2 Samuel 4:2
in 2 Samuel 4Saul’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,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin (for Beeroth also is reckoned to Benjamin:
KJV
And Saul’s son had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin:
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This verse in 2 Samuel 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseCaptains of bands - Principes latronum, captains of banditti, says the Vulgate; the Syriac is the same. Whether Ish-bosheth kept bands of marauders, whose business it was to make sudden incursions into the country places, and carry off grain, provisions, cattle, etc., we know not; but such persons would be well qualified for the bloody work in which these two men were afterwards employed.
This site's exposition
were captains of bands
on 2 Samuel 4:2-3
Rechab and Baanah come from Beeroth, one of the four Gibeonite cities Israel had sworn to spare at Joshua 9:17, a town the narrator has to explain still counts as Benjamin's own. Its people have already scattered to Gittaim by the time this book is written, refugees from within Saul's own reign rather than from any foreign army. Two men carrying that history are the ones who walk into the king's house claiming to fetch grain.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
There the Beerothites were when this was written, and probably took root there, and never returned to Beeroth again, which made Beeroth, that had been one of the cities of the Gibeonites ( Josh. ix. 17 ), to be forgotten, and Gittaim to be famous long after, as we find, Neh. xi. How the murder was committed,
And Saul's son had two men that were captains of bands,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Beeroth - See the marginal reference. From Jos 9:17, it might have been expected that the population of Beeroth would be Canaanite. But from some unknown cause the Canaanite inhabitants of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim - perhaps the same as Gath - and continued there as sojourners. If this flight of the Beerothites took place at the time of Saul’s cruel attack upon the Gibeonites 2Sa 21:1-2, Baanah and Reehab may have been native Beerothites, and have been instigated to murder the son of Saul by a desire to avenge the blood of their countrymen. The fact of their being reckoned as Benjamites is quite compatible with their being Canaanites by blood.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Were for the son of Shaul Were for the son of Shaul similar to (Shmuel I,, 8) "until the time of Shmuel" of Shmuel.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the Be'erosites fled When Shaul died, the people of Yisroel abandoned the cities that surround the Peleshtim as is mentioned above. 1 Shmuel I,,7. It was then that the Be'erosites fled.
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
24 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּשְׁנֵ֣י | ushenei | and two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| אֲנָשִׁ֣ים | ʾanashim | men | H582 → | 566 times |
| שָׂרֵֽי־ | sarei- | commanders of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| גְדוּדִ֣ים | gedudim | marauding bands | H1416 → | 33 times |
| הָי֪וּ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שָׁא֟וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| שֵׁם֩ | shem | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הָאֶחָ֨ד | haechad | the one | H259 → | 971 times |
| בַּֽעֲנָ֜ה | baanah | [was] Baanah | H1196 → | 9 times |
| וְשֵׁ֧ם | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הַשֵּׁנִ֣י | hasheni | the second | H8145 → | 156 times |
| רֵכָ֗ב | rekhav | [was] Rechab | H7394 → | 13 times |
| בְּנֵ֛י | benei | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| רִמּ֥וֹן | rimon | Rimmon | H7417 → | 16 times |
| הַבְּאֶֽרֹתִ֖י | habeeroti | the Beerothite | H886 → | 5 times |
| מִבְּנֵ֣י | mibenei | from [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בִנְיָמִ֑ן | vinyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| בְּאֵר֔וֹת | beerot | Beeroth | H881 → | |
| תֵּחָשֵׁ֖ב | techashev | it is reckoned | H2803 → | 124 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בִּנְיָמִֽן׃ | binyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
וּשְׁנֵ֣יand two
usheneiH8147 →768 times
אֲנָשִׁ֣יםmen
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
שָׂרֵֽי־commanders of
sarei-H8269 →421 times
גְדוּדִ֣יםmarauding bands
gedudimH1416 →33 times
הָי֪וּthey were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
שָׁא֟וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
שֵׁם֩[the] name of
shemH8034 →864 times
הָאֶחָ֨דthe one
haechadH259 →971 times
בַּֽעֲנָ֜ה[was] Baanah
baanahH1196 →9 times
וְשֵׁ֧םand [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
הַשֵּׁנִ֣יthe second
hasheniH8145 →156 times
רֵכָ֗ב[was] Rechab
rekhavH7394 →13 times
בְּנֵ֛י[the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
רִמּ֥וֹןRimmon
rimonH7417 →16 times
הַבְּאֶֽרֹתִ֖יthe Beerothite
habeerotiH886 →5 times
מִבְּנֵ֣יfrom [the] descendants of
mibeneiH1121 →4930 times
בִנְיָמִ֑ןBenjamin
vinyaminH1144 →166 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
בְּאֵר֔וֹתBeeroth
beerotH881 →
תֵּחָשֵׁ֖בit is reckoned
techashevH2803 →124 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בִּנְיָמִֽן׃Benjamin
binyaminH1144 →166 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
2 Kings 5:2At this time the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken a young girl from the land of Israel, and she was serving Naaman’s wife.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 6:23
So the king prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. And the Aramean raiders did not come…
- 2 Kings 13:20
And Elisha died and was buried. Now the Moabite raiders used to come into the land every spring.
- 2 Kings 6:23
Through
2 Kings 6:23So the king prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. And the Aramean raiders did not come…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 5:2
At this time the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken a young girl from the land of Israel, and she was serving Naaman’s wife.
- 2 Kings 24:2
And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.
- 2 Kings 6:8–9
Now the king of Aram was at war against Israel. After consulting with his servants, he said, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
- Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is…
- 2 Kings 5:2
Through
Joshua 9:17So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
it leads to
- Joshua 18:25–28
Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,
- Ezra 2:25
the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;
- Joshua 18:25–28
About 2 Samuel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
