Lo-debar

Biblical Text

Lo-debar is mentioned twice in 2 Samuel.

• 2 Samuel 9:4-5: David seeks out any survivor of the house of Saul so that he may show kindness to him for Jonathan's sake. Ziba, Saul's servant, reports that Jonathan's son is "in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar." David sends for him and has him brought, and from then on Mephibosheth eats continually at the king's table (2 Samuel 9:13).
• 2 Samuel 17:27-29: When David reaches Mahanaim while fleeing from Absalom, "Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar," together with others, brings beds, vessels, grain, and other food to provide for David and his company.

Background

Lo-debar appears to have been located in the region of Gilead east of the Jordan River, and the course of the narrative suggests that it was not far from Mahanaim. Scholars differ on which archaeological site corresponds to it, and its identification remains unsettled.

The name is commonly interpreted from the Hebrew as "place without pasture" or "place of nothing." Because the Hebrew spelling varies slightly from passage to passage, however, the exact etymology is uncertain. Some scholars identify the "Debir" of Joshua 13:26, which describes the boundary of the tribe of Gad, with Lo-debar.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The heart of the Lo-debar narrative is David's remembrance of the covenant he had made with Jonathan and his showing of hesed (steadfast love, covenant faithfulness) to Jonathan's son. Mephibosheth, who was lame in both feet (2 Samuel 4:4), is brought from a distant place to the king's table, a scene read as an illustration of grace extended to the undeserving. The New Testament does not mention Lo-debar directly. Some interpreters, however, read the account alongside New Testament themes such as the parable in which the poor and the lame are invited to the feast (Luke 14:21).

Interpretive Issues

• Relationship to Amos 6:13: Many scholars regard "a thing of nought" (Hebrew lo davar) and "horns" (qarnayim) in Amos 6:13 as a wordplay on the names of two towns, Lo-debar and Karnaim. On this reading, the prophet is mocking Israel's boasting over the recapture of these towns. The New Korean Revised Version renders these words as common nouns, "a thing of nought" and "horns," while some English translations render them as place names.
• What the text does not say: Sermons often portray Lo-debar as a barren, desolate land and Mephibosheth as someone living there in hiding. The text, however, does not describe the conditions at Lo-debar or explain why Mephibosheth went there. Indeed, in 2 Samuel 17 Machir appears as a man who supplies David's company with abundant provisions. The depiction of Lo-debar as a wasteland is more accurately understood as a homiletical application drawn from the interpretation of its name.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, Lo-debar frequently serves as a symbol of despair and deprivation. It commonly appears in expressions such as "from Lo-debar to the king's table," which describe how God's grace calls people out of lowly and marginalized circumstances.