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2 Samuel 4:7

in 2 Samuel 4

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Now when they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and went by the way of the Arabah all night.

KJV

For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all night.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 4

Commentary

2 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

about the heat of the day

on 2 Samuel 4:5-7

The captains walk in as though they would fetch wheat, the ordinary errand that gets two armed men past the door to a sleeping king. Ish-bosheth is struck under the fifth rib, the same wound the narrator gave Asahel falling to Abner's spear at 2:23 and Abner falling to Joab's hand at 3:27, with Amasa struck in the fifth rib at 20:10 the fourth private killing this book measures the same way. Verse 7 adds the detail the confession of verse 8 will need: the captains behead him and carry the head north through the plain all night.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber,....

The words behind it

21 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.

  • וַיָּבֹ֣אוּand they came

    vaiyavouH935 →2568 times

  • הַבַּ֗יִתthe house

    habayitH1004 →2046 times

  • וְהֽוּא־and he

    vehu'-H1931 →1879 times

  • שֹׁכֵ֤ב[was] lying

    shokhevH7901 →212 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • מִטָּתוֹ֙bed his

    mitatoH4296 →

  • בַּחֲדַ֣רin [the] chamber of

    bachadarH2315 →38 times

  • מִשְׁכָּב֔וֹlying down his

    mishkavoH4904 →46 times

  • וַיַּכֻּ֙הוּ֙and they struck him

    vaiyakuhuH5221 →499 times

  • וַיְמִתֻ֔הוּand they killed him

    vaymituhuH4191 →839 times

  • וַיָּסִ֖ירוּand they removed

    vaiyasiruH5493 →299 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • רֹאשׁ֑וֹhead his

    roshoH7218 →599 times

  • וַיִּקְחוּ֙and they took

    vaiyikchuH3947 →966 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • רֹאשׁ֔וֹhead his

    roshoH7218 →599 times

  • וַיֵּֽלְכ֛וּand they went

    vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times

  • דֶּ֥רֶךְ[the] way of

    derekhH1870 →707 times

  • הָעֲרָבָ֖הthe Arabah

    haaravahH6160 →61 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הַלָּֽיְלָה׃the night

    halayelahH3915 →233 times

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

Related verses

7 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.

1 Samuel 17:54David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.2 works1 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.2 worksMatthew 14:11John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.2 works2 Samuel 2:29And all that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim.2 works2 Kings 10:6–7Then Jehu wrote them a second letter and said: “If you are on my side, and if you will obey me, then bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the sons of the king, seventy in all, were being brought up by the leading men of the city.2 worksMark 6:28–29The man brought John’s head on a platter and presented it to the girl, who gave it to her mother.2 works
The other 1 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Samuel 11:2One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.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

    1 Samuel 31:9

    They 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.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 1:20

      Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

    • Judges 16:23–24

      Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.”

    • 1 Samuel 31:4

      Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run it through me, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused…

    • 1 Samuel 17:54

      David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.

    • 1 Samuel 17:51

      David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword and pulled it from its sheath and killed him; and he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that…

  • Through

    Matthew 14:11

    John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 16:6

      For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”

    • Genesis 49:7

      Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 2:29

    And all that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 2:8

      Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,

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 John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.

Read on in 2 Samuel 4 →