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2 Samuel 4:1

in 2 Samuel 4

Now when Ish-bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel was dismayed.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And when Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands became feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled.

KJV

And when Saul’s son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 4

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

All the Israelites were troubled - Abner was their great support; and on him they depended; for it appears that Ish-bosheth was a feeble prince, and had few of those qualities requisite for a sovereign.

This site's exposition

his hands were feeble

Abner was the whole strength Ish-bosheth's throne had, and when Hebron takes him the son of Saul has nothing left to stand on. The verse answers 3:1 directly, where the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker while the house of David waxed stronger and stronger, and Ish-bosheth's feeble hands are that sentence made visible. Henry reads the fear spreading through all Israel because it was Abner, not the king, who had carried the kingdom.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

All the strength they ever had was from Abner's support, and now that he was dead he had no spirit left in him. Though Abner had, in a passion, deserted his interest, yet he hoped, by his means, to make good terms with David; but now even this hope fails him, and he sees himself forsaken by his friends and at the mercy of his enemies.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Ish-bosheth's own men, who should have protected his life, took it away. The murderers triumphed in what they had done. As if they had performed some very glorious action, and the doing of it for David's advantage was enough not only to justify it, but to sanctify it, they made a present of Ish-bosheth's head to David (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And when Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron,....

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

Were for the son of Shaul Were for the son of Shaul similar to (Shmuel I,, 8) "until the time of Shmuel" of Shmuel.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Samuel 4:2:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

12 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיִּשְׁמַ֣עand he heard

    vaiyishma'H8085 →1159 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • שָׁא֗וּלSaul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • כִּ֣יthat

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • מֵ֤תhe had died

    metH4191 →839 times

  • אַבְנֵר֙Abner

    ʾavnerH74 →63 times

  • בְּחֶבְר֔וֹןin Hebron

    bechevronH2275 →72 times

  • וַיִּרְפּ֖וּand they dropped

    vaiyirpuH7503 →

  • יָדָ֑יוhands his

    yadavH3027 →1618 times

  • וְכָל־and all

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • נִבְהָֽלוּ׃they were terrified

    nivhaluH926 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ezra 4:4Then the people of the land set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to build.5 worksIsaiah 13:7Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt.4 worksJeremiah 6:24We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.3 worksMatthew 2:2–3asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”2 works2 Samuel 17:2I will attack him while he is weak and weary; I will throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will flee; I will strike down only the king2 worksJeremiah 50:43The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Isaiah 35:3Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!2 worksNehemiah 6:9For they were all trying to frighten us, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will never be finished.” But now, my God, strengthen my hands.2 worksZephaniah 3:16On that day they will say to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp.2 works2 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 works1 Samuel 30:31and to those in Hebron and in all the places where David and his men had roamed.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Ezra 4:4

    Then the people of the land set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to build.

    it leads to

    • Ezra 3:3

      They set up the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD—both the morning and evening burnt offerings—even though they feared the people of the land.

    • Jeremiah 38:4

      Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to…

    • Isaiah 35:3–4

      Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!

    • Nehemiah 4:11

      And our enemies said, “Before they know or see a thing, we will come into their midst, kill them, and put an end to the work.”

    • Nehemiah 6:9

      For they were all trying to frighten us, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will never be finished.” But now, my God, strengthen my hands.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 17:2

    I will attack him while he is weak and weary; I will throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will flee; I will strike down only the king

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 22:31

      Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”

    • 2 Samuel 16:14

      Finally, the king and all the people with him arrived, exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.

  • Through

    Isaiah 13:7

    Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 21:7

      And when they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and…

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 4 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 4 →