Name: Elizabeth Lloyd
Date: October 29th, 2023
Section: 002
Old Testament Bible Study Assignment
Passage: 2 Samuel 9:1-13
Instructions:
For this assignment, you will be studying the Old Testament story of David and Mephibosheth
found in 2 Samuel 9:1-13. You will use the template below in order to complete a study of this
passage. In your study, you will use the skills of Observation, Interpretation, Correlation, and
Application that you have become familiar with through your reading in Everyday Bible Study.
I. Observation
A. I have read 2 Samuel 9:1-13 in both a formal translation (KJV, NKJV, NASB, ESV, or
CSB) and a functional translation (NIV, NLT, or NCV). Highlight the correct answer.
Please use the translation provided in your digital library or found at Biblegateway.com
oYes
oNo
B. Having read the passage in both formal and functional translation, list at least two
similarities and three differences between the way both translations cover this story. You
may list as many similarities and differences as you find as long as you meet the minimum
amount.
Similarity:
A similarity within both translations similarly how there as Jonathan’s son who was
lame/injured in both feet.
Similarity:
Another similarity is the way both translations describe where Mephibosheth was coming
from, Lo Debar.
Difference:
In CSB translation, at the end of the passage, it mentions Mephibosheth's son and is spelled
differently to the NIV. In CSB it is Mica and in KJV it is spelled out Mika.
Difference:
The last verse of the passage in the King James translation says that “he was lame in both
feet.” Compared to CSB which says His feet had been injured.
Difference:
In the KJV within the beginning of the passage when Ziba comes into the picture in the
CSB translation he replies to David by saying “I am your servant” compared to KJV Ziba
replies with “at your service “
C. Identify the basic elements of the story you are studying
1. Main characters: (List them)
Ziba, David, Mephibosheth,
2. Plot: (50-100 words)
a. Within this passage, King David is curious and wants to know if anyone is left
in Saul's house. He discovers that Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth, is disabled
because of injuries to both feet through a servant named Ziba. He then
summons Mephibosheth and hands over all of Saul's personal belongings and
territory to him. He showed generosity to those in need by giving
Mephibosheth Saul's assets and land.
3. Narrative structure: (50-100 words)
Note: Plot and Narrative Structure are not the same thing (see the tutorial and student example)
1. Intro:
a. The story starts out with David asking if there is anyone left within the
house of Saul. With this knowledge he then wants to display kindness and
keep his word to Jonathan about protecting his family.
2. Inciting Incident:
a. After learning that the son of Jonathan had injured both of his feet, David
decided to seek out Mephibosheth.
3. Rising Action
a. David eventually found out Mephibosheth’s location through one of
Saul’s servants and he sent for him and waited.
4. Climax
a. After Mephibosheth’s arrival, he bows down to give homage to David and
then, David proceeds to assure him that he is not there to hurt him. In fact,
David was there to gift him all of Saul’s possessions.
5. Falling Action
a. Once David gifts all of Saul’s possessions and land to Mephibosheth he
then does not believe David, so then David makes it official by declaring it
to Ziba who was one of Saul’s servants.
6. Resolution
a. The resolution was David taking care of Jonathan’s family which
consisted of Mephibosheth, his son, Mica, and then David declared that
Mephibosheth shall eat with him.
D. List basic observations about this passage using the “Key Question” for observation.
Remember to review chapters 17 and 33 in Everyday Bible Study. This will help you be
more detailed in your answers to “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how.”
Please be detailed and specific as you answer these six key questions.
1. Who:
a. King David
b. Ziba
c. Mephibosheth
2. What:
a. a. First, David inquires of a servant whether anyone from Saul's household
remains. He then converses with Ziba, one of Saul's servants, and learns of
Mephibosheth, one of Jonathan's sons. David also learns from Ziba that
Mephibosheth is disabled as a result of an injury to his feet.
b. b. He then summons Mephibosheth and wishes to show him courtesy in order
to uphold the promise he made to Jonathan. David shows Mephibosheth
goodwill by giving him all of Saul's land and possessions.
c. c. At first, Mephibosheth did not understand what was going on, so David
summoned Ziba and stated in front of her that all of Saul's assets, land, and
home were given to Mephibosheth.
d. Another point to note in this narrative is that David ended up taking care of
Jonathan's family and keeping his promise to Mephibosheth's father, Jonathan.
He accomplishes this by ensuring that Mephibosheth always ate with him and
that his son was cared for because his father was disabled due to foot ailments.
3. Where:
a. Lo Debar
b. Jerusalem
4. When:
a. This occurred during King David’s reign.
5. Why:
a. Why did David show grace and kindness towards Jonathan’s son,
Mephibosheth?
i. This is because he promised Jonathan that he would take care of his
family no matter what.
b. Why did all of Saul’s land, possessions, and home go to
G
6. How:
a. How did David locate Mephibosheth?
i. David found out about Mephibosheth through asking oen of Saul’s
house servants, Ziba.
b. How was Jonathan’s family shown kindness by David?
i. David gifted Mephibosheth with Saul’s, house, land, and all of his
personal belongings.
II. Interpretation
A. Summarize: Determine the author’s main point. In 1-2 paragraphs (100-400 words)
explain what you think the author is trying to communicate in this passage. Remember
two things. First, this passage is made up of both action and dialogue. Thus, this passage
is both showing and telling us something. Second, words like “I,” “We,” “Us,” and “Our”
are application words and not interpretation words. Thus, they should not be used in your
answer for this question. Interpretation is about “then and there” and not “here and now.”
We were not there so the passage is not about us. Our “part” in the passage is the
application or how we will respond to God’s Word.
a. David's kindness to Mephibosheth in this story displays his devotion to Jonathan.
In this text, David exhibits charity three times to Saul's remaining family
members. When David discovers that Jonathan's son Mephibosheth is alive, he
fulfills his promise to Jonathan to safeguard his family. We can deduce from this
sentence that the essential idea is to be kind. David then maintains his
commitment to Jonathan, remaining faithful to Jonathan by protecting and
providing for his family.
B. Identify: Based on your answer above, write out one principle from this passage. You
should be able to express this principle in 1-3 sentences. Once again, please remember
that words like “I,” “We,” “Us,” and “Our” are application words and not interpretation
words.
a. I feel the major lesson of this chapter is to love others including your adversaries
no matter what. There will be numerous occasions in this life that you will have to
love one another. God is encouraging others in this verse to seek out those who
are foes and to love them no matter what.
C. Check: Consult at least one scholarly resource in order to offer support for the principle
that you believe the passage is teaching. Please consult the “Commentaries” as well as
the “Bible Dictionaries & Handbooks” tabs found on this research guide provided by the
Jerry Falwell Library.
BIBL105 Research Guide
a. According to, Enduring Word this passage is about seeking out our enemies and
seeking to bless them. This passage encourages those who are fortunate to seek
out the poor, weak, and even lame and to bless them in any way possible. God
tells us to bless others even when they don’t deserve our grace, and to bless them
with more than they deserve.
III. Correlation
A. How does this Old Testament narrative fit within the metanarrative of the Bible? State
what type of story you believe this to be (creation, fall, redemption, or new creation) and
explain why you believe this to be so? Your explanation should be 1 paragraph (100-200
words) in length. It may be good to review chapter six in Everyday Bible Study in order to
recall what each of these four themes are about.
a. I believe that the essential lesson of this chapter is to love others including your
adversaries no matter what. There will be numerous occasions in this life where
you will be required to love one another. God is teaching others in this verse to
seek out and love those who are.
B. How does your principle fit with the rest of the Scripture? This principle is the one you
have written out in 1-3 sentences in the Interpretation assignment. If your principle is a
true Biblical principle, it will be reflected throughout the Scriptures.GWhere is the
principle discovered in this Old Testament narrative found elsewhere in the Scriptures?
Your explanation should be 1 paragraph (200-300 words) in length. Be specific. List,
explain, and cite your supporting passage(s) from Scripture.
a. The principle of loving others especially your enemies is important to the rest of
the scripture because within the scripture we are able to see that David displays
kindness and grace to others. Through showing love to others we are able to love
others especially for the poor and the lame. David displayed this principle by
showing love towards Mephibosheth by taking care of him and his family.
C. How does this Old Testament narrative reflect the person and work of Jesus Christ? State
and explain at least one way that the principle of this narrative can be identified in the
person and work of Jesus Christ. Your explanation should be 1 paragraph (200-300
words) in length. Be specific. List, explain, and cite your supporting passage(s) from
Scripture.
a. Within this narrative we are able to see David’s kindness towards Mephibosheth
is an example of God’s grace and kindness that He shows us. The only difference
between God’s grace and kindness and David’s is that God’s is much more
extreme or intense. Compared to Jesus Christ, I believe that Jesus displayed
kindness to the Samaritan woman, and even to His disciples when they doubted
Him.
IV. Application
What points of application can be made using the “Four Questions for Application?” State and
explain 1 point of application for each of these four questions. Your explanation for each of
these points should be 1 paragraph (100-200 words) in length.
A. The question of duty
a. When it comes to the question of duty, David displayed what it means to be kind,
especially when he was gifting all of the belongings to Mephibosheth. David also
showed us what it means to be kind and take care of others by gifting Mephibosheth
all of Saul’s belongings and taking care of his son Mica. He then displays love and
kindness towards Mephibosheth by also inviting him to eat with him for as long as
he lives. Similarly, God does this to us no matter what, so this means that we should
do this to others. Jesus, within the book of John, commands us to love others as
much as we love ourselves. With this being said, through this passage, we can see
that we are called to invite others to eat with us, bless those who are not as
fortunate, and be a humble servant towards others.
B. The question of character
a. After reading this passage, we can see the type of character we should develop
through David. David displays what it means to be kind, graceful, loving, and loyal.
He does this by keeping his promise to Jonathan and taking care of his son,
Mephibosheth. David understood what it means to bless those who are lame, poor,
and not as fortunate as him, and we today should take this as an example to follow.
Compared to Saul, Saul is everything that we should not strive to be. Saul should be
considered a coward, only selfish, and only wanting self-glorification. Within this
story, David is an example of what it means to be humble and serve others without
any self-glorification.
C. The question of goals
a. David’s drive or his end goal was to serve Mephibosheth and to take care of his
family because he wanted to keep the promise he made to Mephibosheth’s father,
Jonathan. David wanted to honor Jonathan, who bravely died in battle, and he did
this by making sure that Mephibosheth would have been taken care of along with
his son Mica. David also understood that he was not going to get anything in return
and did not expect Mephibosheth to repay him for all the gifts that David gave him.
David, by keeping his promise, not only honored his friend, he also honored God.
David understood what God called him to do, which was to be a servant to others,
and being kind to others can take you far in life. We as humans should make this
our goal because we truly have no idea what other people are going through, and we
should make it our goal to display kindness to others without expecting anything in
return.G
D. The question of discernment
a. After reading this narrative, we should apply David’s characteristics to the real
world. Within this world today, there are many people who only serve others for
self-glorification, and then there are others who serve others because they know that
it benefits them. God created us to love one another and to be kind to one another.
We are called to serve each other, just as Jesus served us by dying on the cross. We
are called to serve others without the expectation of glorification and without
getting anything in return. We are called to show kindness to those who are not as
fortunate and to those who have not shown it to others.
G
G
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
