What is the context?
Rizpah spreads sackcloth on a rock and keeps watch over the exposed bodies, preventing birds and wild animals from feeding on them. She remains from the beginning of harvest until rain falls on the bodies.
When David hears what she has done, he retrieves the bones of Saul and Jonathan from Jabesh-gilead. The bones of the executed men are gathered too. Saul and Jonathan are buried in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish at Zela.
After the king’s instructions have been carried out, God answers the prayers for the land. The episode ends with burial and answered prayer, while Rizpah’s persistent care remains central to the story.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Wesley sees Rizpah’s example as prompting David to give Saul and Jonathan an honorable burial. Her grief and care for the dead move the king to act.
Gill notes the difficulty created by the exposed bodies, since Deuteronomy 21:22–23 requires burial on the day of execution. He treats the prolonged display as an exceptional case under divine permission. That permission is his explanation of the event, rather than an instruction quoted in this chapter.
The passage shows consequences reaching beyond the people who first committed the violence. Rizpah’s care refuses to let the dead be forgotten. The narrator also places God’s answer after the acts David orders, without giving a general rule that every unanswered prayer proves someone has failed to obey.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.