During Absalom’s rebellion, Ziba tried unsuccessfully to turn David against Mephibosheth. Later, when David invited the young boy to be part of his court, he entrusted the family property to a steward, Ziba. So he sent royal messengers there, and brought Mephibosheth and his infant son Micah to Jerusalem, where they resided from that point on (2 Samuel 9). Some years later, when King David had conquered all of Israel’s enemies, he remembered the family of his friend Jonathan (2 Samuel 9:1), and, wishing to display his loving loyalty to Jonathan by ministering to his family, David found out that Mephibosheth was residing in the house of Machir. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became crippled, his name was Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 4:4). He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was carried to the land of Gilead, where he found refuge in the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. However, we find in 2 Samuel 4 that Mephibosheth survives. Fearing that the Philistines would seek to take the life of the young boy, a nurse fled with him to Gibeah, the royal residence, but in her haste she dropped him and both of his feet were crippled (2 Samuel 4:4). Ziba answered the king, There is still a son of Jonathan he is lame in both feet. When Mephibosheth was five years old, his father Jonathan was killed in battle. The other Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan, who was the son of King Saul and a special friend of King David. The less prominent one was a son of King Saul he was delivered by David to the Gibeonites to be hanged in retaliation for Saul’s earlier slaughter of a band of Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1-9). There are two men by the name of Mephibosheth in the Bible, both in 2 Samuel. Mary Fairchild Updated on ApMephibosheth, one of the many secondary characters in the Old Testament, served as a poignant metaphor for redemption and restoration by Jesus Christ.

Mephibosheth lame meaning