Chapter 4 of Shmuel Bet describes the end of the kingship of Ish Boshet the son of Shaul. Avner, who had been the supporting pillar of that kingship, was killed in Chevron, and from that moment on the kingdom was left without any foothold. The chapter tells of the murder of Ish Boshet by two commanders of raiding bands, Rechav and Baanah the sons of Rimon the Beeroti, and of David's sharp reaction. This chapter is very difficult on the level of its plain meaning: the verses seem confused, placing things earlier and later, and inserting into the story details that appear entirely disconnected. We will proceed in order, and see how the Malbim resolves everything, and we will also bring the approach of the Radak.
וַיִּשְׁמַע בֶּן־שָׁאוּל כִּי מֵת אַבְנֵר בְּחֶבְרוֹן וַיִּרְפּוּ יָדָיו וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל נִבְהָלוּ׃ - And the son of Shaul heard that Avner had died in Chevron, and his hands grew slack, and all of Israel was dismayed.
As long as Ish Boshet had Avner, he had someone to hold up his kingship: a firm and strong man who would run the kingdom for him. Once Avner died, no one remained to strengthen him in his kingship, and immediately his hands grew slack.
And note the language of the verse: "the son of Shaul heard," and not "Ish Boshet heard." If Scripture calls him by his name, there is a granting of self importance in that. But here Scripture is as if saying to him: after Avner is gone, who are you at all? You are the son of Shaul, and that is all. What remains for you is your father's name. Of yourself you have nothing, you have no kingship, you have nothing at all, only by virtue of the fact that you are the son of Shaul. In other words, his standing became so weakened that there was already nothing to be done, and no one would be able to stand against David and his men.
"And all of Israel was dismayed": the Metzudot explains that Israel knew that Avner's heart was fully with David, and they feared that from now on David would begin to take vengeance against those who had been with Ish Boshet, and therefore they were dismayed. But according to the Malbim's approach, Israel had no such fear; rather, the dismay stemmed from the situation itself: they had someone to lean on, Avner and Ish Boshet, and now that these had been weakened, they had no one at all to lean on.
וּשְׁנֵי אֲנָשִׁים שָׂרֵי־גְדוּדִים הָיוּ בֶן־שָׁאוּל שֵׁם הָאֶחָד בַּעֲנָה וְשֵׁם הַשֵּׁנִי רֵכָב בְּנֵי רִמּוֹן הַבְּאֵרֹתִי מִבְּנֵי בִנְיָמִן כִּי גַּם־בְּאֵרוֹת תֵּחָשֵׁב עַל־בִּנְיָמִן׃ - And the son of Shaul had two men who were commanders of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah and the name of the second was Rechav, the sons of Rimon the Beeroti, of the children of Binyamin, for Beerot too is reckoned as part of Binyamin.
וַיִּבְרְחוּ הַבְּאֵרֹתִים גִּתָּיְמָה וַיִּהְיוּ־שָׁם גָּרִים עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ - And the Beerotim fled to Gitayim, and they have been sojourners there until this day.
וְלִיהוֹנָתָן בֶּן־שָׁאוּל בֵּן נְכֵה רַגְלָיִם בֶּן־חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים הָיָה בְּבֹא שְׁמֻעַת שָׁאוּל וִיהוֹנָתָן מִיִּזְרְעֶאל וַתִּשָּׂאֵהוּ אֹמַנְתּוֹ וַתָּנֹס וַיְהִי בְּחׇפְזָהּ לָנוּס וַיִּפֹּל וַיִּפָּסֵחַ וּשְׁמוֹ מְפִיבֹשֶׁת׃ - And Yehonatan the son of Shaul had a son lame in his feet; he was five years old when the report of Shaul and Yehonatan came from Yizreel, and his nurse picked him up and fled, and it happened that in her haste to flee he fell and became lame, and his name was Mefiboshet.
"When the report of Shaul and Yehonatan came from Yizreel," meaning when the report came that they had died.
וַיֵּלְכוּ בְּנֵי־רִמּוֹן הַבְּאֵרֹתִי רֵכָב וּבַעֲנָה וַיָּבֹאוּ כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם אֶל־בֵּית אִישׁ בֹּשֶׁת וְהוּא שֹׁכֵב אֵת מִשְׁכַּב הַצׇּהֳרָיִם׃ - And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechav and Baanah, went and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish Boshet, as he was lying down for his midday rest.
וְהֵנָּה בָּאוּ עַד־תּוֹךְ הַבַּיִת לֹקְחֵי חִטִּים וַיַּכֻּהוּ אֶל־הַחֹמֶשׁ וְרֵכָב וּבַעֲנָה אָחִיו נִמְלָטוּ׃ - And they came there into the midst of the house, as though fetching wheat, and they struck him in the belly, and Rechav and Baanah his brother escaped.
וַיָּבֹאוּ הַבַּיִת וְהוּא־שֹׁכֵב עַל־מִטָּתוֹ בַּחֲדַר מִשְׁכָּבוֹ וַיַּכֻּהוּ וַיְמִתֻהוּ וַיָּסִירוּ אֶת־רֹאשׁוֹ וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת־רֹאשׁוֹ וַיֵּלְכוּ דֶּרֶךְ הָעֲרָבָה כׇּל־הַלָּיְלָה׃ - And they came into the house as he was lying on his bed in his bedchamber, and they struck him and killed him, and removed his head, and they took his head and went by way of the Aravah all night.
The general thrust of the story is clear: Rechav and Baanah, the two sons of Rimmon the Beerothite of the tribe of Binyamin, killed Ish Boshet. But anyone who reads the verses at face value comes away thoroughly confused. First, "two men, captains of raiding bands, were of Shaul's son": what does "were of Shaul's son" mean? Then: "and the Beerothites fled to Gittayim", why did they flee? Nothing has happened yet. After that, verse four tells us about Mefiboshet son of Yehonatan, who fell and became lame, and it is not at all clear how Mefiboshet enters into the story here.
And further: "and behold they came there into the midst of the house, as those fetching wheat", what is this "fetching wheat" that suddenly appears here? And if "they came into the midst of the house" refers to Rechav and Baanah, why does the verse go back and write "and Rechav and Baanah his brother escaped"? It should have written "and they escaped", if these are the very same people. And above all: after it says that they escaped, how does the next verse continue "and they came into the house as he was lying on his bed"? You already told us that they escaped, and now you are going back?
Let us return to verse two. "And two men, captains of raiding bands, were of Shaul's son" - the meaning is that they were of Shaul's faction, among the men of Ish Boshet, and even upon them he could no longer rely. These men could no longer be his servants and supporters. Why? "And the Beerothites fled to Gittayim and have been sojourning there until this day." They flee to Gat ("Gittayim" like "Yizreelah", "Yerushalaymah", "Charanah"). In such a situation Ish Boshet has no one to lean on: those who were supposedly his men are not with him.
And why does the verse tell us the entire story of Mefiboshet and how he was injured on the day of the report? In order to show who else remained in Shaul's family. There is Ish Boshet, who is his son, and there is his grandson Mefiboshet, and this grandson is lame, crippled in his legs, unable to be any help or support to Shaul's kingdom. It emerges that the verse comes to describe the wretched state into which they had fallen: the two captains of the raiding bands who had been with him are no longer with him, and the one who remains of the family is Mefiboshet son of Yehonatan, who cannot provide any assistance at all. From here we see that they had reached the most difficult situation possible in terms of maintaining Ish Boshet's kingdom.
The sons of Rimmon the Beerothite arrive "about the heat of the day" at the house of Ish Boshet. They went by day and not by night, in the very middle of the day. Why? Because they had nothing to hide: they were among his men, captains of raiding bands of Ish Boshet before they fled to Gittayim, and therefore their going to his house aroused no suspicion.
And what is the verse "and behold they came there into the midst of the house, as those fetching wheat, and they struck him in the belly, and Rechav and Baanah his brother escaped"? The Malbim says: this verse is a parenthetical statement. The verse comes to reveal to us the reason that those captains of raiding bands had fled to Gat in the first place, something that had not been explained until now. And what is the answer? That already in the past they had committed a similar murder, and because of it they fled to Gat. While they were still captains of raiding bands, they came into the midst of the house of the wheat merchants, a house designated for those trading in wheat, and struck the master of the house in the belly, and as a result they escaped. That is, the verse pauses for a moment and tells us the history: this is how they came to be in Gat at all, and this is the reason they were forced to flee.
And now "and they came into the house as he was lying on his bed in his bedchamber": these two murderers, who had already in the past murdered the wheat fetcher, come and reenact the murder, doing it again, this time against Ish Boshet. They are the ones who killed the king by that same method. They came to the house at midday, for they reckoned that at that hour it was unguarded and he was lying on his bed, and then "they struck him and killed him".
From here we also learn about Ish Boshes' situation: he felt secure, he had no fear or worry that anyone would rise against him. Had he been worried, he would have posted guards, and men would not have been able to enter the king's house and murder him on his bed. This implies that he did not have many enemies and opponents. And when does a person have many enemies and opponents? When he is powerful in his reign. But he was a weak king, as we explained, and when the king is weak he is on good terms with everyone: there is no need to quarrel with him, since he has no power and stages no revolts, and therefore he did not require special protection either. This is the explanation according to the Malbim.
The Radak resolves the entire difficulty in a different way. He brings an interpretation in the name of Menachem, that "heyu" is like "neheiti" which means "I became sick," and its meaning here is that they struck and killed. "Heyu ben Shaul" - these men killed the son of Shaul. And this does not refer to Ish Boshes, whose killing will be recounted in the following pesukim, but to another son that Shaul had, whom they killed. It may have been during Shaul's lifetime, and it may have been after Shaul's death. And this is the reason they fled to Gitaim and were sojourners there until this very day.
And now they came to kill Ish Boshes. Why? This is what they thought: we are exiles and pursued, because we killed the son of Shaul. Let us present the head of Ish Boshes on a silver platter to David, and David will yet kiss our feet and even give us a position in his army. We are commanders of troops who delivered to him the head of his enemy. This is what they thought, as we will see later from the wording of their words.
And how did they do this? They disguised themselves, meaning they changed their appearance, so that it would not be known that they were those same troop commanders who had fled. And under what pretext did they arrive at the house of Ish Boshes? Ostensibly as men who had come to buy wheat, and this is how the Targum renders "lokchei chitim" - as sellers of wheat, men who had come to buy wheat. Apparently the king was the main point of sale or held responsibility for the sale of wheat. Presumably they did not weigh out wheat and hand it over there, but the "exchange" for wheat was in the king's house. They came to the king and made themselves out to be men coming to close a deal with him and buy wheat from him, and they exploited this opportunity and killed him while he was lying down for his midday rest.
And according to the Radak the question returns: if pasuk 6 speaks about the murder of Ish Boshes himself, after which they fled, what does pasuk 7 come to add, "and they came into the house while he was lying on his bed in his bedchamber, and they struck him and killed him"? You already said that they murdered him and fled! The Radak explains: after they struck him and left, they returned to the house in order to remove his head and bring it to David. At first they said to themselves that killing him was enough, and afterward they said: since we have already killed him, let us take the head. This is what is called bringing documentation, bringing proof. For if they were to come and say "we killed him," perhaps that would not suffice; therefore let us gladden David and bring him the head of Ish Boshes on a silver platter literally, not just with the report but with actual proof.
וַיָּבִאוּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ אִישׁ־בֹּשֶׁת אֶל־דָּוִד חֶבְרוֹן וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ הִנֵּה־רֹאשׁ אִישׁ־בֹּשֶׁת בֶּן־שָׁאוּל אֹיִבְךָ אֲשֶׁר בִּקֵּשׁ אֶת־נַפְשֶׁךָ וַיִּתֵּן יְהֹוָה לַאדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ נְקָמוֹת הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה מִשָּׁאוּל וּמִזַּרְעוֹ׃ - And they brought the head of Ish Boshes to David at Chevron, and they said to the king: Here is the head of Ish Boshes son of Shaul, your enemy who sought your life, and Hashem has granted my lord the king vengeance this day upon Shaul and upon his offspring.
They bring his head and say: Look, do you see? Hashem has taken your vengeance upon your enemies. All in a simple manner: they bring the head. Incidentally, they tell of someone who arrived at a tribe of cannibals, and the head of the tribe received his face, and the rest of the tribe the rest of the limbs.
וַיַּעַן דָּוִד אֶת־רֵכָב וְאֶת־בַּעֲנָה אָחִיו בְּנֵי רִמּוֹן הַבְּאֵרֹתִי וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם חַי־יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר־פָּדָה אֶת־נַפְשִׁי מִכׇּל־צָרָה׃ - And David answered Rechav and Baanah his brother, sons of Rimon the Beeroti, and said to them: As Hashem lives, who has redeemed my soul from all distress.
David swears to them: As Hashem lives, who has redeemed my soul from all distress.
כִּי הַמַּגִּיד לִי לֵאמֹר הִנֵּה־מֵת שָׁאוּל וְהוּא־הָיָה כִמְבַשֵּׂר בְּעֵינָיו וָאֹחֲזָה בוֹ וָאֶהְרְגֵהוּ בְּצִקְלָג אֲשֶׁר לְתִתִּי־לוֹ בְּשֹׂרָה׃ - When the one who told me, saying, Behold, Shaul is dead, and he thought of himself as a bearer of good tidings, I seized him and killed him at Tziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his tidings.
David comes to them with a kal vachomer. He says: that reporter who came to tell me "behold, Shaul is dead," the Amalekite lad. And what is the difference between "to tell" and "to bring tidings"? The Malbim explains: "to bring tidings" is joyful news, something from which you derive benefit. "To tell" is a mere report, I am informing you that such and such happened there, with no consequence for me. To bring tidings means that the matter itself benefits me. And so too in everyday speech, "tidings" is something beneficial.
David says: that reporter who came to tell me of Shaul's death, for me it was merely a report, not good tidings, and therefore it says "who told me, saying." But "and he was like one bringing good tidings in his own eyes" - he was certain this was good news, he thought he was bringing me joy. And not only that, but "for whom I should have given a reward for his tidings": he was certain that I would give him a reward for the joyful tidings, as one gives payment to whoever brings the king good news. And I, not only did I not give him a reward for tidings, but "I seized him and killed him in Tziklag," I killed him for the very fact that he rejoiced over Shaul's death.
And this even though it was not at all clear that he had killed Shaul. As we recall, there is no consensus that it was he who killed him, and there is an opinion that he came only as one boasting: Shaul told me to kill him, and I killed him. For the very boasting he was killed, by the law of "your mouth testifies against you": he said "I stretched forth my hand against Hashem's anointed," and for the very speech he was killed. See how careful David was about Shaul's honor. And even though that lad supposedly did the deed at Shaul's own request, David did not agree, and not only did he not give him a gift, but he even killed him.
אַף כִּי־אֲנָשִׁים רְשָׁעִים הָרְגוּ אֶת־אִישׁ־צַדִּיק בְּבֵיתוֹ עַל־מִשְׁכָּבוֹ וְעַתָּה הֲלוֹא אֲבַקֵּשׁ אֶת־דָּמוֹ מִיֶּדְכֶם וּבִעַרְתִּי אֶתְכֶם מִן־הָאָרֶץ׃ - How much more so when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house upon his bed, and now, shall I not require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?
All the more so here. There, even according to the lad's words, what did he do? He merely finished off his death: Shaul was already wounded and writhing after falling on his sword, and he only completed his death, and that on the battlefield. But you killed him outright, and like cowards you went and killed him while he was lying asleep on his bed.
And not only that, but "a righteous man." Shaul was liable to death by the word of a prophet: "tomorrow you and your sons will be with me," in my domain. Death had been decreed upon him and it was known that he was to die on that day, and he had a sin as we saw, the sin of Nov the city of priests. But you killed a righteous man. What sin did Ish Boshet have? He was righteous and had no sin at all, and you killed him for no reason and with no sin that would bring about his death. Therefore "I will require his blood at your hand," "and I will remove you," meaning I will burn out this great evil that they, Rechav and Baana, are, I will remove you from the earth.
וַיְצַו דָּוִד אֶת־הַנְּעָרִים וַיַּהַרְגוּם וַיְקַצְּצוּ אֶת־יְדֵיהֶם וְאֶת־רַגְלֵיהֶם וַיִּתְלוּ עַל־הַבְּרֵכָה בְּחֶבְרוֹן וְאֵת רֹאשׁ אִישׁ־בֹּשֶׁת לָקָחוּ וַיִּקְבְּרוּ בְקֶבֶר־אַבְנֵר בְּחֶבְרוֹן׃ - And David commanded the young men, and they killed them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hung them up over the pool in Chevron. But the head of Ish Boshet they took, and buried it in the grave of Avner in Chevron.
David wants to perform an act that will make clear to everyone that murder is not something accepted in his kingdom, and that he is not willing for a person to come and stretch forth his hand against Hashem's anointed, so that they understand what a king is. Therefore he commanded the young men and they killed them. And what is the difference whether David kills or the young men kill? Killing by David's hand is an honorable killing, while killing by the young men's hand is a disgraceful killing. When a lad kills, there is disgrace in it.
"And they cut off their hands" - for it was the hands that did the deed. "And their feet" - the feet that went and ran to bring the news to David. And why were they hung up? So that no person would dare do such a thing to a king again.
And the Malbim says: all this David did by the law of kingship, not by the law of the Torah. By Torah law there is no situation of killing a person without witnesses, no situation of killing without warning, and no situation of cutting off a person's hands and feet and hanging him on the wall. Likewise a person is not put to death on the basis of his own confession: if two people come to a court and say "we murdered so and so," what is done with them? They are sent home and told not to do such things again, for a person cannot render himself wicked.
The same is true even when the proof seems completely clear. Suppose I chase after Reuven and see him pursuing Shimon with a knife, and he enters a house, and I go in after him and see the victim writhing and this man standing with a bloody knife dripping in his hand. This is the case of Shimon ben Shetach. There are no witnesses, and without witnesses he cannot be executed. Beyond that, even theoretically one could paint a different picture: that man took the knife and stabbed himself, and the other one came in to pull out the knife in order to save him, and at that very moment you walk in and photograph him with a knife in hand beside the deceased. You are certain that he killed, but it may be that he did not kill at all, rather the other man committed suicide and this one only pulled the knife out of him. In the Torah one needs clear testimony.
There it is brought that Shimon ben Shetach said to him: I and you both know that you killed him, but what can I do, for I do not have the power to bring you before the court. He said to him: May Hashem avenge his blood. Immediately a snake came and bit him, and he received his punishment. We once said that in the laws of this world one must see a trial, for otherwise there would be anarchy. But in the laws of Heaven the Holy One, blessed be He, says: What do you think, that because he slipped out of your hands he also slipped out of Mine? You will not judge him, but in My hands he will ultimately come to judgment.
The chapter describes the collapse of the kingdom of Ish Boshet: the death of Avner weakens his hands, the captains of the raiding bands who were with him are already in Gat, and the only one left of Shaul's family is Mefiboshet, lame in his feet. According to the Malbim, the verse "who bring wheat" is a parenthetical statement that reveals why Rechav and Baana had fled to Gat in the past: a murder they had committed earlier, the very same murder that they now repeated by killing Ish Boshet as he lay secure on his bed. According to the Radak, "were the son of Shaul" means that they had killed another son of Shaul, and therefore they went into exile, and now they disguised themselves as wheat buyers in order to murder Ish Boshet and gain closeness to David, and they returned to the house to take his head as proof. But David not only did not pay them a reward for good news, rather, through a kal vachomer from the Amalekite youth, he killed them and made their punishment more severe under the law of a king, to cut them off and hang them, so that it would be clear to all that no one lays a hand on Hashem's anointed and there is no murder in his kingdom. And the final word: even one who escapes the judgment of this world does not escape the judgment of Heaven.