From Benjamin: that is, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Ziba: see chapters 9 and 16, where Ziba is frequently mentioned. It should be clear in translation that the fifteen sons and the twenty servants belong to Ziba and not to Shimei.

The house of Saul refers here to Saul’s family. The translation should not suggest a building in which people live.

Rushed down: this does not represent the same word as made haste in the previous verse. Elsewhere this verb is translated “come mightily upon” (1 Sam 10.6, 10; 11.6). On the basis of a similar verb in Aramaic, some interpreters think that in this context the verb means “waded through” the river (Anchor Bible). The most common rendering appears to be “rushed” or “hurried,” though translators should feel free to follow the interpretation expressed in Anchor Bible.

Before the king: or “to meet the king.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .