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Updated: June 2, 2025
Concerning The Insurrection Of Absalom Against David And Concerning Ahithophel And Hushai; And Concerning Ziba And Shimei; And How Ahithophel Hanged Himself. Now Absalom, upon this his success with the king, procured to himself a great many horses, and many chariots, and that in a little time also.
And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake? And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.
We have now left the region explored by Europeans; and our line to the south and the south-east will lie over ground wholly new. In front of us the land is no longer Arz Madyan: we are entering South Midian, which will extend to El-Hejaz. As the march might last longer than had been expected, I ordered fresh supplies from El-Muwaylah to meet us in the interior via Ziba.
So Ziba, who had not been present, is sent for, and installed as overseer of the estate, to work it for his new master's benefit, while the owner is to remain at Jerusalem in David's establishment. It was prudent to keep Mephibosheth at hand. The best way to weaken a pretender's claims was to make a pensioner of him, and the best way to hinder his doing mischief was to keep him in sight.
Deut. xv. 12, 13. Deut. xiv. 17. The "bought" servants were, as a class, superior to the hired were more trust-worthy, had greater privileges, and occupied a higher station in society. Lev. xxii. 10; Ex. xii, 43, 45. They were often, actually or prospectively, heirs of their masters' estates, as in the case of Eliezer, of Ziba, and the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah.
Nor does it appear clear that, if Ziba's motive was to get hold of the estate, his adherence to David would have seemed, at that moment, the best way of effecting it. He says that Ziba 'deceived him, and did not bring him the ass for riding on, and therefore he could not come.
Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11. Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons. 12. And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha: and all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. 13.
Ziba does not seem to be very communicative, and appears a rather unwilling witness, who needs to have the truth extracted bit by bit. Lo-debar was near Mahanaim, on the eastern side of the river, where Ishbosheth's short-lived kingdom had been planted, and probably the population there still clung to Saul's solitary representative.
"The landscape smiles Calm in the sun, and silent are the hills And valleys, and the blue serene of air." The latter still claim it as their northern limit; but the intrusive Egypto-Arabs have pushed their way far beyond this bourne. The head of the Damah, a great bay in the Hisma-wall to the east, is now in sight of us; and we shall pass its mouth, which debouches into the sea below Ziba.
III. SERVANTS WERE OFTEN WEALTHY. As persons became servants FROM POVERTY, we argue that they were compensated, since they frequently owned property, and sometimes a large amount. Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, gave David "Two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine." 2 Sam. xvi. 1.
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