The Meaning of 2 Samuel 16:1 Explained

2 Samuel 16:1

KJV: And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.

YLT: And David hath passed on a little from the top, and lo, Ziba, servant of Mephibosheth -- to meet him, and a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred of summer-fruit, and a bottle of wine.

Darby: And when David was a little past the summit, behold, Ziba, Mephibosheth's servant, met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred raisin-cakes, and a hundred cakes of summer fruits, and a flask of wine.

ASV: And when David was a little past the top of the ascent , behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and a hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And when David  was a little  past  the top  [of the hill], behold, Ziba  the servant  of Mephibosheth  met  him, with a couple  of asses  saddled,  and upon them two hundred  [loaves] of bread,  and an hundred  bunches of raisins,  and an hundred  of summer fruits,  and a bottle  of wine. 

What does 2 Samuel 16:1 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Samuel 16:1-12 - A Day That Revealed Character
There may have been some truth in Ziba's statement, but we should balance it with 2 Samuel 19:24. Shimei vented the spleen of the house of Saul. He probably referred to the recent execution of the sons of Rizpah, and perhaps suggested that David had been guilty of all the disaster that had befallen Saul's house from the day of Gilboa. When men curse us, whether we deserve it or not, let us look past them to the permissive will of God. "Let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden him!"
When, through the treachery of Judas, the bitter cup came to the lips of our Lord, he said, "It is the cup that my Father hath given me to drink." Pain and sorrow, treachery and hard speeches, may be devised against us by the malignity of an Ahithophel, a Shimei, or a Judas; but by the time these have passed, through the permissive will of God, we may receive them as the strokes of His chastening rod, that we may partake of His holiness. We are not the sport of chance or human caprice. God deals with us as with sons. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Samuel 16

1  Ziba, by presents and false suggestions, obtains his master's inheritance
5  At Bahurim, Shimei curses David
9  David with patience abstains, and restrains others, from revenge
15  Hushai insinuates himself into Absalom's counsel
20  Ahithophel's counsel

What do the individual words in 2 Samuel 16:1 mean?

And when David was past a little the top [of the mountain] and there was Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth who met him and with a couple of donkeys saddled and on them two hundred [loaves] of bread and a hundred clusters of raisins and a hundred summer fruits and a skin of wine
וְדָוִ֗ד עָבַ֤ר מְעַט֙ מֵֽהָרֹ֔אשׁ וְהִנֵּ֥ה צִיבָ֛א נַ֥עַר מְפִי־ בֹ֖שֶׁת לִקְרָאת֑וֹ וְצֶ֨מֶד חֲמֹרִ֜ים חֲבֻשִׁ֗ים וַעֲלֵיהֶם֩ מָאתַ֨יִם לֶ֜חֶם וּמֵאָ֧ה צִמּוּקִ֛ים וּמֵ֥אָה קַ֖יִץ וְנֵ֥בֶל יָֽיִן

וְדָוִ֗ד  And  when  David 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
עָבַ֤ר  was  past 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
מְעַט֙  a  little 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: מְעַט  
Sense: littleness, few, a little, fewness.
מֵֽהָרֹ֔אשׁ  the  top  [of  the  mountain] 
Parse: Preposition-m, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
וְהִנֵּ֥ה  and  there  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
צִיבָ֛א  Ziba 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: צִיבָא  
Sense: a servant of Saul whom David made steward of Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth.
נַ֥עַר  the  servant 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נַעַר  
Sense: a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer.
בֹ֖שֶׁת  Mephibosheth 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מְפִיבֹשֶׁת 
Sense: grandson of Saul and son of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, Saul’s concubine; he and his brother Armoni were among the 7 victims surrendered by David to the Gibeonites to avert a famine.
לִקְרָאת֑וֹ  who  met  him 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to encounter, befall, meet.
וְצֶ֨מֶד  and  with  a  couple 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: צֶמֶד  
Sense: couple, pair, team, yoke.
חֲמֹרִ֜ים  of  donkeys 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חֲמֹור 
Sense: (he)ass.
חֲבֻשִׁ֗ים  saddled 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural
Root: חָבַשׁ  
Sense: to tie, bind, bind on, bind up, saddle, restrain, bandage, govern.
וַעֲלֵיהֶם֩  and  on  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
מָאתַ֨יִם  two  hundred  [loaves] 
Parse: Number, fd
Root: מֵאָה 
Sense: hundred.
לֶ֜חֶם  of  bread 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
וּמֵאָ֧ה  and  a  hundred 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, feminine singular
Root: מֵאָה 
Sense: hundred.
צִמּוּקִ֛ים  clusters  of  raisins 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: צִמּוּקִים  
Sense: bunch of raisins, raisin-bunch.
וּמֵ֥אָה  and  a  hundred 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, feminine singular
Root: מֵאָה 
Sense: hundred.
קַ֖יִץ  summer  fruits 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קַיִץ  
Sense: summer, summer-fruit.
וְנֵ֥בֶל  and  a  skin 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root:  
Sense: a skin-bag, jar, pitcher.
יָֽיִן  of  wine 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַיִן  
Sense: wine.