--- title: "2 Samuel 21 - Study King James Bible with pooles english annotations on the holy bible" description: "Read 2 Samuel 21 with pooles english annotations on the holy bible commentary. 1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and fo" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel/21" --- [ Read](/kjv/2-samuel/21)[ Commentary](/study/2-samuel/21)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/2-samuel/21) Audio 1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, *It is* for Saul, and for *his* bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.* 2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites *were* not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.) 3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD? 4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, *that* will I do for you.* 5 And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us *that* we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,* 6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, *whom* the LORD did choose. 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 LORD’s oath that *was* between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:** 9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell *all* seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first *days*, in the beginning of barley harvest. 10 ¶ 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. 11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, 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, which had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa: 13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged. 14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land. 15 ¶ Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint. 16 And Ishbi-benob, which *was* of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear *weighed* three hundred *shekels* of brass in weight, he being girded with a new *sword*, thought to have slain David.** 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.* 18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which *was* of the sons of the giant.** 19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Beth-lehemite, slew *the brother of* Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear *was* like a weaver’s beam.* 20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of *great* stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.* 21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.** 22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants. [2 Samuel 20](/study/2-samuel/20) [2 Samuel 22](/study/2-samuel/22) ## Commentary To verse 1 **Then there was a famine:** when? Either, first, after Absalom’s and Sheba’s rebellion, as it is here related; or rather, secondly, in some other time before. It is well known and confessed that the particle *then* doth not always note that the thing was done in that order in which it is mentioned, but is oft of an indefinite signification; as also that the Scripture in its histories and relations doth not always observe the order of time, but the order of things, putting that after which was done before, as occasion requires. And so it seems to be here. The things related here and [2 Samuel 24:0](/kjv/2-samuel/24/0) are by the most and best interpreters conceived to have been done long before Absalom’s rebellion. And this opinion is not without sufficient grounds. First, This particle *then* is here explained, *in the days*, i.e. during the life and reign of David; which general and indefinite words seem to be added as an intimation that these things were not done after the next foregoing passages, for then the sacred writer would rather have added, *after these things*, or some such expression, as it is [2 Chronicles 32:1](/kjv/2-chronicles/32/1), and in many other places. Secondly, Here are divers passages which it seems very improbable to ascribe to the last years of David’s reign: such as these, first, That Saul’s sin against the Gibeonites should so long remain unpunished. And indeed that this was done, and Saul’s seven sons hanged by David’s order before that time, seems plainly to be intimated by that passage, [2 Samuel 16:8](/kjv/2-samuel/16/8), where he is charged with *the blood of the house of Saul*; for which there was not the least colour till this time. Secondly, That David should not remove the bones of Saul and Jonathan to their proper place, here, [2 Samuel 21:12-14](/kjv/2-samuel/21/12-14), till that time. Thirdly, That the Philistines should wage war with David again and again, [2 Samuel 21:15](/kjv/2-samuel/21/15), &c., so long after he had fully subdued them, [2 Samuel 8:1](/kjv/2-samuel/8/1); and that David in his old age should attempt to fight with a Philistine giant, or that his people should suffer him to do so. Fourthly, That David should then have so vehement a desire to number his people, [2 Samuel 24:1](/kjv/2-samuel/24/1), &c., which being an act of youthful heat and vanity, seems not at all to agree with his old age, nor with that state of deep humiliation and great affliction in which he then was. And the reason why these matters are put here out of their proper order is plainly this, because David’s sin being once related, it was very convenient that David’s punishments inflicted for it should immediately succeed; this being very frequent in Scripture story, to put those things together which belong to one matter, though they happened at several times. And this is the more considerable, because it tends to the clearing of that great difficulty, [2 Samuel 15:7](/kjv/2-samuel/15/7). **David inquired of the Lord** concerning the reason of his displeasure, and this judgment. **Because he slew the Gibeonites;**which was not only an act of cruelty, but also of perfidiousness and perjury, because it was a direct and public violation of that solemn oath given to them for their security by Joshua and the princes, in the name of all the Israelites, of that and of succeeding generations, and consequently a great scandal to the true religion, and the professors of it, and a mean to discourage others from embracing it, as the Gibeonites had done. **Quest.** Why did not God punish Saul whilst he was alive for this fault, but his innocent children, and David, and the Israelites of this age? **Answ.** First, God did severely punish Saul for this and his other sins. Secondly, As God may justly inflict temporal punishments upon any offender, either in his person or in his posterity, when he pleaseth; so it is meet he should take his own time for it; and it is folly and wickedness in us to quarrel with God for so doing. Thirdly, The Israelites might sundry ways make themselves guilty of Saul’s sin, though it be not particularly mentioned in Scripture; advising or encouraging him to it; or by assisting him in the execution of it; or by conniving at it; or by rejoicing in it for some worldly advantage which they received or expected from it; or by not repairing the injuries which Saul had done them as far as they might. And some of these ways David himself might be involved in the guilt, although indeed this evil fell principally upon the people. And whereas many of the people probably were innocent of that crime, yet they also were guilty of many other sins, for which God might punish them, though he took this occasion for it. And it may be further observed, that God is pleased many times severely to punish lesser delinquents, and to suffer the greater for the present to go unpunished; and that not only to manifest his own sovereign power and liberty, but also to give the world thereby assurance of a future judgment, and punishments reserved for the next life. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel/21#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel/21#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel/21","name":"2 Samuel 21 - Study King James Bible with pooles english annotations on the holy bible","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel/21#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read 2 Samuel 21 with pooles english annotations on the holy bible commentary. 1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and fo","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel/21#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel/21"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel/21#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible","name":"pooles english annotations on the holy bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel","name":"2 Samuel"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel/21","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/pooles-english-annotations-on-the-holy-bible/2-samuel/21","name":"21"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```