Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 4:6
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.
6. And they came, &c.] An explanation how it was possible for Rechab and Baanah to enter Ish-bosheth’s house unsuspected. They came, as they may have been accustomed to do, to procure wheat for their men from the king’s granary.
The Heb. however may be otherwise rendered, “And hither [some MSS. read “and behold”] there came wheat-fetchers into the midst of the house:” men whose business it was to draw the rations of wheat from the granary. If this is the right rendering, the meaning is that the murderers obtained entrance to the house by going in their company.
2Sa 4:7 appears at first sight to be a somewhat awkward repetition of 2Sa 4:6. But it is a peculiar feature of Hebrew historical writing to give a general account of a fact first, and then to repeat it with additional details. The murderers’ entrance into the house, their deed, and their escape are first briefly related: then the fact of their entrance is repeated as an introduction to the fuller details of the scene and manner of the murder, and the route by which the assassins escaped. Compare the double mention of Joab’s return to Hebron in ch. 2Sa 3:22-23; and of the national assembly at Hebron in ch. 2Sa 5:1; 2Sa 5:3; and note on ch. 2Sa 13:38.
The Sept. however has the following entirely different reading, which is found also in some MSS. of the Vulgate in addition to the rendering of the present Heb. text, but apparently was not retained by Jerome himself. “And behold the portress of the house was cleaning wheat, and she slumbered and slept; and the brothers Rechab and Baanah came unobserved into the house. Now Ish-bosheth was sleeping on the bed in his chamber: and they smote him,” &c. This also explains how the murderers entered unobserved. The female slave who watched the door ( , cp. Joh 18:16, Act 12:13) had fallen asleep over her task of sifting [98] or picking the wheat, and there was no one to give the alarm. This reading gives a clear straightforward narrative, and certainly seems preferable to the repetitions of the present Hebrew text.
[98] Cp. Amo 9:9. An illustration of a Bethlehem woman sifting wheat is given in Neil’s Palestine Explored, p. 246. He says that it is a process constantly going on and forming a marked feature of Palestine life.
under the fifth rib ] In the belly. See note on ch. 2Sa 2:23.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
As though they would have fetched wheat – This is a very obscure passage, and the double repetition in 2Sa 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 kings storehouse, and so contrived to get access into the kings chamber; or, they found the wheat-carriers (the persons whose business it was to carry in grain for the kings household) just going into the kings house, and by joining them got into the midst of the house unnoticed. If the latter be the sense, the literal translation of the words would be: And behold (or, and there) there came into the midst of the house the carriers of wheat, and they (i. e. Rechab and Baanah) smote him, etc.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. As 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 consider this a summer-house, as it most probably was,) no man would suspect their present errand, as they were in the habit of going frequently to that place.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Into the midst of the house, or, into the house; for the midst is not always taken exactly, and mathematically, but for any part within, as Gen 48:16; Exo 8:22; Jos 3:17.
As though they would have fetched wheat; which was laid up in public granaries in the kings house, and was fetched thence by the captains and commanders of the army for the pay of their soldiers, who in those ancient times were not paid in money, but in corn, as is well known. Upon this pretence they were admitted into the house, and so went from room to room, to the place where the king lay.
Rechab and Baanah escaped; which was not difficult to do, when the king was left alone; either because he desired to compose himself to rest or sleep; or because his guards, if he had any, were very small and negligent, now, at least, in his declining and forlorn condition.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And they came thither into the midst of the house,…. They not only came unto it, but entered into it, and went into the inmost part of it; the guards being asleep also perhaps, or not on duty, so that there were none to obstruct them; or if there were, they deceived them, since they went in
[as though] they would have fetched wheat; out of the king’s granaries, for the payment and support of the soldiers under them, who in those days were paid in corn, as were the Roman soldiers y in later times; and these granaries might not only be in the king’s house, but near his bedchamber; for in those ancient ages of simplicity there was not such grandeur in the courts of princes as now; the Targum is,
“as sellers of wheat,”
in the guise and habit of such persons, pretending they came to sell wheat to the king’s purveyors, who were at the granaries; or, as others interpret it, they went in along with the wheat merchants as if they belonged to them, and so found their way to the king’s bedchamber:
and smote him under the fifth [rib]; [See comments on 2Sa 2:23];
and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped; they got out of the palace after they had committed the murder undiscovered and unsuspected.
y Vid. Valtrinum de re militar. Roman. l. 3. c. 15. p. 236.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(6) As though they would have fetched wheat.Literally, fetching wheat. The English version gives the sense, since the fetching wheat (probably for their soldiers) was a pretext to cover their purpose. The LXX. has here a curious addition: And, behold, the portress of the house was cleansing wheat, and she slumbered and slept, and the brothers slipt through. On the fifth rib= abdomen, see Note on 2Sa. 2:23.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. The house Some extensive structure at Mahanaim used for the royal palace, and the treasure-house of the royal stores.
As though they would have fetched wheat From the royal granary. Being royal officers, they were probably accustomed to go to the king’s storehouse for grain. The Septuagint here has the following: “And behold the doorkeeper of the house was winnowing wheat, and he nodded and slept.”
The fifth rib See note on 2Sa 2:23.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Sa 4:6-7. They came thither into the midst of the house Houbigant, following the version of the LXX, translates the whole thus: the keeper of the house, while he was cleaning wheat in the midst of it, slept in the sun; therefore Rechab and Baanah his brother entered the house secretly, and whilst Ish-bosheth slept upon his bed, in an inner chamber, they smote him till he died, and they took his head, which they had cut off, and travelled all the night by the way of the desart, &c.
REFLECTIONS.Abner, the stay of Saul’s family, being dead, Ish-bosheth’s affairs sunk the faster; and no other of Saul’s house remained who could pretend to the crown, but a child of Jonathan’s who was lamed by a fall; and thus was, both by his age and misfortune, unfit to retrieve their ruined circumstances. Note; (1.) The perils of tender infancy are great; to have escaped them unhurt, is a singular mercy. (2.) When God will accomplish his designs, every obstacle in the way will be removed.
In this desperate situation of Ish-bosheth, instead of endeavouring to support or comfort him,
1. Two of his servants conspire his death. Pretending business in some of the magazines, which lay near the king’s apartments, they break into his chamber, and murder him. Note; (1.) The higher a man’s station, the more dangerous it is. (2.) Ere we close our eyes, let us ever think of our souls, as those who know not whether they shall ever awake again. (3.) A sinking cause is oftener hastened to ruin by the treachery of pretended friends, than the attacks of avowed enemies.
2. The murderers fly, and take the head of Ish-bosheth, as thinking it the most acceptable present they can bring to David; and, pretending zeal not only for his service, but for avenging God’s quarrel against the house of Saul, they would cloak their treachery and murder under the pretext of religion. Note; Religion has often been made a cloak for ambition; but God will strip the hypocrite, and cover him with confusion.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Sa 4:6 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.
Ver. 6. As though they would have fetched wheat. ] Either for their own pay, or for the use of their soldiers.
And they smote him under the fifth rib.
And Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. And they came thither. Or, “Thither, into the interior of the house, came wheat-fetchers, and they smote”, &c.
as though: It is still the custom of the East, according to Dr. Perry, to allow the soldiers a certain quantity of corn, with other articles of provision, together with some pay, and as it was the custom also to grind the corn, as needed, at the break of day, these two captains very naturally went the day before to the palace, where the king’s stores appear to have been kept, to fetch wheat, in order to distribute it to the soldiers under them, to be ground at the accustomed hour in the morning. The princes of the East, in those days, as appears from the history of David, reposed on their couches till the cool of the evening: they therefore came in the heat of the day, when they knew their master would be resting on his bed; and as it was a necessary to have the corn before it was needed, their coming at this time, though it might be earlier than usual, excited no suspicion.
under: 2Sa 2:23, 2Sa 3:27, 2Sa 20:10
Reciprocal: Deu 8:8 – wheat 2Sa 2:8 – Ishbosheth Est 2:21 – and sought
4:6 And they came thither into the midst of the house, [as though] they {e} would have fetched wheat; and they {f} smote him under the fifth [rib]: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
(e) They disguised themselves as merchants, who came to buy wheat.
(f) There is nothing so vile and dangerous, which the wicked will not undertake in hope of money and favour.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes