John Gill Commentary 2 Samuel 9:2

"And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba, and they called him unto David; and the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he." — 2 Samuel 9:2 (ASV)

And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was
Ziba
Or there was a servant that belonged to Saul's family; not that any of Saul's family was a servant; and this servant the Jews commonly say was a Canaanitish servant, and who upon the death of his master was not made free, but became the inheritance and possession of his children after him, (Leviticus 25:46) ; though Josephus ^F14 says he was made free by Saul:

and when they had called him to David ;
who it seems was now at court, or in Jerusalem, on some account or another; or was in David's service, in some inferior post or another; however, having been a quondam servant of Saul, it was thought he could give the best intelligence of his family, and whether any were living, and therefore was sent for; and when he was come into the king's presence,

the king said to him, are you Ziba ?
for he had been told before by some of his courtiers what his name was:

and he said, your servant is he ;
or my name is Ziba, and I am at your command.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F14: Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5.) sect. 5.