2 Samuel 4
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
2 Samuel 4
NJB (MT versing) Ish-bosheth Murdered Ishbosheth Is Murdered The Murder of Ishbaal and David's Punishment of the Murderers Ishbosheth Is Murdered The Murder of Ishbaal 4:1-3 4:1-3 4:1-3 4:1-3 4:1-3 4:4 4:4-8 4:4 4:4 4:4 4:5-8 4:5-8 4:5-8 4:5-8 4:9-12 4:9-12 4:9-12 4:9-12 4:9-12 Etc.
2 Samuel 4:1-3
4:1 Ish-bosheth was a weak and fearful king (cf. 2 Sam. 3:11). The MT does not have the name, only the designation, "son of Saul." His name was Ish-baal, see full note at 2 Sam. 2:8. There are two surprising things about this verse. the LXX and DSS have "Mephibosheth," not "Ish-bosheth" the plural is surprising, referring to the king ▣ "he lost courage" NKJV, JPSOA "he lost heart" NRSV, REB "his courage failed" "he was afraid" "his heart failed him" "his hands were weakened" "he trembled" The MT has "they dropped their hands." This is a common OT idiom for loss of control/power/ability to act. SPECIAL TOPIC: HAND 4:2 The two brothers who will kill Ish-bosheth were raiding party leaders. Baanah Rachab A raiding party is mentioned in 2 Sam. 3:22. ▣ The parenthesis in vv. 2b-3 is an editorial note explaining the people group called Beerothites. These brothers were either Israelites of the tribe of Benjamin or non-Israelites living in Benjamin's territory. The phrase "until this day" is a textual marker of a later editor.
2 Samuel 4:4
4:4 This verse informs us that there was yet a descendant of Saul's family, a crippled son of Jonathan. His name was "Meri-baal." Like Ish-baal, later editors changed the name to Mephibosheth. Bosheth means "shame." These later editors were offended by the name Ba'al, which became the Canaanite name "lord" and referred to the male fertility god of the Canaanite pantheon. The UBS Text Project, p. 215, gives "Mephibaal" a "B" rating (some doubt). Meri-baal ‒ מריבעל (cf. 1 Chr. 8:34; 9:40) Mephibaal ‒ מפיבעל Mephibosheth ‒ מפיבשׁת See full note at 2 Sam. 2:8. The fact that Jonathan's son was lame made him unacceptable as king. There was no rival to David becoming king. David was very kind to Jonathan' son (cf. 2 Samuel 9).
2 Samuel 4:5-8
4:5-8 There seem to be two accounts of Ish-bosheth's death put side by side. they struck him in the belly on his bed they struck him and beheaded him on his bed (this is missing in Peshitta and Vulgate) The Jewish Study Bible, p. 626, suggests that v. 6 may be corrupt because the LXX is so different and that v. 7 follows v. 5 so easily. 4:6 The LXX has a very different form of this verse. "And behold, the porter of the house was cleaning wheat, and he slumbered and slept, and Rechab and Baanah, the brothers, escaped notice." 4:8 The head of Ish-bosheth was a way to show disrespect (i.e., Saul beheaded by the Philistines) a way to prove they had killed him
2 Samuel 4:9-12
4:9 David swears an oath by the name of YHWH ("as the Lord lives," cf. 1 Sam. 14:39). He characterizes YHWH as the one who "redeemed his life from all enemies." Thus implying he did not need the help of these two brothers to deal with his former enemy's family. SPECIAL TOPIC: RANSOM/REDEEM 4:10 These two brothers obviously had not heard, or at least understood, what David did to the Amalekites in 2 Samuel 1 who claimed to have killed Saul. 4:11 David calls these brothers "wicked men." There may be an intentional word play between men (ish), BDB 35 Ish-bosheth, BDB 36 ▣ NASB, NRSV, LXX, Peshitta "destroy" "remove" "wipe you off" NJB, REB, JPSOA "rid" The MT has the VERB (BDB 128, KB 145, Piel PERFECT with waw), which means "burn" or "consume." Fire was often imagery for YHWH's judgment. Here, it denotes the complete removal as in a burnt offering. SPECIAL TOPIC: FIRE 4:12 David not only killed these men but cut off their hands cut off their feet hung them up exposed for all to see (i.e., improper burial) Josephus, Antiq. 7.2.1, says David tortured these men, cutting off their hands and feet while they were still alive. Why was David so harsh with these brothers? They killed Israel's king (son of the anointed King Saul) and, therefore, were worthy of disrespect. Again David wants to unite all the tribes. This is another sacrilege against Benjamin. As he distances himself from Abner's murder, so too, Ish-bosheth's. He showed respect by burying the head with Abner.