2 Samuel 4:6

2 Samuel 4:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
• New International Version (NIV)They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And they came into the midst of the house as if to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.

Context of 2 Samuel 4:6

4(Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who was crippled as a child. He was five years old when the report came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. When the child’s nurse heard the news, she picked him up and fled. But as she hurried away, she dropped him, and he became crippled.) 5One day Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, went to Ishbosheth’s house around noon as he was taking his midday rest. The doorkeeper, who had been sifting wheat, became drowsy and fell asleep. So Recab and Baanah slipped past her. 7They went into the house and found Ishbosheth sleeping on his bed. They struck and killed him and cut off his head. Then, taking his head with them, they fled across the Jordan Valley through the night. 8When they arrived at Hebron, they presented Ishbosheth’s head to David. “Look!” they exclaimed to the king. “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you. Today the Lord has given my lord the king revenge on Saul and his entire family!”

2 Samuel 4:6 word by word

וְ֠הֵנָּה בָּ֜אוּ עַד־תּ֤וֹךְ הַבַּ֙יִת֙ לֹקְחֵ֣י חִטִּ֔ים וַיַּכֻּ֖הוּ אֶל־הַחֹ֑מֶשׁ וְרֵכָ֛ב וּבַעֲנָ֥ה אָחִ֖יו נִמְלָֽטוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they came thitherבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• into the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• of the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• they would have fetchedלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• wheatחִטָּהchiţţâh · wheatH2406
• and they smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• him under the fifthחֹ֫מֶשׁchômesh · bellyH2570
• and Rechabרֵכָבrêkâb · RechabH7394
• and Baanahבַּעֲנָהba‛ănâh · BaanahH1196
• his brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• escapedמָלַטmâlaţ · to escapeH4422

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 4:6

• 2 Samuel 2:23But Asahel refused to turn back, so Abner thrust the butt end of his spear through Asahel’s stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He stumbled to the ground and died there. And everyone who came by that spot stopped and stood still when they saw Asahel lying there.
• 2 Samuel 3:27When Abner arrived back at Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gateway as if to speak with him privately. But then he stabbed Abner in the stomach and killed him in revenge for killing his brother Asahel.
• 2 Samuel 20:10Amasa didn’t notice the dagger in his left hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach with it so that his insides gushed out onto the ground. Joab did not need to strike again, and Amasa soon died. Joab and his brother Abishai left him lying there and continued after Sheba.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 4:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6As though they would have fetched wheat - The king's stores were probably near his own dwelling; and these men were accustomed to go thither for provisions for themselves, their cattle, and their men. This supposition which is natural, renders unnecessary all the emendations of Houbigant and others. As these men were accustomed to bring wheat from these stores, from which it appears there was an easy passage to the king's chamber, (especially if we…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6As though they would have fetched wheat - This is a very obscure passage, and the double repetition in 2 Samuel 4:6-7 of the murder of the king and of the escape of the assassin, is hard to account for. Rechab and Baanah came into the house under the pretence of getting grain, probably for the band which they commanded out of the king‘s storehouse, and so contrived to get access into the king‘s chamber; or, they found the wheat-carriers (the persons whose…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6Recab and Baanah believed they would gain David’s favor by committing this betrayal.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-65-6. Rechab and Baanah went and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth, &c.--It is still a custom in the East to allow their soldiers a certain quantity of corn, together with some pay; and these two captains very naturally went to the palace the day before to fetch wheat, in order to distribute it to the soldiers, that it might be sent to the mill at the accustomed hour in the morning.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 4:6

• Assassination
• Baanah
• Homicide
• Ish-Bosheth
• Rechab
• Regicide
• Treachery

In the dictionaries

• Blood
• Ishbosheth
• Mahanaim
• Crime; Crimes
• Government
• Rechab; Rechabites
• Samuel, Books of
• Text of the Old Testament
• Baanah
• Rimmon

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary