Mephibosheth

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This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

Meri-baal - "beloved of Baal"/"beloved of the Lord". In view of later religious sensibilities, textually later parts of the Bible rename Meribaal to Mephibosheth - "exterminator of the shameful one", while textually earlier parts preserve the name Meribaal. This change from "-Baal" to "-Bosheth" is common throughout other Biblical names, the exception being Beliah (Yahweh is Lord/Yahweh is Baal) since this couldn't be allowed to become Boshethiah or Jebosheth (Yahweh is shameful).

(1.) The son of Jonathan, and grandson of Saul (2 Sam. 4:4). He was five years old when his father and grandfather fell in the Battle of Mount Gilboa. The child's nurse hearing of this calamity, fled with the boy from Gibeah, the royal residence, and stumbled in her haste, dropping the child on the ground, permanently paralyzing him from the waist down (2 Sam. 19:26). He was carried to the land of Gilead, where he found a refuge in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar, by whom he was brought up.

Some years after this, when King David had subdued all the adversaries of Israel, he began to think of the family of Jonathan, and discovered that Meribbaal was residing in the house of Machir. So he sent royal messengers there, and brought Meribbaal and his infant son (Micah) to Jerusalem, where he resided from that point on (2 Sam. 9).

When David was a fugitive, according to the story of Ziba (2 Sam. 16:1-4) Mephibosheth proved unfaithful to him, and was consequently deprived of half of his estates; according to his own story, however (2 Sam. 19:24-30), he had remained loyal to his friend, the king. After this incident he is only mentioned as having been protected by David against the vengeance the Gibeonites were permitted to execute on the house of Saul 2 Sam. 21:7).

(2.) The name of Saul's son by the concubine Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. He and his brother Armoni were with five others "hanged on a hill before the Lord" by the Gibeonites, and their bodies exposed in the sun for five months (2 Sam. 21:8-10).