Above: Rechab and Baanah bring the head of Ishbosheth to King David.
From www.keyway.ca
(2 Samuel, Chapter 4) - Once again, I am simply astounded by the mentality of people living in the Bronze Age. As a fan of archaeology, the glimpse of the mindset of these ancient peoples, as offered throughout the Old Testament, is a priceless treasure. It's just unfortunate that people today STILL take this as a guide of moral truth.
In the aftermath of the fall of King Saul, much of the people comprising the House of Saul have fled or have been killed. Ishbosheth was the king who was installed by the general from the House of Saul named Abner, to rule over lands still loyal to the House of Saul. If you recall, Abner was assassinated in the previous chapter, and King David was angry about this assassination, cursing the assassins and their progeny to a life of poverty and leprosy.
This chapter has a similar story. Two assassins, Rechab and Baanah, whom I believe used to be captains in Saul's army, assassinated the newly installed King Ishbosheth, in the hopes of getting in the good graces of King David. They cut off the head of Ishbosheth and approached King David with the head. David was not happy with this assassination, and had his own men kill the two, and then cut off their hands and feet and hang them over a pool in Hebron. He also had the head of Ishbosheth buried in a sepulcher there, as well.
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