FROM HEAVEN — so that, remaining and lying on sackcloth, she might continually guard the bodies of her sons, lest they be torn apart by birds, dogs, and wild beasts. The Hebrews hand down that these bodies remained on the cross for six months, namely from March to September. See here therefore and marvel at the devotion and patience of Rizpah, who for so long remained unmoved under the open sky, by day and by night, to keep the bodies of her sons untouched. These are the depths of maternal devotion.
Mystically, Rizpah represents the pious solicitude of holy Pastors and spiritual Fathers, who guard the children they have begotten for Christ, crucified to the world, and help them with the rigor of fasting and the persistence of prayer. Hence Rizpah in Hebrew means the same as a live coal, or a burning ember, which is a symbol of ardent love.
Verse 12: David Gathers Saul's Bones
12. AND DAVID WENT AND TOOK THE BONES OF SAUL. — David, stirred by the example of Rizpah's devotion, arranged for their bones, as well as those of Saul and Jonathan, to be collected and honorably buried in the tomb of Kish his father; to show that he bore no memory of the injuries Saul had inflicted upon him, and that he repaid such great wrongs with extraordinary kindnesses — which is an act of heroic charity.
Verse 15: The Four Battles Against the Philistines
15. NOW THERE WAS WAR AGAIN. — Next four battles of David against the Philistines are recounted, which seem to have occurred in the order in which they are narrated here.
AND WHEN DAVID GREW FAINT — when David, now growing old, fighting in battle, exhausted by labor, heat, hunger, and thirst, was failing in strength; then Ishbi-benob, a giant of the line of Rapha, rushed upon him. But Abishai came to David's aid and killed the giant.
Verse 17: The Lamp of Israel
LEST YOU EXTINGUISH THE LAMP OF ISRAEL — that is, lest through your death the splendor and glory of Israel be extinguished, such as was King David: the Chaldean has: lest the kingdom of Israel perish with you.
Verse 19: Elhanan Kills Goliath's Brother
IN WHICH ELHANAN THE SON OF JAARE-OREGIM THE BETHLEHEMITE STRUCK DOWN GOLIATH THE GITTITE. — More correctly, Vatablus, Abulensis, Pagninus, Cajetan, Serarius, Sanchez, Salianus, and others think that Elhanan was a different person from David. The same man killed "Goliath the Gittite," that is, the brother of Goliath the giant whom David killed, as is expressly stated in 1 Chronicles 20:5. The brother of Goliath was therefore also called "Goliath" because in stature, strength, and might he was similar to the Goliath whom David slew. Thus we commonly say of an extraordinarily strong man: He is another Hercules, or another Samson.
Verse 22: The Four Giants of Gath
THESE FOUR WERE BORN OF RAPHA IN GATH. — "Arapha" is not a woman, as some suggest, but a man, namely "Rapha," from whom the "Rephaim," the giants, were born and named.
THESE FOUR FELL BY THE HAND OF DAVID AND OF HIS SERVANTS — for although David killed none of these himself, he killed them all through his servants and soldiers. For what the soldier does, the commander does. Add that David had trained these soldiers and gone before them by his example in killing Goliath the giant. So Eucherius and others.