2 Samuel 21:6

“Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, etc.] They settled upon this number, either because they were seven, and no more of the Gibeonites, whom Saul slew, as the Jew say f352; two hewers of wood, two drawers of water, a keeper (of a synagogue), a scribe, and a servant; but perhaps the true reason was, they knew there were no more besides Mephibosheth, for whom David had a great respect, and therefore required no more: and we will hang them up unto the Lord; not to gratify a revengeful spirit of theirs, but in honour to the justice of God, and to appease his wrath: in Gibeah of Saul, [whom] the Lord did choose; which was Saul’s native place, and where he always lived; so that to hang…”

“Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul--The practice of the Hebrews, as of most Oriental nations, was to slay first, and afterwards to suspend on a gibbet, the body not being left hanging after sunset. The king could not refuse this demand of the Gibeonites, who, in making it, were only exercising their right as blood-avengers; and, although through fear and a sense of weakness they had not hitherto claimed satisfaction, yet now that David had been apprised by the oracle of the cause of the long-prevailing calamity, he felt it his duty to give the Gibeonites full satisfaction--hence their specifying the number seven, which was…”

“Seven men - Seven was a sacred number not only with the Hebrews but with other Oriental nations Numbers 23:1, Numbers 23:29, and is therefore brought in on this occasion when the judicial death of the sons of Saul was a religious act intended to appease the wrath of God for the violation of an oath Numbers 25:4. Whom the Lord did choose - Rather, “the Lord’s chosen,” or elect. The same phrase is applied to Moses Psalms 106:23, to the Israelites Isaiah 43:20, and to Christ Isaiah 42:1. return to 'Top of Page'”

“I will - Having doubtless consulted God in the matter; who as he had before declared Saul's bloody house to be the causes of this judgment, so now commanded that justice should be done upon it, and that the remaining branches of it should be cut off; as sufficiently appears from hence, that God was well pleased with the action; which he would not have been, if David had done it without his command; for then it had been a sinful action of David's, and contrary to a double law of God, Deu 21:23, Deu 24:16. 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 21:7”

“21:6 seven of Saul’s sons: Although the law codes of other ancient Near Eastern nations sometimes permitted members of a family to be punished for crimes a guilty individual had committed, Deut 24:16 prohibited such punishment among the Israelites. This penalty was God’s prerogative alone (Deut 5:9). The few instances in the Bible when offspring were punished were not regular criminal cases. Rather, they involved offenses against God, such as violation of the kherem (the taboo on goods in wars of total destruction ordered by God; Josh 7:24-25) or of national oaths (as here). • at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord: This probably refers to the high place at Gibeon that Solomon later visited…”

“Let seven: As God accepted the expiation here demanded, we must suppose that both the enquiry of David, and the answer of the Gibeonites, were directed by some open or secret intimation from him. hang: Sa2 17:23, Sa2 18:10; Gen 40:19, Gen 40:22; Num 25:4, Num 25:5; Deu 21:22; Jos 8:29, Jos 10:26; Ezr 6:11; Est 9:10, Est 9:13, Est 9:14; Mat 27:5 in: Sa1 10:26, Sa1 11:4 whom the Lord did choose: or, the chosen of the Lord, Sa1 9:16, Sa1 9:17, Sa1 10:1, Sa1 10:24; Act 13:21 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 21:7”