And [there was] of the house of Saul a servant whose name [was] Ziba,.... Or there was a servant that belonged to Saul's family; not that any of Saul's family was a servant; and this servant the Jews commonly say was a Canaanitish servant, and who upon the death of his master was not made free, but became the inheritance and possession of his children after him, Leviticus 25:46; though Josephus n says he was made free by Saul:
and when they had called him unto David; who it seems was now at court, or in Jerusalem, on some account or another; or was in David's service, in some inferior post or another; however, having been a quondam servant of Saul, it was thought he could give the best intelligence of his family, and whether any were living, and therefore was sent for; and when he was come into the king's presence,
the king said unto him, [art] thou Ziba? for he had been told before by some of his courtiers what his name was:
and he said, thy servant [is he]; or my name is Ziba, and I am at thy command.
n Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5.) sect. 5.