2 Samuel 4:1-7. The Murder of Ish-bosheth 1. _his hands were feeble_ HIS HANDS WERE WEAKENED. His resolution was paralysed: he lost heart. Cp. Ezra 4:4, and the opposite expression in ch. 2 Samuel 2:7. _were troubled_ WERE DISMAYED. Ish-bosheth was a mere puppet, and Abner the real stay of the kin... [ Continue Reading ]
_captains of bands_ Leaders of predatory troops. See note on ch. 2 Samuel 3:22. _of the children of Benjamin_ The historian calls special attention to the fact that Ish-bosheth's murderers belonged to his own tribe. _for Beeroth also_, &c. The object of this parenthesis is to explain how these Beer... [ Continue Reading ]
_Gittaim_ A Benjamite town of this name is mentioned in Nehemiah 11:33, but if the reason suggested above for the flight of the Beerothites is the correct one, it can hardly be the same, as they would have chosen a more distant refuge. The name is the dual form of Gath, meaning "two wine-presses," w... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Jonathan_, &c. Before proceeding to narrate the murder of Ish-bosheth, the historian inserts a remark which implies that with his death the cause of Saul's house would necessarily become hopeless, as its only other legitimate representative was a lame child of twelve years old. _out of Jezreel... [ Continue Reading ]
_to the house of Ish-bosheth_ At Mahanaim (ch. 2 Samuel 2:8). _who lay on a bed at noon_ Or, AS HE WAS TAKING HIS MIDDAY SLEEP, or _siesta_, according to the usual custom of hot countries. They chose an hour when Ish-bosheth would be alone and defenceless.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they came_, &c. An explanation how it was possible for Rechab and Baanah to enter Ish-bosheth's house unsuspected. They came, as they may have been accustomed to do, to procure wheat for their men from the king's granary. The Heb. however may be otherwise rendered, "And hither [some MSS. read... [ Continue Reading ]
_through the plain_ BY THE WAY OF THE ARABAH. See note on ch. 2 Samuel 2:29. From Mahanaim to Hebron was a distance of about 80 or 90 miles.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Punishment of the Murderers by David 8. _to the king_ Observe that Ish-bosheth is never honoured with the title of _king_. _thine enemy, which sought thy life_ These words are to be referred to Saul not to Ish-bosheth. Cp. 1 Samuel 24:4; 1 Samuel 25:29. _the_Lord _hath avenged_ The murderers... [ Continue Reading ]
_who hath redeemed_, &c. Compare the same oath in David's mouth in 1 Kings 1:29. In this connexion it implies that one who was under God's protection had no need to commit crimes for his own defence.... [ Continue Reading ]
_when one told me_, &c. The Amalekite who pretended to have slain Saul (ch. 2 Samuel 1:2 ff.). _slew him … who_thought _that I would have given him_ Or, SLEW HIM … TO GIVE HIM A REWARD, &c. In this case the expression is bitterly ironical. -He expected a reward, and I gave it him; but it was the re... [ Continue Reading ]
_a righteous person_ "A man who had done no one any harm," as Josephus says. His merits seem to have been negative rather than positive. _require his blood_ Demand satisfaction for his murder. God is said to "require blood," i.e. to avenge murder (Genesis 9:5; Psalms 9:12), and in punishing the mur... [ Continue Reading ]
_And David commanded_, &c. Kitto compares the conduct of David towards the murderers of his rival with that of Alexander the Great towards Bessus, who murdered Darius, and of Caesar towards the murderers of Pompey. It may be questioned whether they were actuated by higher motives than "the tradition... [ Continue Reading ]