Now when they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him, killed him, beheaded him, and took his head, and went by the way of the Arabah all night.
Parallel Translations
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Now when they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him, killed him, beheaded him, and took his head, and went by the way of the Arabah all night.
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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.
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Now when they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bed-chamber, they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and went by the way of the Arabah all night.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 4:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Samuel 17:54 David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
- 1 Samuel 31:9 They cut off his head, stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines all around, to carry the news to the house of their idols, and to the people.
- 2 Samuel 2:29 Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah; and they passed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim.
- 2 Kings 10:6-7 Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, “If you are on my side, and if you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men who are your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time.” Now the king’s sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up. When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and killed them, even seventy people, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezreel.
- Matthew 14:11 His head was brought on a platter, and given to the young lady; and she brought it to her mother.
- Mark 6:28-29 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the young lady; and the young lady gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard this, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or, wilderness.
Or, wilderness.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 4:7 For when they came into the house,…
2Sa 4:7 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.
Ver. 7. He lay on his bed.] Dreading no danger. So great need have we to commit ourselves to God, when we go to our rest, that whether we live or die, we may be his.
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They smote him, and slew him.] So do surfeiting and drunkenness slay the soul, saith Hugo, of the spiritual sleeper; taking away his heart. {Hos 4:11}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Through the plain, i.e. in the way from Mahanaim…
Through the plain, i.e. in the way from Mahanaim to Hebron; which for the most part was a plain country.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David…
And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron,.... Supposing it would have been a very acceptable present to him:
and said to the king, behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; all which, his relation to Saul, his enmity to David, and his designs upon his life, are artfully put together to raise the indignation of David against him, and make their present of his head to him the more agreeable:
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and the Lord hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and of his seed; for all the evils and injuries they had done him; this being the last of the sons of Saul by a lawful wife, the two remaining were by a concubine; and these men impiously ascribe to the Lord what they with wicked hands had done.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Sa 4:7-8. They smote him, and slew him, &c.…
2Sa 4:7-8. They smote him, and slew him, &c. — The privacy of the place gave them opportunity to do all this, without discovery. And gat them away through the plain, from Mahanaim to Hebron — It being for the most part a flat country, till they came to ascend the mountain, on the side of which Hebron stood. Hath avenged the king of Saul and of his seed — For they were all now extinguished except his grandson Mephibosheth, who was of no account because of his lameness.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Parlour. Hebrew, "bed-chamber." --- Wilderness. Avoiding places frequented. (Haydock)…
Parlour. Hebrew, "bed-chamber." --- Wilderness. Avoiding places frequented. (Haydock) --- The distance was about 40 leagues, which they could not travel in one night. (Calmet) --- Adrichomius says it was 30 hours’ walk. Septuagint, "west-ward." (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain when they came into the house, he lay on…
when they came into the house, he lay on his bed--Rechab and Baanah came in the heat of the day, when they knew that Ish-bosheth, their master, would be resting on his divan; and as it was necessary, for the reason just given, to have the corn the day before it was needed, their coming at that time, though it might be a little earlier than usual, created no suspicion, and attracted no notice [HARMER].
gat them away through the plain--that is, the valley of the Jordan, through which their way lay from Mahanaim to Hebron.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 7. Took his head — They probably carried it…
7. Took his head — They probably carried it in a sack, in which they pretended to fetch wheat. They could not otherwise have well escaped at midday.
Through the plain — The Jordan valley. See on 2Sa_2:29.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7. through the plain] By the way of the…
7. through the plain] By the way of the Arabah. See note on ch. 2Sa_2:29. From Mahanaim to Hebron was a distance of about 80 or 90 miles.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (7) Took his head.—There is no difficulty with the…
(7) Took his head.—There is no difficulty with the repetition in 2Sa_4:7 of what has been already mentioned inverse 6, for it is common in the Scripture narratives to repeat statements when any additional fact (as here, the carrying off of the head) is to be mentioned. (See, e.g., 2Sa_3:22-23, where Joab’s arrival is twice mentioned, and 2Sa_5:1-3, where the mention of the assembly at Hebron is repeated.)
Through the plain.—As in 2Sa_2:29, the Arabah, or valley of the Jordan, the natural way from Mahanaim to Hebron.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.