2 Samuel — Chapter 21

A famine of three years because of the bloodguilt of Saul who slew the Gibeonites. Lapide: though the sons of Saul were innocent as individuals, God has the right to punish a family for the sin of the father, as stated in Deut. 5:9. This was for multiple reasons — to show God's displeasure at the oppression of the poor, to extinguish potential rivals to David, and to demonstrate to all future ages that God will not overlook perjury and injustice.

The seven sons of Saul were crucified before the Lord on the holy mountain at Gabaon. Lapide: \"They crucified them before the Lord\" — this was not mere execution but a form of sacrifice, the expiation of a national sin; the parallel to the brazen serpent and ultimately to the Cross of Christ is adumbrated in the commentary.

Respha daughter of Aia spread sackcloth on the rock and kept watch over the bodies day and night, keeping away birds and beasts. Lapide praises her maternal constancy as heroic piety, comparable to the women who stayed at the Cross; her vigil moved David to gather and rebury the bones of Saul and Jonathan.