2 Samuel 4 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

This chapter continues the story of how David became king of Israel. It describes how two of Ishbosheth’s military commanders, Recab and Baanah, murdered him and brought his head to David at Hebron. They thought that David would reward them for killing Saul’s son, since Saul had tried to kill David. But David instead executed them for committing this murder. This made it clear that David had never wanted to hurt Saul’s family. (David had sworn to Saul in [1 Samuel 24:22](../../1sa/24/22.md) that he would not kill his descendants.)

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Why does the author describe the Beerothites fleeing to Gittaim?

In [4:3](../04/03.md), the author relates that the Beerothites (that is, the inhabitants of the Gibeonite city of Beeroth) had fled to another city called Gittaim. (The location of that city is now uncertain.) The author provides this as background information to help readers understand what happens next in the story. However, it is not clear why this information is significant. Here is one possibility. In [21:1–2](../21/01.md), the author describes how Saul tried to destroy the Gibeonites and seize their land and cities, even though the Israelites had sworn never to harm them. It is possible that the author is describing how some of the Beerothites fled from Saul to Gittaim. If that is what he is describing, then it may be that the man named Rimmon, whom he mentions in the previous verse, and his family were survivors of Saul’s attempted massacre. His sons Baanah and Recab might later have found their way into the service of Ishbosheth as military commanders, but they might still have wanted to get revenge against Saul for killing so many members of their people group. This could be why they murdered his son Ishbosheth. However, the biblical text does not say this specifically, so we recommend that you do not suggest in your translation why the author is providing this background information.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Why does the author call Baanah and Recab “sons of Benjamin”?

In [4:2](../04/02.md), the author introduces two men, Baanah and Recab, whom he says were “from the sons of Benjamin.” That phrase would ordinarily indicate that they were descendants of Benjamin, as in the case of the phrase “the sons of Judah” in [1:18](../01/18.md). However, as the author states, Baanah and Recab were actually the sons of a Beerothite man named Rimmon. Beeroth was one of four cities in which Gibeonites, members of a different people group, lived among the Israelites. So it is possible that Baanah and Recab were Gibeonites, not Israelites. However, as the author explains, Beeroth was considered to be part of the territory of the tribe of Benjamin, and so the Gibeonite inhabitants of that city were considered to be members of that tribe. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state this meaning plainly. A note to [4:2](../04/02.md) suggests one way to do that.