Lo-Debar

Lo-debar is a town across the Jordan, in the territory associated with the tribe of Manasseh. It appears in two David-era moments: as the place where Mephibosheth is sheltered after Saul's house falls, and as the home of Machir son of Ammiel, who provisions David during Absalom's revolt.

Mephibosheth's Refuge

When David asks whether any of Saul's house remains so that he can show kindness for Jonathan's sake, the trail leads to Lo-debar. Ziba names the surviving son: "And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him? And Ziba said to the king, Jonathan has yet a son, who is lame of his feet" (2Sam 9:3). Pressed for a location, Ziba points across the Jordan: "Look, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar" (2Sam 9:4). David sends to retrieve him: "Then King David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar" (2Sam 9:5). The town is fixed in the narrative as the obscure place where the last of Saul's line was sheltered with Machir.

Machir's Provision

Machir of Lo-debar reappears among the Transjordanian allies who supply David at Mahanaim during Absalom's revolt: "And it came to pass, when David came to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim," (2Sam 17:27) — followed by the long list of beds, vessels, and food they bring out. Machir, who once sheltered Mephibosheth, now stands among the provisioners of the displaced king.