10
Aiah's daughter Rizpah got some black cloth. She spread it out for herself on a rock. She stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until it rained. The rain poured down from the sky on the dead bodies of the seven males. She didn't let the birds of the air touch them by day. She didn't let the wild animals touch them at night.
Reference
Hebrew: ʼAyâh
Ajah, the name of two Israelites
Greek: θυγάτηρ (thygátēr)
a female child, or (by Hebraism) descendant (or inhabitant)
Hebrew: Ritspâh
Ritspah, an Israelitess
Greek: μέλας (mélas)
black
Hebrew: shâchôr
properly, dusky, but also (absol.) jetty
Greek: ῥάκος (rhákos)
a "rag," i.e. piece of cloth
Greek: ὑποστρώννυμι (hypostrṓnnymi)
to strew underneath (the feet as a carpet)
Hebrew: parshêz
to expand
Hebrew: hêm
they (only used when emphatic)
Greek: ἀντί (antí)
opposite, i.e. instead or because of (rarely in addition to)
Hebrew: bᵉmôw
in, with, by, etc.
Hebrew: ʼÔwn
On, an Israelite
Hebrew: ʼechâd
properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first
Greek: πέτρα (pétra)
a (mass of) rock (literally or figuratively)
Hebrew: kêph
a hollow rock
Greek: ἐκεῖ (ekeî)
there; by extension, thither
Greek: ἐγγύς (engýs)
near
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Greek: ἀρχή (archḗ)
(properly abstract) a commencement, or (concretely) chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank)
Hebrew: ʼâz
at that time or place; also as a conjunction, therefore
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Greek: θερισμός (therismós)
reaping, i.e. the crop
Hebrew: hêm
they (only used when emphatic)
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Greek: βροχή (brochḗ)
rain
Hebrew: geshem
a shower
Greek: ἐγγύς (engýs)
near
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Hebrew: ʼÔwn
On, an Israelite
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Greek: νεκρός (nekrós)
dead (literally or figuratively; also as noun)
Hebrew: râphâʼ
properly, lax, i.e. (figuratively) a ghost (as dead; in plural only)
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Greek: ἑπτά (heptá)
seven
Hebrew: shâbûwaʻ
literally, sevened, i.e. a week (specifically, of years)
Hebrew: zâkûwr
a male (of man or animals)
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Greek: οὐρανός (ouranós)
the sky; by extension, heaven (as the abode of God); by implication, happiness, power, eternity; specially, the Gospel (Christianity)
Hebrew: rûwach
wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions)
Greek: ἅπτομαι (háptomai)
properly, to attach oneself to, i.e. to touch (in many implied relations)
Hebrew: ʻim
{adverb or preposition, with (i.e. in conjunction with), in varied applications; specifically, equally with; often with prepositional prefix (and then usually unrepresented in English)}
Greek: ὥρα (hṓra)
an "hour" (literally or figuratively)
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Greek: ἄγριος (ágrios)
wild (as pertaining to the country), literally (natural) or figuratively (fierce)
Greek: ἅπτομαι (háptomai)
properly, to attach oneself to, i.e. to touch (in many implied relations)
Hebrew: ʼêtsel
a side; (as a preposition) near
Hebrew: lêylᵉyâʼ
{Lael an Israelite}
Verse Explanation
Rizpah, Saul's concubine and the mother of two of the executed men, took sackcloth and spread it on a rock. She stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until rain came, protecting the bodies from birds and wild animals. Her grief demonstrated extraordinary devotion and love for her children.
History
Rizpah's actions became one of the most memorable examples of mourning in Scripture.