Bible Person

Mephibosheth

Meaning: out of my mouth proceeds reproach · Male · 1 cross reference

This Mephibosheth entry refers to Saul's son by Rizpah in 2 Samuel 21:8, not to Jonathan's crippled son whom David later shows kindness. He belongs to the tragic aftermath of Saul's house and the Gibeonite reckoning. First appears in 2 Sam 21:8.1

AI summary: This Mephibosheth matters because his single cross reference places him in the grim act of atonement demanded after Saul's violence against the Gibeonites. The entry adds personal and dynastic sorrow to one of the hardest scenes in David's reign. Taken together, the material presents this Mephibosheth as a victim bound up in the judgment on Saul's house.1

Central Figure

Mephibosheth

Meaning: out of my mouth proceeds reproach

The name of Saul’s son by the concubine Rizpah (q.v.), the daughter of Aiah.