2 Samuel 16:1-4

2 Samuel 16:1-4

[1] And when David  was a little  past  the top  of the hill, behold, Ziba  the servant  of Mephibosheth  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.  [2] And the king  said  unto Ziba,  said,  The asses  be for the king's  household  to ride on;  and the bread  and summer fruit  for the young men  to eat;  and the wine,  that such as be faint  in the wilderness  may drink.  [3] And the king  said,  And where is thy master's  son?  And Ziba  said  unto the king,  Behold, he abideth  at Jerusalem:  for he said,  To day  shall the house  of Israel  restore  me the kingdom  of my father.  [4] Then said  the king  to Ziba,  Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth.  And Ziba  said,  I humbly  beseech thee that I may find  grace  in thy sight,  my lord,  O king. 

What does 2 Samuel 16:1-4 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

"David now encounters Ziba ( 2 Samuel 16:1-4), the first of two men with links to the house of Saul (the other is Shimei [1]). Although Ziba attempts to ingratiate himself to him and Shimei curses him, David treats each with courtesy. The brief account of the king"s kindness to Ziba ( 2 Samuel 16:1-4) has obvious connections with the narrative of his kindness to Mephibosheth (ch9) ..." [2]
Ziba"s report of Mephibosheth"s reaction to the news that Absalom had rebelled seems to have been untrue (cf. 2 Samuel 19:24-28). Perhaps he believed Absalom would kill his master and then David would reward him. David accepted Ziba"s report too quickly without getting all the facts, perhaps because Ziba showed himself to be a friend of David by sustaining him in his flight. We sometimes accept a friend"s analysis of the motives of another person too quickly because we do not bother to get all the facts. Here David slipped because he too willingly accepted the complimentary words of a friend.