2Sa 4 | KD | STEP | Murder of Ishbosheth. - 2Sa 4:1. When the son of Saul heard of the death of Abner, “his hands slackened,” i.e., he lost the power and courage to act as king, since Abner had been the only support of his throne. “And all Israel was confounded;” i.e., not merely alarmed on account of Abner’s death, but utterly at a loss what to do to escape the vengeance of David, to which Abner had apparently fallen a victim.

‏ 2 Samuel 4

Murder of Ishbosheth. - 2Sa 4:1. When the son of Saul heard of the death of Abner, “his hands slackened,” i.e., he lost the power and courage to act as king, since Abner had been the only support of his throne. “And all Israel was confounded;” i.e., not merely alarmed on account of Abner’s death, but utterly at a loss what to do to escape the vengeance of David, to which Abner had apparently fallen a victim. 2Sa 4:2-3

Saul’s son had two leaders of military companies (for בן־שׁאוּל היוּ we must read שׁ לבן היוּ): the one was named Baanah, the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “of the sons of Benjamin,” i.e., belonging to them; “for Beeroth is also reckoned to Benjamin” (על, over, above, added to). Beeroth, the present Bireh (see at Jos 9:17), was close to the western frontier of the tribe of Benjamin, to which it is also reckoned as belonging in Jos 18:25. This remark concerning Beeroth in the verse before us, serves to confirm the statement that the Beerothites mentioned were Benjaminites; but that statement also shows the horrible character of the crime attributed to them in the following verses. Two men of the tribe of Benjamin murdered the son of Saul, the king belonging to their own tribe. 2Sa 4:4

Before the historian proceeds to describe what the two Beerothites did, he inserts a remark concerning Saul’s family, to show at the outset, that with the death of Ishbosheth the government of this family necessarily became extinct, as the only remaining descendant was a perfectly helpless cripple. He was a son of Jonathan, smitten (i.e., lamed) in his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came from Jezreel of Saul and Jonathan, i.e., of their death. His nurse immediately took him and fled, and on their hasty flight he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth (according to Simonis, for בשׁת מפאה, destroying the idol); but in 1Ch 8:34 and 1Ch 9:40 he is called Meribbaal (Baal’s fighter), just as Ishbosheth is also called Eshbaal (see at 2Sa 2:8). On his future history, see 2Sa 9:1-13, 2Sa 16:1., and 2Sa 19:25. 2Sa 4:5

The two sons of Rimmon went to Mahanaim, where Ishbosheth resided (2Sa 2:8, 2Sa 2:12), and came in the heat of the day (at noon) into Ishbosheth’s house, when he was taking his mid-day rest. 2Sa 4:6 “And here they had come into the midst of the house, fetching wheat (i.e., under the pretext of fetching wheat, probably for the soldiers in their companies), and smote him in the abdomen; and Rechab and his brother escaped.” The first clause in this verse is a circumstantial clause, which furnishes the explanation of the way in which it was possible for the murderers to find their way to the king. The second clause continues the narrative, and ויּכּהוּ is attached to ויּבאוּ (2Sa 4:5). ^{▼▼The lxx thought it desirable to explain the possibility of Rechab and Baanah getting into the king’s house, and therefore paraphrased the sixth verse as follows: καὶ ἰδου ἡ θυρωρὸς τοῦ οἴκου ἐκάθαιρε πυροὺς καὶ ἐνύσταξε καὶ ἐκάθευδε, καὶ Ῥηχὰβ καὶ Βαανὰ οἱ ἄδελφοι διέλαθον (“and behold the doorkeeper of the house was cleaning wheat, and nodded and slept. And Rahab and Baana the brothers escaped, or went in secretly”). The first part of this paraphrase has been retained in the Vulgate, in the interpolation between 2Sa 4:5 and 2Sa 4:6 : et ostiaria domus purgans triticum obdormivit; whether it was copied by Jerome from the Itala, or was afterwards introduced as a gloss into his translation. It is very evident that this clause in the Vulgate is only a gloss, from the fact that, in all the rest of 2Sa 4:6, Jerome has closely followed the Masoretic text, and that none of the other ancient translators found anything about a doorkeeper in his text. When Thenius, therefore, attempts to prove the “evident corruption of the Masoretic text,” by appealing to the “nonsense (Unsinn) of relating the murder of Ishbosheth and the flight of the murderers twice over, and in two successive verses (see 2Sa 4:7),” he is altogether wrong in speaking of the repetition as “nonsense” whereas it is simply tautology, and has measured the peculiarities of Hebrew historians by the standard adopted by our own. J. P. F. Königsfeldt has given the true explanation when he says: “The Hebrews often repeat in this way, for the purpose of adding something fresh, as for example, in this instance, their carrying off the head.” Comp. with this 2Sa 3:22-23, where the arrival of Joab is mentioned twice, viz., in two successive verses; or 2Sa 5:1-3, where the assembling of the tribes of Israel at Hebron is also referred to a second time, - a repetition at which Thenius himself has taken no offence, - and many other passages of the same kind.} 2Sa 4:7-8 Punishment of the murderers by David. - 2Sa 4:7. As the thread of the narrative was broken by the explanatory remarks in 2Sa 4:6, it is resumed here by the repetition of the words וגו ויּבאוּ: “They came into the house, as he lay upon his bed in his bed-chamber, and smote him, and slew him,” for the purpose of attaching the account of the further progress of the affair, viz., that they cut off his head, took it and went by the way of the Arabah (the valley of the Jordan: see 2Sa 2:29) the whole night, and brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron with these words: “Behold (= there thou hast) the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul thine enemy, who sought thy life; and thus hath Jehovah avenged my lord the king this day upon Saul and his seed.” No motive is assigned for this action. But there can be little doubt that it was no other than the hope of obtaining a great reward from David. Thus they presumed “to spread the name of God and His providence as a cloak and covering over their villany, as the wicked are accustomed to do” (Berleb. Bible). 2Sa 4:9-11

But David rewarded them very differently from what they had expected. He replied, “As Jehovah liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, the man who told me, Behold, Saul is dead, and thought he was a messenger of good to me, I seized and slew at Ziklag (vid., 2Sa 1:14-15), to give him a reward for his news: how much more when wicked men have murdered a righteous man in his house upon his bed, should I not require his blood at your hand, and destroy you from the earth?” The several parts of this reply are not closely linked together so as to form one period, but answer to the excited manner in which they were spoken. There is first of all the oath, “As truly as Jehovah liveth,” and the clause appended, “who redeemed my soul,” in which the thought is implied that David did not feel it necessary to get rid of his enemies by the commission of crimes. After this (2Sa 4:10) we have an allusion to his treatment of the messenger who announced Saul’s death to him, and pretended to have slain him in order that he might obtain a good reward for his tidings. כּי, like ὅτι, simply introduces the address. בּעיניו ... המּגּיד is placed at the head absolutely, and made subordinate to the verb by בו after ואחזה. לתתּי־לו, “namely, to give him.” עשׁר is employed to introduce the explanation, like our “namely” (vid., Ewald, §338, b.). בּשׂרה, good news, here “the reward of news.” The main point follows in 2Sa 4:11, beginning with כּי אף, “how much more” (vid., Ewald, §354, c.), and is introduced in the form of a climax. The words משׁכּבו ... אנשׁים are also written absolutely, and placed at the head: “men have slain,” for “how much more in this instance, when wicked men have slain.” “Righteous” (zaddik), i.e., not guilty of any wicked deed or crime. The assumption of the regal power, which Abner had forced upon Ishbosheth, was not a capital crime in the existing state of things, and after the death of Saul; and even if it had been, the sons of Rimmon had no right to assassinate him. David’s sentence then follows: “And now that this is the fact, that ye have murdered a righteous man, should I not,” etc. בּער, to destroy by capital punishment, as in Deu 13:6, etc. דּם בּקּשׁ (=דּם דּרשׁ, Gen 9:5), to require the blood of a person, i.e., to take blood-revenge. 2Sa 4:12

David then commanded his servant to slay the murderers, and also to make the punishment more severe than usual. “They cut off their hands and feet,” - the hands with which they had committed the murder, and the feet which had run for the reward, - “and hanged the bodies by the pool at Hebron” for a spectacle and warning, that others might be deterred from committing similar crimes (cf. Deu 21:22; J. H. Michaelis). In illustration of the fact itself, we may compare the similar course pursued by Alexander towards the murderer of king Darius, as described in Justin’s history (2Sa 12:6) and Curtius (2Sa 7:5). They buried Ishbosheth’s head in Abner’s grave at Hebron. Thus David acted with strict justice in this case also, not only to prove to the people that he had neither commanded nor approved of the murder, but from heartfelt abhorrence of such crimes, and to keep his conscience void of offence towards God and towards man. II. The Government of David Over All Israel in the Time of Its Strength And Glory - 2 Samuel 5

After the death of Ishbosheth, David was anointed in Hebron by all the tribes as king over the whole of Israel (2Sa 5:1-5). He then proceeded to attack the Jebusites in Jerusalem, conquered their fortress Zion, and made Jerusalem the capital of his kingdom; fortifying it still further, and building a palace in it (2Sa 5:6-16), after he had twice inflicted a defeat upon the Philistines (2Sa 5:17-25). But in order that the chief city of his kingdom and the seat of his own palace might also be made the religious centre of the whole nation as a congregation of Jehovah, he first of all brought the ark of the covenant out of its place of concealment, and had it conveyed in a festal procession to Zion, and deposited there in a tent which had been specially prepared for it, as a place of worship for the whole congregation (2 Samuel 6). He then resolved to erect for the Lord in Jerusalem a temple fitted for His name; and the Lord gave him in return the promise of the eternal perpetuity of his throne (2 Samuel 7). To this there is appended a cursory account of David’s wars with the neighbouring nations, by which not only his own sovereignty, but the Israelitish kingdom of God, was raised into a commanding power among the nations and kingdoms of the world. In connection with all this, David still maintained his affection and fidelity towards the fallen royal family of Saul, and showed compassion towards the last remaining descendant of that family (2Sa 9:1-13).

This account of the unfolding of the power and glory of the kingdom of Israel, through the instrumentality of David and during his reign, is so far arranged chronologically, that all the events and all the enterprises of David mentioned in this section occurred in the first half of his reign over the whole of the covenant nation. The chronological arrangement, however, is not strictly adhered to, so far as the details are concerned; but the standpoint of material resemblance is so far connected with it, that all the greater wars of David are grouped together in 2 Samuel 8 (see the introduction to 2 Samuel 8). It is obvious from this, that the plan which the historian adopted was first of all to describe the internal improvement of the Israelitish kingdom of God by David, and then to proceed to the external development of his power in conflict with the opposing nations of the world. David Anointed King over All Israel. Jerusalem Taken, and Made the Capital of the Kingdom. Victories over the Philistines. 2 Samuel 5.