2 Samuel 21:4

2Sa 21:4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, [that] will I do for you.

Ver. 4. We will have no silver nor gold of Saul.] It is not pecuniary satisfaction that we seek, neither would we suck any man’s blood in way of private revenge, but only to make atonement unto the Lord, who is displeased, and hath declared that this way he will be pacified; and that the famine may be removed, we thus demand and desire.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Sa 21:4. We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, &c. — Neither silver nor gold was a just equivalent for the loss they had sustained by Saul and his bloody house. Neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel — Except of Saul’s family, as it here follows. The marginal reading, however, seems preferable, Neither pertains it to us to kill any man, &c. They were in such a state of servitude as did not allow them to take the only proper retribution, blood for blood. This appears to be the meaning, because David immediately replies, What you shall say, that will I do.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Save only of Saul’s stock.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(4) No silver nor gold.—Money compensations for sins of blood were extremely common among all ancient nations, but were expressly forbidden in the Law of Moses (Num_35:31), and in this respect the Gibeonites appear to have accepted the teaching of the law of Israel.

Kill any man in Israel.—Notwithstanding that the guilt of Saul’s sin, until it should be expiated, rested upon all Israel, the Gibeonites recognise that it had been committed by him, and do not seek that, apart from their connection with him, any Israelite should suffer on their account. David appreciates the fairness of their view of the matter, and promises beforehand to do whatever they shall require.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. no silver nor gold] No money compensation could expiate Saul’s offence. Money-compensation for murder is allowed by the laws of most nations in a primitive stage, e.g. of the ancient Germans (Tac. Germ. 21); the Anglo-Saxons; and the Arabs of the present day. It was expressly forbidden by the Mosaic Law (Num_35:31-32), because a mere money fine is insufficient to enforce strict regard for life, and such a custom may easily be abused by the rich. See Mozley’s Lectures on the Old Testament, p. 207 ff.

neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel] Our cry for vengeance is against the house of Saul, and not against the nation at large.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And, the Gibeonites said unto him,.... In reply to his motion:

we will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; this shall not be the ransom or atonement; it was not silver and gold Saul took from them, but the lives of their brethren, and therefore they insist upon life for life:

neither for us shall thou kill any man in Israel; who were not of the house of Saul; they did not desire any man should die, but who were of that family by whom they had suffered:

and he said, what you shall say, that will I do for you; whether by inflicting pecuniary fines, or punishing with death, which latter seems to be what they suggested, and afterwards insisted on; whatever, according to law and justice, was required, he was ready to do it for them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

No silver, nor gold ... - Money payments as a compensation for blood-guilt were very common among many nations. The law, too, in Num 35:31-32, presupposes the existence of the custom which it prohibits. In like manner the speech of the Gibeonites implies that such a payment as they refuse would be a not unusual proceeding.

Neither ... shalt thou kill any man in Israel - They mean that it is not against the nation of Israel, but against the individual Saul, that they cry for vengeance. The demand for Saul’s sons is exactly similar to that which dictated David’s own expression in 2Sa 24:17, “against me, and against my father’s house.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Gold. It is supposed that David made them an offer of some. (Salien, the year before Christ 1040.) --- Israel besides. At first they required all the progeny of Saul, nine in number, to be crucified: but, at David’s request, and intimation that he had sworn to protect the sons of Jonathan, Miphiboseth and Micha, (Haydock) they were content with the death of seven. (Menochius) --- They insisted upon the law of retaliation. (Salien) --- The custom of delivering up criminals to be executed by the relations of the injured dead, still subsists in the East. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Any man in Israel; except Saul’s family, as it here follows.

What you shall say, to wit, in any reason, and as far as God’s law will permit.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. No silver nor gold — The marginal reading is more liberal. The meaning is, The price of blood is not to be paid to us in silver or gold: we will have blood for blood. The law said: “Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer.” Num_35:31.

Neither… any man in Israel — That is, We wish not to take innocent blood, but the blood of those who helped devise our destruction, and now live upon the lands they violently took from us.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

No silver nor gold. It is a common practice in most semicivilized nations for a fine to be accepted as compensation for the shedding of blood. As no distinction was drawn between murder and homicide, and as the nearest relative was bound in every case to revenge the blood shed, the custom of receiving a money compensation gradually grew up to prevent the tribe or nation being torn to pieces by interminable revenge. The Arabs still retain this usage, but it was forbidden by the Levitical Law, (Num_35:31) and rightly so, because a distinction was there made between murder and accidental bloodshed, and precautions taken for the rescue of one who had not acted with malice. Neither for us shalt thou kill any turn in Israel. The singular is used at the beginning of their answer, in the same way as in 2Sa_19:42, 2Sa_19:43. Literally their words are, It is not to me a matter of silver and gold with Saul and his house, nor is it for us to put to death any one in Israel; that is, "We refuse a money compensation, and it is beyond our power to exact the blood penalty which would gratify our anger." They make it quite plain that they do want blood, while the Authorized Version makes them say that they do not. The Revised Version more correctly translates, "Neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It is not a matter of silver or gold

"Money will not solve the problem"

translationWords

silver

gold

family

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

We are not interested in silver or gold from Shaul. We are only interested in [retribution against] people. He [Dovid] wanted to appease them with money but they did not want [to accept it]. He [Dovid] said, "It may be that they are embarrassed of each other." [Therefore] he went and tried to appease each one individually [but] they [still] would not be appeased. That is why it is written here, "I am not interested in silver or gold etc" in singular form. This I saw in the Yerushalmi Talmud.

And we are interested in killing anyone. Among the rest of the Bnei Yisroel because they did not agrieve us.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.