Internal references in 2 Samuel enable us to date this incident early in David's reign between Mephibosheth's arrival in Jerusalem and the beginning of the Ammonite wars. Probably God sent judgment on Israel for Saul's action soon after he died. Saul's concubine watched over the bodies of her slain sons until the famine ended. If this took place later in David's reign, she would have been very old. This is possible but unlikely. Also, David buried the bodies of Saul and Jonathan at this time. He would hardly have done this years later. The fact that David did not execute Mephibosheth suggests that this son of Jonathan had come under David's protection by this time. That took place after David moved his capital to Jerusalem. After the Ammonite wars began, David might not have had time for what the writer described here. Consequently a date of about 996-993 B.C. for this famine seems reasonable.
Characteristically David sought the Lord about the famine (v. 1; cf. Deut. 28:47-48). Sometimes natural catastrophes such as famines resulted from Israel's sins, but sin was not always the cause (cf. Job; John 9:2-3). There is no mention elsewhere in Samuel that Saul had broken the Israelites' treaty with the Gibeonites (cf. Josh. 9:3-27).294David asked the Gibeonites what punishment would satisfy them and atone for (cover) Saul's sin of murder.
"Since the verb kipper["atonement"] is used absolutely here, it is impossible to say from the construction alone whether it means to propitiate or to expiate. From the context, however, it is clear that it means both. David is seeking both to satisfy the Gibeonites and to make up for' the wrong done to them. It is equally clear that he cannot achieve the latter with the former. There is no expiation [removal] without propitiation [satisfaction]."295
"The inheritance of the Lord"probably refers to the nation of Israel (cf. 20:19). The Gibeonites were content to have seven (a number symbolizing completeness) of Saul's descendants (not necessarily sons) executed. This was in keeping with ancient Near Eastern and Mosaic law (the lex talionisor law of revenge, Num. 35:31).296The Hebrew word translated "hang"(v. 6) means to execute in a way that the body suffers public humiliation (cf. Num. 25:4). Probably they suffered execution and then their bodies were hung up as a testimony to their offense.
