2 Samuel 21:10

2 Samuel 21:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.

Context of 2 Samuel 21:10

8So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah whom she had born to Saul, and the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab whom she had born to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite. 9He turned them over to the Gibeonites, and they executed them on a hill before the Lord. The seven of them died together; they were put to death during harvest time – during the first days of the beginning of the barley harvest. Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain fell on them, she did not allow the birds of the air to feed on them by day, nor the wild animals by night. 11When David was told what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, Saul’s concubine, had done, 12he went and took the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan from the leaders of Jabesh Gilead. (They had secretly taken them from the plaza at Beth Shan. It was there that Philistines publicly exposed their corpses after they had killed Saul at Gilboa.)

2 Samuel 21:10 word by word

וַתִּקַּ֣ח רִצְפָּה֩ בַת־אַיָּ֨ה אֶת־הַשַּׂ֜ק וַתַּטֵּ֨הוּ לָ֤הּ אֶל־הַצּוּר֙ מִתְּחִלַּ֣ת קָצִ֔יר עַ֛ד נִתַּךְ־מַ֥יִם עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מִן־הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְלֹֽא־נָתְנָה֩ ע֨וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֜יִם לָנ֤וּחַ עֲלֵיהֶם֙ יוֹמָ֔ם וְאֶת־חַיַּ֥ת הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה לָֽיְלָה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Rizpahרִצְפָּהritspâh · RizpahH7532
• the daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• of Aiahאַיָּה'ayâh · AiahH345
• tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• and spreadנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
• it for her upon the rockצוּרtsûr tsûr · rockH6697
• from the beginningתְּחִלָּהtechillâh · beginningH8462
• of harvestקָצִירqâtsîyr · harvestH7105
• until waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• droppedנָתַךְnâthak · to pourH5413
• upon them out of heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• and sufferedנָתַןnâthan · to give: allowH5414
• neither the birdsעוֹף‛ôph · birdH5775
• to restנוּחַnûach · to restH5117
• on them by dayיוֹמָםyômâm · by dayH3119
• nor the beastsחַיָּהchay · living thingH2416
• of the fieldשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: countryH7704
• by nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 21:10

• 2 Samuel 20:8When they were near the big rock that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire and had a dagger in its sheath belted to his waist. When he advanced, it fell out.
• 2 Samuel 3:7Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why did you have sexual relations with my father’s concubine?”
• 1 Kings 21:27When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He slept in sackcloth and walked around dejected.
• Joel 1:18Listen to the cattle groan! The herds of livestock wander around in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
• 2 Samuel 20:9Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” With his right hand Joab took hold of Amasa’s beard as if to greet him with a kiss.
• Deuteronomy 21:13discard the clothing she was wearing when captured, and stay in your house, lamenting for her father and mother for a full month. After that you may have sexual relations with her and become her husband and she your wife.
• Deuteronomy 11:14then he promises, “I will send rain for your land in its season, the autumn and the spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine, and olive oil.
• 1 Kings 18:41Then Elijah told Ahab, “Go on up and eat and drink, for the sound of a heavy rainstorm can be heard.”
• Jeremiah 5:24They do not say to themselves, “Let us revere the Lord our God. It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time. It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.”
• Jeremiah 14:22Do any of the worthless idols of the nations cause rain to fall? Do the skies themselves send showers? Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? So we put our hopes in you because you alone do all this.”
• Hosea 6:3So let us acknowledge him! Let us seek to acknowledge the Lord! He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn, as certainly as the winter rain comes, as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.”
• Joel 2:23Citizens of Zion, rejoice! Be glad because of what the Lord your God has done! For he has given to you the early rains as vindication. He has sent to you the rains – both the early and the late rains as formerly.
• Zechariah 10:1Ask the Lord for rain in the season of the late spring rains – the Lord who causes thunderstorms – and he will give everyone showers of rain and green growth in the field.
• Genesis 40:19In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
• Ezekiel 39:4You will fall dead on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you. I give you as food to every kind of bird and every wild beast.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 21:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Rizpah - took sackcloth - Who can read the account of Rizpah's maternal affection for her sons that were now hanged, without feeling his mind deeply impressed with sorrows? Did God require this sacrifice of Saul's sons, probably all innocent of the alleged crime of their father? Was there no other method of averting the Divine displeasure? Was the requisition of the Gibeonites to have Saul's sons sacrificed to God, to be considered as an oracle of God?…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10Dropped - Rather, “poured,” the proper word for heavy rain Exodus 9:33. The “early rain,” or heavy rain of autumn, usually began in October, so that Rizpah‘s devoted watch continued about six months. How rare rain was in harvest we learn from 1 Samuel 12:17-18; Proverbs 26:1. The reason of the bodies being left unburied, contrary to Deuteronomy 21:23, probably was that the death of these men being an expiation of the guilt of a violated oath, they were to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-14Verses 10-14 That a guilty land should enjoy many years of plenty, calls for gratitude; and we need not wonder misused abundance should be punished with scarcity; yet how few are disposed to ask of the Lord concerning the sinful cause, while numbers search for the second causes by which he is pleased to work! But the Lord will plead the cause of those who cannot or will not avenge themselves; and the prayers of the poor are of great power. When God sent…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10The Gibeonites were not Israelites (2 Samuel 21:2), so they did not follow the Israelite law in Deuteronomy 21:22–23 about quickly and properly burying a criminal. Rizpah wanted to prevent her sons from being further shamed after their death.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. Rizpah ... took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock--She erected a tent near the spot, in which she and her servants kept watch, as the relatives of executed persons were wont to do, day and night, to scare the birds and beasts of prey away from the remains exposed on the low-standing gibbets. 2Sa 21:12-22. David Buries the Bones of Saul and Jonathan in Their Father's Sepulcher.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 21:10

• Ajah
• David
• Parents
• Rizpah

In the dictionaries

• David
• Gibeah
• Harvest
• Mephibosheth
• Rizpah
• Aiah
• Burial
• Corpse
• Giants
• Psalms, Book of

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary