Bible Strands
2 Samuel 4:3
because the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have lived there as foreigners to this day.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator explains why Rechab and Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, could operate in Makonaim after Saul's death. This geographical note clarifies the origin of the men who assassinated Ish-bosheth.
The words — The text uses וַיִּבְרְחוּ (va/yivrechû), meaning "and they fled," and גָּרִים (gārîm), meaning "sojourners" or "foreigners." These terms describe the Beerothites' displacement and permanent status in Gittaim.
The thread — The place name Gittaim appears again in Nehemiah 11:33 as a resettled town, while the motif of fleeing armies surfaces in 1 Samuel 31:7 during the collapse of Saul's forces.
Why it lands — The verse records a historical displacement without moral commentary, requiring the reader to track how political violence and territorial shifts reshape tribal boundaries. It demands attention to the logistical reality behind the narrative of Saul's house falling.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.)
Cross-references
- Nehemiah 11:33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,
- 1 Samuel 31:7 When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.