person
Ziba
צִיבָא
Ziba, a servant of Saul's household, became a servant of David and played a role in the conflict between David and Mephibosheth.
- verses
- 13
- first named
- 2 Samuel 9:2
- last named
- 2 Samuel 19:30
- period
- United Monarchy
- role
- David's compatriot
Description
Who was Ziba?
Ziba was a servant of Saul's household who later became a servant of King David. He first appears in the narrative when David inquires about any remaining members of Saul's family to whom he can show kindness. Ziba informs David about Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, who was lame in both feet. David grants Mephibosheth all of Saul's land and appoints Ziba, along with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, to manage the property on Mephibosheth's behalf. Later, during Absalom's rebellion, Ziba meets David with supplies and falsely claims that Mephibosheth had hoped to regain the kingdom. David then grants Ziba all of Mephibosheth's possessions. After Absalom's death, when David returns to Jerusalem, Mephibosheth explains that Ziba had deceived him, and David divides the land between Ziba and Mephibosheth. Ziba's actions throughout the story suggest that he was an opportunist seeking to gain favor and wealth through his service to the king.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
Took part in
Stands in the same events as
- Mephibosheth4 events
- David3 events
- Ziba Sons And Servants2 events
- Jordan1 event
- Shimei1 event
Places
Where this happens
The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 13, across 1 book. The name is written 16 times in them.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
Chapter by chapter
Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
Sources