ARCHIVES
DIVISION
Gibeah District
| Name | RIZPAH DAUGHTER OF AIAH |
| Aliases | THE CONCUBINE WHO GUARDED THE SLAIN |
| Status | DECEASED / MOTHER WHO KEPT THE VIGIL |
| Birth | c. 11th Century BC | Marks & Identifiers | NONE RECORDED |
| Place of Birth | GIBEAH OF SAUL | Hair | DARK |
| Tribe | OF ISRAEL | Eyes | DARK |
| Parentage | DAUGHTER OF AIAH | People | ISRAELITE |
| Occupation | CONCUBINE / MOTHER | Species | HUMAN |
| Affiliation | HOUSE OF SAUL | Calling | A MOTHER OF UNBROKEN DEVOTION |
| Primary Mission | GUARD THE BODIES OF HER SONS | Known Signs | THE SACKCLOTH ON THE ROCK / THE LONG VIGIL |
| Covenant Role | WITNESS TO GRIEF AND FINAL HONOR | Divine Access | HER FAITHFULNESS MOVED THE KING - 2 SAM 21:11 |
| Divine Encounter Level | NONE RECORDED | Classification | CONCUBINE / MOURNER |
| Covenant Status | FAITHFUL IN GRIEF | Known Miracles | NONE RECORDED |
| Divine Commission | KEPT WATCH TO THE END | Threat Assessment | BEREAVEMENT / EXPOSURE OF THE DEAD |
| Mission Status | VIGIL HONORED | Archive Category | DEVOTION / LAMENT |
How long she kept her watch: FROM THE BEGINNING OF HARVEST UNTIL THE RAIN FELL FROM HEAVEN
What she would not let touch the bodies: THE BIRDS BY DAY OR THE BEASTS OF THE FIELD BY NIGHT
The subject was a concubine of Saul, daughter of Aiah, and mother of two of his sons. After Saul's death her name had already been drawn into the strife of his falling house.
In David's reign a three-year famine came, and the LORD revealed it was for Saul's bloodguilt against the Gibeonites. To make it right, seven of Saul's descendants were given over and hanged, among them the two sons of the subject.
Their bodies were left exposed on the hill before the LORD at the start of the barley harvest. The subject took sackcloth and spread it on a rock, and kept watch over the dead.
From the beginning of harvest until the rains came, she did not leave them. By day she drove off the birds of the air, and by night the beasts of the field, that the bodies of her sons and the others might not be dishonored.
When David was told what the subject had done, he was moved. He gathered the bones of Saul and Jonathan and of the slain and buried them honorably in the tomb of Kish. Only then, after her faithful vigil, did God answer the plea for the land.
EYES ONLYRestricted // Sacred Record
- A mother's faithful love keeps watch through the longest night.
- Quiet devotion can move the heart of a king.
- God takes note of grief that honors the fallen.
