Rizpah
Peopleâš¡ IN BRIEF (SUMMARY)
Rizpah was a concubine of King Saul who protected the corpses of her sons, Armoni and Mephibosheth, from scavengers after they were executed by the Gibeonites, an act that compelled King David to retrieve the bones of Saul and Jonathan for proper burial.
What is the meaning of Rizpah in the Bible?
Rizpah was a concubine of King Saul who protected the corpses of her sons, Armoni and Mephibosheth, from scavengers after they were executed by the Gibeonites, an act that compelled King David to retrieve the bones of Saul and Jonathan for proper burial.
SIGNIFICANCE
Rizpah's vigil demonstrates the ancient cultural imperative to honor the dead and highlights how her personal grief served as the catalyst for resolving a political crisis and restoring ritual purity to the land.
Bible Study Quick-Reference Guide
- Why did the biblical author mention Rizpah in this passage?
- What cultural or historical assumption does Rizpah clarify?
Related Topics
Source Attribution & Provenance
Built upon the 1915 International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) and Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897). Entries have been editorially modernized, checked for academic truthfulness, and formatted for fast contextual reference.