Attributed commentary excerpt
Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 4:1
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Commentary on the Old Testament
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · 19th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
Murder of Ishbosheth. - Sa2 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. Sa2 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. Sa2 4:3 "The Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were strangers there unto this day." Gittaim is mentioned again in Neh 11:33, among the places in which Benjaminites were dwelling after the captivity, though it by no means follows from this that the place belonged to the tribe of Benjamin before the captivity. It may have been situated outside the territory of that tribe. It is never mentioned again, and has not yet been discovered. The reason why the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and remained there as strangers until the time when this history was written, is also unknown; it may perhaps have been that the Philistines had conquered Gittaim. Sa2 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 Ch1 8:34 and Ch1 9:40 he is called Meribbaal (Baal's fighter), just as Ishbosheth is also called Eshbaal (see at Sa2 2:8). On his future history, see Sa2 9:1-13, Sa2 16:1., and Sa2 19:25. Sa2 4:5 The two sons of Rimmon went to Mahanaim, where Ishbosheth resided ( Sa2 2:8, Sa2 2:12), and came in the heat of the day (at noon) into Ishbosheth's house, when he was taking his mid-day rest. Sa2 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 ( Sa2 4:5). (Note: The lxx thought it desirable to explain the possibility of Rechab and Baanah…
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