2 Samuel 9:11

“Then said Ziba unto the king, according to all the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do, etc.] Till the land, and bring the fruits of it to Mephibosheth, for the support of his family; he promised very fair, had he been as faithful to his trust: as for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons; which is repeated, for the confirmation of it, and to show that he should be treated with equal respect, and fare as the king’s sons themselves did; though the clause “said the king” is not in the original text, and the words are thought by Abarbinel and others to be the words of Ziba continued; who promised to do what the king had ordered,…”

“Said the king - There is nothing in the Hebrew to warrant the insertion of these words. The words are: “So Mephibosheth ate at my table as one of the king’s sons.” Only it follows that the narrator is David himself. return to 'Top of Page'”

“9:11 Both Ziba and Mephibosheth (9:6) used the phrase “I am your servant” when presenting themselves before King David. By referring to himself as David’s servant, Ziba showed that he was no longer loyal to Saul’s dynasty. The sincerity of both later came into question (16:1-4; 19:17-30).”

“Ziba: Sa2 19:17 According: Sa2 16:1-4, Sa2 19:26 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 9:12”

“Ziba promised to obey the king's command. The last clause of this verse is a circumstantial clause in form, with which the writer passes over to the conclusion of his account. But the words שׁלחני על שׁלחן, "at my table," do not tally with this, as they require that the words should be taken as David's own. This is precluded, however, not only by the omission of any intimation that David spoke again after Ziba, and repeated what he had said once already, and that without any occasion whatever, but also by the form of the sentence, more especially the participle אכל. There is no other course left, therefore, than to regard שׁלחני (my table) as written by mistake for דּוד שׁלחן: "but…”