Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Samuel 3:7 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 7. 7And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Rizpah is introduced through a male accusation about access to her; her consent, experience, and testimony are absent.
Ishbosheth accuses Abner about Rizpah
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Samuel 3:6–11. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Samuel 3:6–11
Read 2 Samuel 3:7 with 3:6–11. The wording “And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner…” supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Ishbosheth accuses Abner concerning Saul's concubine Rizpah, and Abner angrily vows to transfer the kingdom to David.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “The Rizpah Accusation Breaks Abner from Ishbosheth,” 2 Samuel 3:7 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The long war and Abner's growing strength within Saul's house create the power struggle in which Ishbosheth's accusation triggers Abner's defection. The intervening list of David's sons is dynastic framing, not the cause of the quarrel.
Follow the Context
- Opening movement: Ishbosheth accuses Abner concerning Saul's concubine Rizpah.
- Developing movement or outcome: Abner angrily vows to transfer the kingdom to David.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner…”
In plain language: Rizpah is introduced through a male accusation about access to her; her consent, experience, and testimony are absent.
2 Samuel 3:7 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence by recording “And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner….” This line matters because Rizpah is introduced through a male accusation about access to her; her consent, experience, and testimony are absent.
Why it matters: This wording carries a material textual, literary, historical, royal-power, violence, consent, trauma, covenant, reception, or misuse boundary.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Samuel 3:7 does not permit the wording “And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. This verse does not establish Rizpah's consent, prove the accusation, or permit men in power to use a woman's body and reputation as political property.
What Remains True
Power remains accountable for the people it exposes, takes, silences, injures, or kills; truthful memory keeps their bodies, testimony, agency, and cost visible. In this unit, that truth is tested by the concrete movement: Ishbosheth accuses Abner concerning Saul's concubine Rizpah, and Abner angrily vows to transfer the kingdom to David. In 2 Samuel 3:7, the concrete line “And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
Explain 2 Samuel 3:7's role in 3:6–11. Paraphrase “And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner…”, name the ancient royal or household horizon, state one material uncertainty, keep one vulnerable or affected person visible, and identify one conclusion the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Samuel 3:6–11 — The Rizpah Accusation Breaks Abner from IshboshethSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 2 Samuel 3:6-11, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Samuel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, repeated verbs, names, syntax, and the base text behind translation and textual discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Sam.xml, 3:6-11
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Samuel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Unit-bounded wording, older-English clarification, textual witnesses, syntax, names, numbers, and major historical or literary notes actually printed for these verses.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 547–550, translation and all translator notes attached to 3:6-11
Open source ↗