And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo'debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
When David was come to Mahanaim. The necessities of the king and his followers were hospitably ministered to by three chiefs, whose generous loyalty is recorded with honour in the sacred narrative. That three persons should be in circumstances, at their own expense, to furnish adequate supplies of food and other necessaries to the royal fugitives can be no matter of surprise, when it is considered that the owners of so immense flocks as are reared on the extensive pasture lands of the East are far wealthier than the cultivators of land.
Shobi - must have been brother of Hanun. Disapproving, probably, of that young king's outrage upon the Israelite ambassadors, he had been made governor of Ammon by David, on the conquest of that country. [See Josephus, 'Antiquities,' b. 7:, ch. 9:, sec. 8, where he is called Siphar: Septuagint, Naas, the Vatican has: Abigaian thugatera Naas adelfeen Sarouias, Abigail, daughter of Naas and sister of Zeruiah; and the Alexandrine has-daughter of Naas, adelfon Sarouias, Naas, brother of Zeruiah.]
Machir - (see the notes at 2 Samuel 9:4.) This chief is supposed by some to have been brother of Bath-sheba, but without foundation (cf. 1 Chronicles 3:5 with 2 Samuel 11:3 of this book). His locale cannot be exactly determined, in our ignorance of the site of Lo-deber, which is known only to have been in the nomad region east of the Jordan.
Barzillai - a wealthy old grandee, whose great age and infirmities made his loyal devotion to the distressed monarch peculiarly affecting. The supplies they brought, which, besides beds for the weary, consisted of the staple produce of their rich lands and pastures, may be classified as follows:-Edibles: wheat, barley х sª`oriym (H8184), plural, barley in grains after threshing], flour х qaaliy (H7039), parched grain (see the notes at Ruth 2:14; 1 Samuel 17:17; 1 Samuel 25:18)], beans, lentiles, sheep, and cheese х uwshpowt (H8194) baaqaar (H1241), and cheeses of kine], slices of coagulated milk. [The Septuagint, as if not knowing what was meant, has retained the original word, Safooth booon]. Potables: 'honey and butter,' or cream х chem'aah (H2529), curdled milk], which, being mixed together, forms a thin diluted beverage, light, cool, and refreshing. Being considered a luxurious refreshment (Song of Solomon 4:11), the supply of it shows the high respect that was paid to David by his loyal and faithful subjects at Mahanaim.