11. The Crippled Mephibosheth ( 2Samuel 9:1 – 12)

David showed favor to Mephibosheth in remembrance of Jonathan.

πŸ‘‰ Read 2Samuel 9:1 - 13


Q1. Why did David show favor to Mephibosheth? Find two supporting verses for your answer.

For the sake of Jonathan (because of the covenant with him)

v1, v7



Q2. The Bible seems to emphasize that Mephibosheth was crippled and that he was a regular guest at the king’s table. Find supporting verses.

Both of his feet were crippled (v3, v13)

He regularly ate at David’s table (v11, v13)

The repeated mention of Mephibosheth’s crippled feet highlights the downfall of Saul’s house. Yet, his family line continued through his young son. He inherited Saul’s land, and Saul’s name lived on through Mephibosheth’s son. His family survived by grace. Ziba’s household became his servants, and by David’s favor, Mephibosheth was partially restored to royal privilege by eating at the king’s table.



Q3. What was David’s favor for Mephibosheth?

He received all the land that had belonged to his grandfather Saul.

He was given a permanent seat at David’s table.

Note that David repeats this promise (v7, v9). Also, this event did not occur immediately after David became king. When David was crowned over all Israel, around 8 years had passed since Saul’s death. Mephibosheth was under two years old when he was injured, but now he had a young son, indicating he was at least around 20 years old. Roughly 10 years had passed since David’s full enthronement. Although David had made a covenant with Jonathan, he did not remember or act on it until he felt compelled.



Q4. How rich was Ziba, the former servant of Saul?

He had 15 sons and 20 servants.

Why does the Bible mention this? Possibly because Ziba had taken over Saul’s property after his death. This is a plausible explanation, especially considering how he later behaved when David fled from Absalom — deceiving both his master Mephibosheth and King David to seize Mephibosheth’s wealth.




The crippled Mephibosheth referred to himself as a dead dog. Yet David showed him undeserved grace for the sake of Jonathan. Likewise, God’s grace has been given to us—rebellious and unworthy sinners—for the sake of our Lord Jesus.


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