Ish-bosheth is murdered, and David judges the killers

4:1 When Ish-bosheth the son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he was very disheartened, and all Israel was afraid. 4:2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were in charge of raiding units; one was named Baanah and the other Recab. They were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, who was a Benjaminite. (Beeroth is regarded as belonging to Benjamin, 4:3 for the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have remained there as resident foreigners until the present time.) 4:4 Now Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan arrived from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but in her haste to get away, he fell and was injured. Mephibosheth was his name. 4:5 Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite – Recab and Baanah – went at the hottest part of the day to the home of Ish-bosheth, as he was enjoying his midday rest. 4:6 They entered the house under the pretense of getting wheat and mortally wounded him in the stomach. Then Recab and his brother Baanah escaped. 4:7 They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was resting on his bed in his bedroom. They mortally wounded him and then cut off his head. Taking his head, they traveled on the way of the Arabah all that night. 4:8 They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David in Hebron, saying to the king, “Look! The head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who sought your life! The Lord has granted vengeance to my lord the king this day against Saul and his descendants!” 4:9 David replied to Recab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered my life from all adversity, 4:10 when someone told me that Saul was dead – even though he thought he was bringing good news – I seized him and killed him in Ziklag. That was the good news I gave to him! 4:11 Surely when wicked men have killed an innocent man as he slept in his own house, should I not now require his blood from your hands and remove you from the earth?” 4:12 So David issued orders to the soldiers and they put them to death. Then they cut off their hands and feet and hung them near the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

When Abner dies, Ish-bosheth loses courage and Israel becomes afraid. Two men, Recab and Baanah, enter his house by deceit, kill him in his sleep, and bring his head to David as if they have done a good thing for the Lord. David rejects their excuse, calls the killing wicked, and orders their death. The chapter shows that David will not build his kingdom by innocent blood.

This passage follows the collapse of Saul’s house after Abner’s death. Ish-bosheth becomes fearful because his support has fallen away. The narrator also pauses to mention Mephibosheth, Saul’s crippled grandson, to preserve an important family detail.

Then Recab and Baanah act with deceit. They come at the hottest part of the day, enter Ish-bosheth’s house under a false pretense, and kill him while he is resting. They cut off his head and bring it to David, claiming that the Lord has given David victory over Saul’s house.

David refuses their claim. He reminds them that he once put to death a man who claimed to bring him news of Saul’s death. He says that these men have murdered an innocent man in his own house and that his blood must be required from their hands. David then orders their execution. Their hands and feet are cut off and their bodies are displayed near the pool in Hebron, while Ish-bosheth’s head is buried in Abner’s tomb.

The main lesson is clear. God’s purposes are not served by treachery. David will not take the throne through murder, and he shows public justice toward those who shed innocent blood.

• Ish-bosheth was deeply discouraged after Abner died.
• Israel’s fear shows how weak the Saulide kingdom had become.
• Recab and Baanah were opportunists from Saul’s own tribal circle.
• They killed Ish-bosheth by deceit, not in open battle.
• They tried to make their crime sound like service to the Lord.
• David rejected their excuse and treated the killing as bloodguilt.
• David had already shown the same principle when he judged the Amalekite who claimed Saul’s death.
• David ordered the murderers to be put to death.
• The passage shows that David’s kingdom must not be built by innocent blood.

• Warning: Do not use religious words to excuse evil.
• Warning: Innocent blood brings guilt before the Lord.
• Command: Do not seek God’s purposes by wicked means.
• Command: Uphold justice and do not protect murderers.
• Promise: The Lord can preserve and vindicate integrity even in unstable times.

This passage belongs to the movement from Saul’s rejected house to David’s kingdom. It helps prepare for David’s public rule by showing that he does not rise through assassination. It also preserves the Saulide family line through Mephibosheth, which matters later when David shows covenant kindness. In the larger biblical story, it supports the pattern of the true king ruling justly and refusing unrighteous bloodshed.

Believers should not call evil good because a goal seems useful or religious. We should refuse gossip, violence, deceit, and any sinful method for doing God’s work. Leaders should act with justice, especially when innocent life has been harmed. We can trust the Lord to govern history and to honor what is right.

• Lite Commentary
• In-depth Commentary