Bible Figure
Rizpah
Saul's concubine
Rizpah daughter of Aiah was Saul's concubine whose extraordinary vigil over the bodies of her executed sons moved David to arrange honorable burial for Saul's family.
Biography
Rizpah bore Saul two sons, Armoni and Mephibosheth. After Saul's death, Ish-bosheth's accusation that Abner had slept with Rizpah provoked a rupture between Abner and Saul's house. Years later, during a famine associated with Saul's violence against the Gibeonites, Rizpah's two sons and five other descendants of Saul were handed over and executed. Rizpah spread sackcloth on a rock and guarded the bodies from birds and animals for an extended period. When David heard of her devotion, he gathered the bones of Saul and Jonathan along with those executed and arranged their burial.
Biblical Significance
Rizpah's grief and determined devotion form one of the Old Testament's most moving portrayals of maternal mourning. Her vigil prompted a final act of honor toward the remains of Saul's household.