THE HISTORICAL BOOKS
1st & 2nd SAMUEL
LESSON FIVE
4:1-12 CONFLICTS PERSONAL
C X 4:1 Ish-bosheth’s weakness
Y 4:2, 3 His two captains Description
D 4:4 Mephibosheth
C X 4:5-8 Ish-bosheth’s murder
Y 4:9-12 His two captains Execution
2 Samuel 4:1-12
4:1 Ishbosheth Is Murdered
When Saul's son heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost heart, and all Israel was troubled. 2 Now Saul's son had two men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin. (For Beeroth also was part of Benjamin, 3 because the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there until this day.) 4 Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth. 5 Then the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out and came at about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon. 6 And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to get wheat and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
7 For when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom; then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain. 8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, "Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and the LORD has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants." 9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity, 10 when someone told me, saying, 'Look, Saul is dead,' thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag — the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?" 12 So David commanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron. NKJV
4:1-12
Assassination of Ish-Bosheth
4:3. Beeroth and Gittaim. Beeroth is generally looked for north of Kephireh toward the Bethel/Ai area, perhaps at el-Bireh or Nebi Samwil. It was one of the Hivite cities of Gibeon that deceived Joshua (see Josh 9). This verse tells us that the Hivite population fled to Gittaim (specific location unknown), apparently leaving Benjaminites as the sole population in Beeroth. (IVP Bible Commentary)
CHAPTER FOUR
SECOND SAMUEL
4:4 Mephibosheth's injury.
(1) Although the biblical text does not clarify the details, it is generally believed that the battle at Mount Gilboa in which Saul was killed led to Philistine control of the entire central region.
(2) If that is true, it is likely that the Philistines would have sacked Saul's capital at Gibeah.
(3) Such circumstances would explain the frantic flight of Saul's household and the subsequent injury of Mephibosheth.
(4) A neck or spine injury could have made Mephibosheth a paraplegic, but it need not have been so extensive as that.
(5) Broken legs or ankles improperly set or poorly treated could likewise lame him.
(6) Plinting to set bones was a practice known in the ancient world, but compound fractures were often considered hopeless. (IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament)
2 Samuel 4:5
4:5 noonday rest. In the semiarid climate of the Near East it is common for the hottest hours of the day (after lunch) to be set aside for rest or napping. (IVP Bible Background Commentary)
4:6 wheat in the king's house. Though it would not be difficult to document the presence of storehouses in proximity to royal quarters, there is a persuasive textual variant at this point in the text that makes reference to a guard (female) who has fallen asleep because she had tired herself out gathering wheat.
(IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament)
[General Information - 4:1-12: The weak king]. After several introductory remarks the narrative first tells of Ish-bosheth’s death, and then of David’s reaction to it, which is similar to his reaction to Saul and Abner’s death. Because Ish-bosheth’s assassination made the way free for David to become king over all Israel, the narrative aims to clear him of all suspicion of complicity. This continues the theme of the initial chapters of 2 Samuel. David had no hand in the death of Saul and his family. [Jewish Study Bible]
4:1-2: Son of Saul: The omission of the personal name may express contempt (cf. 1 Sam. 20:27, 30, 31). Benjaminites, of the tribe of Ish-bosheth. [Jewish Study Bible]
4:3: After the original inhabitants of Beeroth (see Joshua 9:17) had fled. Benjaminites settled in the town. [Jewish Study Bible]
4:4: Mephibosheth being crippled and therefore considered unfit to be king, no offspring of Saul, except Ish-bosheth was left who could be king of Israel. [Jewish Study Bible]
4:6-7: Verse 6 is largely repeated in verse 7 (the Hebrew verb at its end means “escaped” rather than slipped by). Abravanel explains that either verse 7 bosheth was murdered or that after striking him in the belly the assassins returned to his house in order to finish him off. It seems, however, that verse 6 is corrupt (cf. the different reading of Septuagint) and superfluous. Verse 7 is a perfect continuation of verse 5. [Jewish Study Bible]
Remember when there is a problem in the text; the Jews will point it out for your information.
Paul the Learner
CHAPTER FOUR
SECOND SAMUEL
2 Samuel 4:1
[All the Israelites were troubled] Abner was their great support; and upon him they depended; for it appears that Ish-bosheth was a feeble prince, and had few of those qualities requisite for a sovereign.
Adam Clarke Commentary
4:2 Beerothite. Near Gibeon (Josh. 18:25), now El Bireh, 6 miles north of Jerusalem, one of the Hivite towns possessed by Benjamin. The Companion Bible by Baxter
2 Samuel 4:2
[Captains of bands] Principe’s latronum, captains of banditti, says the Vulgate the Syriac is the same. Whether Ish-bosheth kept bands of marauders, whose business it was to make sudden incursions into the country places, and carry off grain, provisions, cattle, etc., we do not know; but such persons would be well qualified for the bloody work in which these two men were afterward employed. A.C.
2 Samuel 4:3
[The Beerothites fled to Gittaim] Probably the same as Gath; as Ramathaim is the same as Ramah. Adam Clarke
4:4 OF SAUL: In other words, of the death of Saul, &c” v. 4 is introduced here to explain the ease with which David’s accession was accomplished, Mephibosheth being unable to succeed his father or avenge the death of Ish-bosheth. The Companion Bible
2 Samuel 4:4
[He fell, and became lame] Dislocated his ankle, knee, or thigh; which was never reduced later; and thus he became lame. Lovely Jonathan! Unfortunate in thy life, and in thy progeny. Adam Clarke
2 Samuel 4:5
[Lay on a bed at noon.] It is a custom in all hot countries to travel or work very early and very late, and rest at noonday, in which the heat chiefly prevails. Adam Clarke
2 Samuel 4:6
[As though they would have fetched wheat] The king's stores were probably near his own dwelling; and these men were accustomed to go there for provisions for themselves, their cattle, and their men. This supposition, which is natural.
As these men were accustomed to bring wheat from these stores, from which it appears there was an easy passage to the king's chamber, (especially if we consider this a summer-house, as it most probably was,) no man would suspect their present errand, as they were in the habit of going frequently to that place. Adam Clarke
2 Samuel 4:12
4:12 mutilation and exposure. To dismember the bodies of the assassins and leave them unburied is the height of disgrace and shame for the victim and the family. Improper burial was popularly thought to jeopardize an individual's afterlife (for further information see comments on Numbers 3:12-13 and Joshua 8:29). Public display of enemies' corpses can be seen in the practice of impaling the bodies on a pike, which the Assyrians used as a psychological ploy and a terror tactic (as depicted on the walls of their royal palaces).
CHAPTER FOUR
SECOND SAMUEL
4:12
The cutting off of the hands and feet was probably understood to extend their pain and suffering into the afterlife, but there is not enough attestation of the practice or the thought behind it to recover the reason with confidence. (IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament)
4:8: The enemy…who sought your life is Saul, not Ish-bosheth (in the Hebrew the word order is “the head of Ishbosheth son of Saul, your enemy”). (Cf. 1 Sam. 20:1; 23:15). [Jewish Study Bible]
4:10: (See 1:1-16). [Jewish Study Bible]
4:12: Cutting off hands and feet as well as hanging in a public place (after the execution) were considered extremely humiliating (Judges 1:6-7; Deuteronomy 21:22-23). [Jewish Study Bible]
2 Samuel 4:8
[They brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto David] They thought, as did the poor lying Amalekite, to ingratiate them with David by this abominable act. Adam Clarke Commentary
2 Samuel 4:9
[Who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity]? This was, in David's case, a very proper view of the goodness and watchful providence of God toward him. His life was frequently in danger; murderers had often laid wait for it: but God, the living God, had always redeemed that life from all adversity; and called on him now to punish such evil-minded and blood-thirsty men. Adam Clarke
4:10 Behold. The Figure of Speech here is Asterismos; or, Indicating. Employing some word, which directs special attention to some particular point or subject. Paul the Learner
2 Samuel 4:10
[A reward for his tidings] he thought himself entitled to a reward LXX. Here is a proof that euangelion (NT 2098) or gospel signifies the reward, which the bringer of good tidings is entitled to receive. Adam Clarke
Matthew 1:1
[The book of the generation of Jesus Christ] I suppose these words to have been the original title to this Gospel; and that they signify, according to the Hebrew phraseology, not only the account of the genealogy of Christ, as detailed below, but the history of his birth, acts, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension.
The phrase, book of the generation, ceeper (OT 5612) towlªdowt (OT 8435), is frequent in the Jewish writings, and is translated by the Septuagint, biblos (NT 976) geneseoos (NT 1078), as here, by the evangelist; and regularly conveys the meaning given to it above; e. g. This is the book of the generations of Adam, <Gen. 5:1>. That is, the account of the life of Adam and certain of his immediate descendants. Again. These are the generations of Jacob, <Gen. 37:2>. That is, the account or history of Jacob, his son Joseph, and the other remarkable branches of the family. And again. These are the generations of Aaron and Moses, <Num. 3:1>. That is, the history of the life and acts of these persons, and some of their immediate descendants. The same form of expression is also used, <Gen. 2:4>, when giving the history of the creation of heaven and earth. Adam Clarke
CHAPTER FOUR
SECOND SAMUEL
[Jesus Christ] See the note at <Matt. 1:16, 21
[The son of David, the son of Abraham] No person ever born could boast, in a direct line, a more illustrious ancestry than Jesus Christ could. Among his progenitors, the regal, sacerdotal, and prophetic offices existed in all their glory and splendour. DAVID, the most renowned of sovereigns, was king and prophet: ABRAHAM, the most perfect character in all antiquity, whether sacred or profane, was priest and prophet: but the three offices were never united except in the person of Christ; he alone was prophet, priest, and king; and possessed and executed these offices in such a supereminent degree as no human being ever did, or ever could do.
THE PROPHET
As the principal business of the prophet was to make known the will of God to men, according to certain partial communications received from Heaven; so Jesus, who lay in the bosom of the Father, and who was intimately and thoroughly acquainted with all the mysteries of the eternal world, come to declare the divine nature and its counsels to mankind; see <John 1:18
THE PRIEST
As the business of the priest was to offer sacrifices to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people; so Christ was constituted a high priest, to make, by the sacrifice of himself, an atonement for the sins of the whole world; see <1 John 2:2>, and the whole Epistle to the Hebrews.
THE KING
As the office of king was to reign over, protect, and defend the people committed to his care by the divine Providence; so Christ is set as a king upon Sion, having the pagan for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, <Psa. 2:6,8>, etc. Of the righteousness, peace, and increase of whose government, there shall be no end, <Isa. 9:7>. This three-fold office, Christ executes not only in a general sense, in the world at large; but in a particular sense, in every Christian soul.