2 Samuel 19:24

“And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, etc.] Not down to Jordan, but Jerusalem; when the king was come thither, he came from his own dwelling to the king’s palace; he is called the son of Saul, though he was his grandson, and grandsons are sometimes called sons; though in the Septuagint it is, the son’s son of Saul; and the Syriac and Arabic versions are, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul: and had neither dressed his feet; had not cut his nails, as the Septuagint adds, his toenails; or rather had not washed his feet, as the Targum paraphrases it; which was frequently done in those countries, partly for refreshment, and partly to remove the filth of them contracted by…”

“Mephibosheth . . . came down to meet the king--The reception given to Mephibosheth was less creditable to David. The sincerity of that prince's grief for the misfortunes of the king cannot be doubted. He had neither dressed his feet--not taken the bath, nor trimmed his beard--The Hebrews cut off the hair on the upper lip (see on Lev 13:45), and cheeks, but carefully cherished it on the chin from ear to ear. Besides dyeing it black or red colors, which, however, is the exception, and not the rule in the East, there are various modes of trimming it: they train it into a massy, bushy form, swelling and round; or they terminate it like a pyramid, in a sharp point. Whatever the mode, it is always…”

“Beard - The “moustache,” the beard of the upper lip. The fact related in this verse tends to clear Mephibosheth from the suspicion of unfaithfulness to David. return to 'Top of Page'”

“The son - That is, the grandson, Sa2 6:3, Sa2 6:6. His feet - By washing his feet, which was usual in those hot climates, and very refreshing; and therefore now neglected, as becoming a mourner. Beard - But suffered it to grow very long, and disorderly, as was usual with persons in a forlorn, or mournful state. Clothes - His linen cloathes. This and the former were signs, that he was a true and obstinate mourner, and evidences of the falsehood of Ziba's relation concerning him, Sa2 16:3. 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 19:25”

“19:24-30 See 16:1-4. 19:24 Mephibosheth’s inattention to grooming throughout David’s absence from Jerusalem was an act of mourning that proved his loyalty to David. If Mephibosheth had designs on the throne (16:3), he would not have retained such an unkempt appearance.”

“Mephibosheth: Sa2 9:6, Sa2 16:3 dressed his feet: Literally, made his feet, which seems to mean washing the feet paring the nails, and perhaps anointing or otherwise perfuming them, if not tinging the nails with henna; see note on Deu 21:12. Sir John Chardin, in his manuscript note on this place, informs us, that it is customary in the East to have as much care of the feet as the hands; and that their barbers cut and adjust the nails with a proper instrument, because they often go barefoot. The nails of the toes of the mummies inspected in London in 1763, of which an account is given in the Philosophical Transactions for 1764, seem to have been tinged with some reddish colour. Sa2 15:30; Isa…”

“David's conduct towards Mephibosheth admits still less of justification. Sa2 19:24 Mephibosheth, the son, i.e., grandson, of Saul, had also come down (from Jerusalem to the Jordan) to meet David, and had not "made his feet and his beard," i.e., had not washed his feet or arranged his beard (עשׂה, as in Deu 21:12), and had not washed his clothes - all of them signs of deep mourning (cf. Eze 24:17) \- since the day that the king had gone (i.e., had fled from Jerusalem) until the day that he came (again) in peace. Sa2 19:25 "Now when Jerusalem (i.e., the inhabitants of the capital) came to meet the king," (Note: Dathe and Thenius propose to alter ירוּשׁלים into מירוּשׁלים (from Jerusalem), from…”