“Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.”
"But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for with such kindness they met me when I fled before Absalom your brother.'" — David's next charge is mercy, not vengeance. Barzillai (*Bartzillay*), the Gileadite elder who sustained David during Absalom's rebellion (2 Sam 17:27–29), is to be *remembered and rewarded*—his sons are to eat *at the king's table* (*le-echol lechem 'al shulchankhá*), the highest honor of court membership. The phrase *ki-ken qarav eleyha* (for with such kindness they came to me) is the covenantal language of *hesed* (loving-kindness); David's charge to honor Barzillai's family transfers a debt of gratitude into a covenant obligation. This charge reveals David's political acumen: honor those who stood by him in crisis.
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