...But there is an interesting contrast here with 2 Samuel 9:1 and following, in which David seeks out Mephibosheth despite his link with Saul. It seems likely that 2 Samuel 21 in fact predates 2 Samuel 9, which puts a rather different perspective on the latter: David seeking out the only surviving descendant of Saul having earlier put to death all of the others. And this killing, although of course regrettable, seems to have been forced on David by political considerations, the need to appease the non-Israelite Gibeonites by following their custom of killing children of the guilty one. So don't assume too quickly that David was following the regular Israelite custom when he had Saul's grandchildren killed.
Similarly in 2 Sam 21 the two sons and five grandsons of Saul are put to death for Saul's attempt to kill the Gibeonites, well after Saul himself was dead. In fact, the bodies were left to hang for many days and were denied proper burial until the end of the harvest. Being denied proper and immediate burial is a special humiliation which is in violation of Deu 21:22-23. Once more, there is more case history where the principle expounded in Ex 34:7 is put into detailed practice.
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