Mephibosheth
Mephibosheth (Biblical Hebrew: , Məfīḇōšeṯ, also called Meribaal, , Mərīḇ-Baʻal), or Miphibosheth, was the son of Jonathan—and, thus, a grandson of Saul—mentioned in the Biblical Books of Samuel and Chronicles. Life Mephibosheth was five years old when both his father and grandfather died at the Battle of Mount Gilboa. After the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, Mephibosheth's nurse took him and fled in panic. () In her haste, the child fell, or was dropped while fleeing. After that, he was unable to walk. After the accident, Mephibosheth was carried with the rest of his family beyond the Jordan to the mountains of Gilead, where he found a refuge in the house of Machir ben-Ammiel, a powerful Gadite or Manassite sheik at Lo-debar, not far from Mahanaim, which during the reign of his uncle Ishbosheth was the head-quarters of his family. Some years later, after his accession to the kingship of the United Monarchy, King David sought "someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God" and Mephibosheth was brought to him. Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann says the mention of Mephibosheth's disability may have been added to show that he was not a military