2 Samuel 9

Remember Mephibosheth? He was Jonathon’s son who could not walk.

David asks a servant of Saul’s household if there is anyone that David could honor on behalf of Jonathon. Since Saul’s household still has a servant, I think this means that Saul’s family has not been eliminated. They seem to still be rich enough to have servants, perhaps the servants are Saul loyalists (Benjamites?) that nostalgic for the glory days of Saul, or maybe they were slaves to Saul’s household that had not been freed yet.

The servant, Ziba, suggests Mephibosheth. David asks for Mephibosheth. When he arrives, he bows low to David and David says to him to not be afraid. This was probably the very first time he ever met David. He probably had heard of the friendship pact between his father and David, but he had no idea if it was still valid. After all, his grandfather Saul had mercilessly pursued David for years and Saul’s death resulted in a 7 year civil war between Mephibosheth’s uncle and David. Mephibosheth is understandably nervous.

David’s reason for bringing Mephibosheth to court was probably the last thing he expected to hear – David wants to restore Saul’s familial lands to Mephibosheth and that Mephibosheth will always eat at David’s table.

David’s stated purpose in returning the land is to ensure that Mephibosheth is always provided for. This is redundant because Mephibosheth was taken care of because he stayed in Jerusalem to eat at David’s table.

The return of the family lands to Saul’s grandson is interesting. Real property always had to be returned to the familial owners every 50 years, but that was in the case of leasing land. The Mosaic Code real property portion had no provisions regarding whether a king could confiscate land and if that would be immune from returning to the original owners every 50 years. David’s action and statements implicitly suggests that – yes, the king can break the 50 year inheritance rule.