Ishbosheth

Portrait of Ishbosheth

Ishbosheth (also called Esh-baal) was a surviving son of King Saul, made king over Israel by Abner after Saul's death while David reigned in Hebron over Judah. His weak two-year reign was dominated by Abner, and when Abner defected to David, Ishbosheth was left powerless. He was murdered in his own bed by two of his captains - an act David condemned and avenged.

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Biography

Occupation
King of Israel
Tribe
Benjamin
Father
Saul
Era
United Kingdom
Nationality
Israelite
Also Known As
Esh-baal

Family

Parents
Saul
โ†“
Ishbosheth
Old Testament 2 Samuel King

Did You Know?

1

Ishbosheth's name means 'man of shame,' but it is a deliberate scribal alteration - his original name was Esh-baal ('man of Baal'), changed by later editors who replaced the pagan god's name with the word 'shame.'

2

He reigned as a rival king over the northern tribes for two years while David ruled Judah from Hebron, embodying the fractured civil war that preceded the united monarchy (2 Samuel 2-4).

3

When two of his own captains murdered him in his bed and brought his head to David, expecting a reward, David executed them instead - the same principled response he had shown to the man who claimed to have killed Saul.

Key Chapters

2 Samuel 2 David Anointed King of Judah 6 min read Abner installs Saul's son as a rival king over Israel, dividing the kingdom agai... 2 Samuel 4 The Murder of Ish-Bosheth 3 min read Assassins kill Ishbosheth expecting reward, but David executes them for slaying ...

Key Passages

Ishbosheth Made King

2 Samuel 2:8-10

Abner installs Saul's son as a rival king over Israel, dividing the kingdom against David of Judah.

B8ut Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saulโ€™s host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;

9 And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. 10 Ishbosheth Saulโ€™s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

Read full chapter: 2 Samuel 2 โ†’

The Murder of Ishbosheth

2 Samuel 4:5-12

Assassins kill Ishbosheth expecting reward, but David executes them for slaying an innocent man.

A5nd the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon.

6 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. 7 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. 8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed. 9 And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, As the LORD liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, 10 When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings: 11 How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth? 12 And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.

Read full chapter: 2 Samuel 4 โ†’

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