Armoni and Mephibosheth ''Bib'' Heb: ,

Trans Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of". Used alone, trans may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trans (festival), a former festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom * ''Trans'' (film ...

: ''Mefivoshet'' (''Məp̄îḇṓšeṯ'') are named in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

as the two sons of

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

by his

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

Rizpah Rizpah (riz'-pa, "coal", "hot stone") was the daughter of Aiah, and one of Saul's concubines. She was the mother of Armoni and Mephibosheth (; ). After the death of Saul, according to the Bible, Abner was implicitly accused of having aspirations ...

, daughter of Aiah. After Saul's death, they were killed in revenge for his violence against the

Gibeonites Gibeon ( he, , ''Gīḇəʻōn''; grc-gre, Γαβαων, ''Gabaōn'') was a Canaanite and, later, an Israelite city which was located north of Jerusalem. According to and , the pre-Israelite-conquest inhabitants, the Gibeonites, were Hivites ...

Biblical narrative

Their deaths are described in the

Second Book of Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Josh ...

, chapter 21. It describes how

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

suffered a three-year famine, which was thought to have happened because Saul had earlier wronged the

. The Gibeonites told King

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

that nothing would now compensate them but the death of seven of Saul's sons (). David accordingly handed them

Armoni Armoni and Mephibosheth ''Bib'' Heb: , Trans: ''Mefivoshet'' (''Məp̄îḇṓšeṯ'') are named in the Hebrew Bible as the two sons of Saul by his concubine Rizpah, daughter of Aiah. After Saul's death, they were killed in revenge for his vio ...

Mephibosheth Mephibosheth (Biblical Hebrew: , ''Məfīḇōšeṯ'', also called Meribaal, , ''Mərīḇ-Baʻal'') was the son of Jonathan—and, thus, a grandson of Saul—mentioned in the Biblical Books of Samuel and Chronicles. Mephibosheth was five yea ...

, and five of Saul's grandsons (the sons of Merab and

Adriel Adriel (Hebrew: עדריאל) (Aramaic: ܥܕܪܝܐܝܠ) (literallyעדר(flock) י (of) אל (El)) was a person mentioned in the Bible. Adriel was a nobleman in the ancient kingdom of Israel. The name Adriel is translated from the Hebrew word ע ...

). The Gibeonites killed all seven, and hung up their bodies at the sanctuary at

Gibeah Gibeah (; he, גִּבְעָה ''Gīḇəʿā''; he, גִּבְעַת, link=no ''Gīḇəʿaṯ'') is the name of three places mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in the tribes of Benjamin, Judah, and Ephraim respectively. Gibeah of Benjamin is th ...

(). For five months their bodies were hung out in the elements, and the grieving Rizpah guarded them from being eaten by the beasts and birds of prey (). Finally, David had the bodies taken down and buried in the family grave at Zelah with the remains of Saul and their half-brother Jonathan. ().

Footnotes

References

* {{cite book, last1=Easton, first1=Matthew George, author-link=Matthew George Easton, title=Easton's Bible Dictionary, date=1894, publisher=T. Nelson, location=Altenmünster, isbn=9783849621865, page=457, edition=Extended Annotated, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KspEAAAAYAAJ&q=Mephibosheth+easton&pg=PA457 House of Saul Sibling duos