New American Standard Bible 1995

Back to Reader

2 Samuel

16

:

1

Now when David had passed a little beyond the summit, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine.

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Hebrew: Transliteration:
Now when David perhaps "beloved one," a son of Jesse Noun H1732 וְדָוִ֗ד ve·da·vid
Analysis:
Read more about: David
had passed to pass over, through, or by, pass on Verb H5674 עָבַ֤ר a·var
a little a little, fewness, a few sub H4592 מְעַט֙ me·'at
beyond to pass over, through, or by, pass on Verb H5674    
the summit, head Noun H7218 מֵֽהָרֹ֔אשׁ me·ha·rosh,
behold, lo! behold! Particle H2009 וְהִנֵּ֥ה ve·hin·neh
Ziba a servant in Saul's house Noun H6717 צִיבָ֛א tzi·va
the servant a boy, lad, youth, retainer Noun H5288 נַ֥עַר na·'ar
of Mephibosheth "dispeller of shame," another name for NH4807 Noun H4648 בֹ֖שֶׁת vo·shet
Analysis:
Read more about: Mephibosheth
met to encounter, befall Verb H7122 לִקְרָאתֹ֑ו lik·ra·tov;
him with a couple a couple, pair Noun H6776 וְצֶ֨מֶד ve·tze·med
of saddled to bind, bind on, bind up Verb H2280 חֲבֻשִׁ֗ים cha·vu·shim
donkeys, a male ass Noun H2543 חֲמֹרִ֜ים cha·mo·rim
and on them [were] two hundred Noun H3967 מָאתַ֨יִם ma·ta·yim
Analysis:

Two: Two divergent opinions

The classic example for the number "two" is found in Matthew chapter 26. There, Yeshua says to His disciples,

"You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of Man will be given over for crucifixion."  Matthew 26:2

The phrase "after two days" is somewhat meaningless because after two days can mean three or more days. The period is unspecified. The reason for such ambiguous language is because the purpose of the number two in this passage is not solely numerical. This means that the text is not intending to provide the reader with some definite information concerning a time period. Rather, the purpose of the number two in this context is one of the numerological meanings of the number two.  Often the number two relates to two divergent opinions. In the aforementioned verse, the author wants to inform the reader that there are two very different understandings for this coming Passover. Yeshua wants to emphasize that He is going up to Jerusalem in order to die as the true Passover sacrifice. Even though Yeshua states this emphatically, the disciples did not receive this. In fact, the disciples did not perceive at all what was going to take place during Passover in regard to Yeshua. In other words, Yeshua and the disciples have two divergent opinions concerning the Passover.

This same principle is also found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Covenant). In the book of Amos one reads,

"Can two walk together without them having agreed" Amos 3:3

The word which was translated into English with the phrase "them having agreed" is נועדו. The root of this word is יעד, which relates to a specific destination. The word which precedes this word is בלתי and in this context the word implies a change to the condition. In other words, had there not been a change in the condition, then the two could not walk together, i.e. they could not have arrived at the common destination.

The concept of divergent or different is also seen in the book of Genesis. In speaking about the sun and moon one reads, "And God made two great lights…" (Genesis 1:16). Obviously the sun and moon are very different, as one is a source of light, while the latter just reflects light. Also in the book of Genesis, one encounters the account of the flood. Here Noah is commanded to bring onto the ark two sorts of each type of animal. In this passage, the two relates to two different (or divergent) kinds of the same sort, i.e. male and female. 

Likewise, two angels came to Sodom, demonstrating that the people of Sodom had a very different way of living from that of the Law of God. Once again, the reader should not assume that every occurrence of the number two in the Bible demands this interpretation. However, one will find in a great majority of Biblical passages, the reader will be assisted in arriving at the proper interpretation, when he considers this divergent quality for the number two. 

Loveisrael.org - Baruch Korman, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission 2016 

hundred hundred Noun H3967 וּמֵאָ֧ה u·me·'ah
loaves of bread, bread, food Noun H3899 לֶ֜חֶם le·chem
a hundred hundred Noun H3967 וּמֵ֥אָה u·me·'ah
clusters of raisins, bunch of raisins Noun H6778 צִמּוּקִ֛ים tzim·mu·kim
a hundred hundred Noun H3967    
summer fruits, summer, summer fruit Noun H7019 קַ֖יִץ ka·yitz
and a jug a skin bottle, skin, jar, pitcher Noun H5035 וְנֵ֥בֶל ve·ne·vel
of wine. wine Noun H3196 יָֽיִן׃ ya·yin.

People

Mephibosheth

|dispeller of shame|

David

David [N] [B] [H] [S] beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother's name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of  2 Samuel 17:25 . As to his personal appearance, we only know that he was red-haired, with beautiful eyes and a fair face ( 1 Samuel 16:12 ;  17:42 ).  His early... View Details

Parallel Verses

Removed text
Added text
New American Standard Bible 1995 Now when David had passed a little beyond the summit, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine.
King James Bible Now And when David had passed was a little beyond past the summit, top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him him, with a couple of saddled donkeys, asses saddled, and on upon them were two hundred loaves of bread, a and an hundred clusters bunches of raisins, a and an hundred of summer fruits, and a jug bottle of wine.
Hebrew Greek English Now when David had passed a little beyond the summit, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine.