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2 Samuel

2 Samuelchapter 4

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A.Panic in Mahanaim; a lame prince dropped by his nursevv. 1-4

1 Now when Ish-bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel was dismayed. 2 Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding parties. One was named Baanah and the other Rechab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite of the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, 3 because the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have lived there as foreigners to this day. 4 And Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the report about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she was hurrying to escape, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

B.Two captains and a head in a bagvv. 5-8

5 Now Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out and arrived at the house of Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day, while the king was taking his midday nap. 6 They entered the interior of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah slipped away. 7 They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was lying on his bed, and having stabbed and killed him, they beheaded him, took his head, and traveled all night by way of the Arabah. 8 They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who sought your life. Today the LORD has granted vengeance to my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

C.David repays murderers as he repaid the Amalekitevv. 9-12

9 But David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress, 10 when someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news! 11 How much more, when wicked men kill a righteous man in his own house and on his own bed, shall I not now require his blood from your hands and remove you from the earth!” 12 So David commanded his young men, and they killed Rechab and Baanah. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron, but they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.

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Chapter summary

With Abner gone, Ish-bosheth's hands grow feeble and all Israel is troubled.

Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾

With Abner gone, Ish-bosheth's hands grow feeble and all Israel is troubled. Here the narrator pauses to introduce a five-year-old: Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, dropped by his nurse in the panic after Gilboa and lame in both feet, a loose thread that will matter in chapter 9. Then two Benjamite captains, Rechab and Baanah, come into the house at noon while the king rests, kill him, and travel all night to Hebron to present his head as a service: Jehovah hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and of his seed. David answers with the Amalekite precedent, and has these murderers of a righteous man in his own bed executed.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament.

Context

History · Nathan, Gad — 2 Samuel overview

  • A. 1–4 Panic in Mahanaim; a lame prince dropped by his nurse
  • B. 5–8 Two captains and a head in a bag
  • C. 9–12 David repays murderers as he repaid the Amalekite
Top cross-references8 chapters ▾
  • 1 Samuel 312 verses
    • 1 Samuel 31:7When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.
    • 1 Samuel 31:9They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people.
    • Read 1 Samuel 31 →
  • 2 Samuel 92 verses
    • 2 Samuel 9:3So the king asked, “Is there anyone left of Saul’s family to whom I can show the kindness of God?” Ziba answered, “There is still Jonathan’s son, who is lame in both feet.”
    • 2 Samuel 9:6And when Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he fell facedown in reverence. Then David said, “Mephibosheth!” “I am your servant,” he replied.
    • Read 2 Samuel 9 →
  • 2 Samuel 22 verses
    • 2 Samuel 2:8Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,
    • 2 Samuel 2:23But Asahel refused to turn away; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into his stomach, and it came out his back, and he fell dead on the spot. And every man paused when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
    • Read 2 Samuel 2 →
  • 2 Samuel 32 verses
    • 2 Samuel 3:27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.
    • 2 Samuel 3:32When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb, and all the people wept.
    • Read 2 Samuel 3 →
4 more chapters this one speaks with
  • 2 Samuel 12 verses
    • 2 Samuel 1:2On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.
    • 2 Samuel 1:15Then David summoned one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him!” So the young man struck him down, and he died.
    • Read 2 Samuel 1 →
  • Ezra 41 verse
    • Ezra 4:4Then the people of the land set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to build.
    • Read Ezra 4 →
  • Isaiah 131 verse
  • Jeremiah 61 verse

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.