Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.
Give us seven of his sons, and we will execute them before the LORD in Gibeah, the town of Saul whom the LORD chose as king. And King David said, I will hand them over.
The Gibeonites are asking David to execute seven of Saul's descendants to make up for Saul's broken promise, and David agrees to their request.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs during a three-year famine that God revealed was punishment for Saul's violation of an ancient treaty with the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites had made a peace treaty with Israel centuries earlier, but Saul had tried to wipe them out in his zeal for Israel and Judah. According to ancient Near Eastern justice, the family of the covenant-breaker could be held responsible for making things right.
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