Mephibosheth, the five year old son of Jonathan, was dropped by his nurse as she was fleeing on hearing the news of Saul's and Jonathan's death (2 Sa 4:4). As a result he became 'crippled in both feet', a condition which persisted into adult life. We are not given much specific detail about his degree of disability. Mephibosheth described himself to David as a 'dead dog' (2 Sa 9:8), but was capable of bowing down (v6) and therefore also probably walking.

In a young child the most common bony injury of the distal lower extremities sustained by falling from a height is an epiphyseal fracture of the ankle. If not correctly reduced, and the facilities would not have been available for this, the outcome would be malunion and persisting deformity. Ligamentous injuries and fractures of the tarsals and phalanges would be more likely to heal spontaneously, and tarsal fractures and dislocations, although possible alternative explanations are far less common.

Therefore, Luke's preferred diagnosis is bilateral malunited SalterHarris Type 2 epiphyseal ankle fractures. More importantly, David's treatment of Mephibosheth is an excellent model for our own attitudes toward the handicapped.