concern for the welfare of the land and in obedience to YHWH's will, for his actions were also tempered by his kindness to Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9:1–13). After the episode David secured an honorable burial for Saul and Jonathan, as well as for those executed on this occasion. This whole episode contrasts David and Saul in their fidelity to their oaths, drawing to a theme that was introduced in the first allusions to David in 1 Samuel 13:14 ("the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart") and in 1 Samuel 15:28 ("The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you"). After multiple events in the David Narrative illustrate how David proved to be more faithful to God than Saul, this episode provides a final example: Saul's killing of the Gibeonites violated an oath that Israel had sworn to them (2 Samuel 21:2), but David preserved Mephibosheth alive (21:7) to keep the oath he had sworn to Jonathan. In one of his final acts, David had to resolve the problem that Saul's infidelity of oath had left behind. Philistine giants destroyed (21:15–22) This section provides a summary of clashes with persons of extraordinary size called 'descendants of the giants' during the wars against the Philistines. The first giant, Ishbi-benob, had hefty armour similar to Goliath (1 Samuel 17:7); he was killed by Abishai. The second giant, Saph, has no details other than he was killed by Sibbecai the Hushathite, who was one of David's elite 'Thirty' (2 Samuel 23:27 following the Septuagint in place of "Mebunnai" in Masoretic Text). Someone related to Goliath, the Gittite, was the third giant (cf. 1 Samuel 17), who was killed by Elhanan, a Bethlehemite. The unnamed fourth giant possessed some abnormal physical characteristics; he was killed by Jonathan, David's nephew. Verse 19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. Cross reference: 1 Chronicles 20:5 The parallel verse in 1 Chronicles 20, written much later than 2 Samuel, provides clarification to this verse. The comparison of the two versions is as follows: (A: 2 Samuel 21:19; B: 1 Chronicles 20:5; Hebrew text is read from right