2 Samuel 21:5
“They said to the king, “The man who consumed us, and who devised against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the borders of Israel,”
What does 2 Samuel 21:5 mean?
The people are describing Saul, the former king who hunted David and his followers relentlessly. They're reminding David of how Saul tried to eliminate them entirely, pushing them to the edges of the land where they couldn't live safely or establish themselves. This statement comes during a famine, and the community believes it's a consequence of Saul's bloodshed and broken oath to the Gibeonites. They're essentially saying that Saul's cruelty left deep wounds that still need to be addressed, even though he's long dead.