# 2 Samuel 04 📖: The Murder of Ish-bosheth [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-2 Samuel Overview]] | [[2 Samuel 03]] | [[2 Samuel 05]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Ish Bosheth is killed [[#Verse 01.]] When Ish Bosheth the son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he was very disheartened, and all Israel was afraid.  [[#Verse 02.]] Now Saul’s son had two men who were in charge of raiding units; one was named Baanah and the other Recab. They were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, who was a Benjaminite. (Beeroth is regarded as belonging to Benjamin,  [[#Verse 03.]] for the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have remained there as resident foreigners until the present time.) [[#Verse 04.]] Now Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan arrived from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but in her haste to get away, he fell and was injured. Mephibosheth was his name. [[#Verse 05.]] Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite—Recab and Baanah—went at the hottest part of the day to the home of Ish Bosheth, as he was enjoying his midday rest.  [[#Verse 06.]] They entered the house under the pretense of getting wheat and mortally wounded him in the stomach. Then Recab and his brother Baanah escaped. [[#Verse 07.]] They had entered the house while Ish Bosheth was resting on his bed in his bedroom. They mortally wounded him and then cut off his head. Taking his head, they traveled on the way of the rift valley all that night.  [[#Verse 08.]] They brought the head of Ish Bosheth to David in Hebron, saying to the king, “Look! The head of Ish Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who sought your life! The Lord has granted vengeance to my lord the king this day against Saul and his descendants!” [[#Verse 09.]] David replied to Recab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered my life from all adversity,  [[#Verse 10.]] when someone told me that Saul was dead—even though he thought he was bringing good news—I seized him and killed him in Ziklag. That was the good news I gave to him!  [[#Verse 11.]] Surely when wicked men have killed an innocent man as he slept in his own house, should I not now require his blood from your hands and remove you from the earth?” [[#Verse 12.]] So David issued orders to the soldiers and they put them to death. Then they cut off their hands and feet and hung them near the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish Bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Ish-bosheth's killers were from Beeroth (4:2), a town counted as part of Benjamin, though it was originally a Gibeonite city (Joshua 9:17). 2. The people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim (4:3). 3. Mephibosheth was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel (4:4). 4. His nurse dropped him as she hurried to flee (4:4). 5. Mephibosheth is called Merib-baal in 1 Chronicles 8:34, another case where "baal" was likely replaced by "bosheth" (shame). 6. Ish-bosheth was killed while taking a midday rest during the heat of the day (4:5). 7. The murderers carried his head all night along the Arabah (4:7), the route through the Jordan Valley. 8. David's response echoes how he dealt with the Amalekite who claimed to kill Saul (4:10; 1:15-16). 9. Cutting off hands and feet and hanging the bodies publicly (4:12) was a humiliating display meant as a warning. 10. Ish-bosheth's head was buried in Abner's tomb in Hebron (4:12). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the King whose throne is not won by treachery. David refused a crown gained by murder (4:9-12), and Jesus refused the kingdoms Satan offered, receiving all authority from the Father through the cross (Matthew 4:8-10; 28:18). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Rechab and Baanah thought they were helping David (4:8). Why is doing wrong to "help" God's plan never right? 2. David said the Lord had rescued him from every trouble (4:9). How does trusting God's protection free us from grabbing for power? 3. Mephibosheth was injured when he was five (4:4). How does this short note prepare us for David's kindness later (9:1-13)? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 4: Jonathan's son Mephibosheth is injured as a child and becomes lame. - 📖 verse 9: David declares that the Lord has rescued him from every trouble. - 📖 verse 11: David condemns the murder of an innocent man in his own house. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[2 Samuel 01#Verse 14.|2 Samuel 1:14-16]] - David's judgment on the Amalekite. - 🔗 [[2 Samuel 09#Verse 01.|2 Samuel 9:1-7]] - David's kindness to Mephibosheth. - 🔗 [[Matthew 04#Verse 08.|Matthew 4:8-10]] - Jesus refuses a crown from Satan. - 🔗 [[Genesis 09#Verse 06.|Genesis 9:6]] - God values human life. - 🔗 [[Romans 03#Verse 08.|Romans 3:8]] - We must never do evil that good may come. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[2 Samuel 04 - SOAP|Keep the Same Principles Over Time]] ## 📂 Internal Notes