2 Samuel 4

Chapter context

What is happening in 2 Samuel 4?

Davidic covenantsin and judgmentmercykingship

2 Samuel 4 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as David’s accession and victories. Second Samuel narrates David’s consolidation of rule, the covenant promise to his house, his sin with Bathsheba, and the convulsions that follow within his family and kingdom. Read this chapter with the wider themes of Davidic covenant, sin and judgment, and mercy in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

¹ And when Saul’s son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled. ² And Saul’s son had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin. ³ And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.) ⁴ And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. ⁵ And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. ⁶ And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. ⁷ For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all night. ⁸ And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed. ⁹ And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, As the LORD liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, ¹⁰ When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings: ¹¹ How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth? ¹² And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.

Study helps

Glossary

Abner Person v. 1, 12: Father of light; i. e., “enlightening”, the son of Ner and uncle of Saul. He was commander-in-chief of Saul’s army ( 1 Sam. 14:50 ; 17:55 ; 20:25 ).
Hebron Place v. 1, 8, 12: A community; alliance. (1. ) A city in the south end of the valley of Eshcol, about midway between Jerusalem and Beersheba, from which it is distant about 20 miles in a straight line. Modern identification: Tel Rumeida.
Baanah Person v. 2, 5-6, 9: Son of affliction. (1. ) One of the two sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, a captain in Saul’s army. He and his brother Rechab assassinated Ishbosheth.
Beeroth Place v. 2-3, 5: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Khirbet el Burj.
Benjamin Person v. 2: Son of my right hand. (1. ) The younger son of Jacob by Rachel ( Gen. 35:18 ). His birth took place at Ephrath, on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem, at a short distance from the latter place.
Rechab Person v. 2, 5-6, 9: Horseman, or chariot. (1. ) One of Ishbosheth’s “captains of bands” or leaders of predatory troops ( 2 Sam. 4:2 ). (2. ) The father of Jehonadab, who was the father of the Rechabites ( 2 Kings 10:15 , 23; Jer. 35:6-19 ).
Gittaim Place v. 3: Two wine-presses, ( 2 Sam. 4:3 ; Neh. 11:33 ), a town probably in Benjamin to which the Beerothites fled. Modern identification: Ras Abu Hamid.
Jezreel Place v. 4: God scatters. (1. ) A town of Issachar ( Josh. 19:18 ), where the kings of Israel often resided ( 1 Kings 18:45 ; 21:1 ; 2 Kings 9:30 ). Modern identification: Tel Yizre’el.
Jonathan Person v. 4: Whom Jehovah gave, the name of fifteen or more persons that are mentioned in Scripture. The chief of these are, (1. ) A Levite descended from Gershom ( Judg. 18:30 ). His history is recorded in 17:7-13 and 18:30.
Mephibosheth Person v. 4: Exterminator of shame; i. e., of idols. (1. ) The name of Saul’s son by the concubine Rizpah (q. v. ), the daughter of Aiah.
Saul Person v. 4, 8, 10: Asked for. (1. ) A king of Edom ( Gen. 36:37 , 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48 .
Arabah Place v. 7: A name given to Abi-albon, or, as elsewhere called, Abiel, one of David’s warriors ( 2 Sam. 23:31 ; 1 Chr. 11:32 ), probably as being an inhabitant of Arabah ( Josh. 15:61 ), a town in the wilderness of Judah.
David Person v. 8-9, 12: Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25 .
Ziklag Place v. 10: A town in the Negeb, or south country of Judah ( Josh. 15:31 ), in the possession of the Philistines when David fled to Gath from Ziph with all his followers. Modern identification: Tell esh Sharia.