2 Samuel 16:1-4·~1 min
David and Ziba
Ziba brings provisions to David and answers the king’s questions with a report against Mephibosheth. David responds by transferring Mephibosheth’s property to Ziba.
W1hen David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. 2“Why do you have these?” asked the king. 3“Where is your master’s grandson?” asked the king. 4So the king said to Ziba, “All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!”
Section summaryZiba meets David with food and animals as the king flees, then explains Mephibosheth’s absence by accusing him of waiting for Saul’s kingdom to return. David accepts the report at once and gives Mephibosheth’s estate to Ziba.
Role in the chapterThis opening scene shows how unstable David’s world has become: help arrives mixed with accusation, and judgment is made in haste. It begins the chapter’s pattern of fractured loyalties around the fleeing king.