Bible Strands
2 Samuel 4:6
They entered the interior of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah slipped away.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Rechab and Baanah arrive at Ish-bosheth’s house at midday while the king rests on his bed.
The words — תּוֹךְ הַבַּיִת (tokh ha-bayit) denotes the interior of the house, while וַיַּכֻּהוּ (va-yakkuhu) literally means they struck him.
The thread — The motif of a fatal strike to the stomach recurs in 2 Samuel 2:23, 3:27, and 20:10.
Why it lands — The text records a calculated assassination disguised as a routine errand, demanding recognition of how violence exploits trust and vulnerability.
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 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.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 2:23 But Asahel refused to turn away. So Abner thrust the butt of his spear into his stomach, and it came out his back, and he fell dead on the spot. And every man paused when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
- 2 Samuel 3:27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.
- 2 Samuel 20:10 Amasa was not on guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach and spilled out his intestines on the ground. And Joab did not need to strike him again, for Amasa was dead. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri.