Ish-bosheth | |
---|---|
King of Israel | |
Predecessor | Saul |
Successor | David |
House | House of Saul |
Father | Saul |
Ish-bosheth (Hebrew : אִישׁ־בֹּשֶׁת, romanized: ʼĪš-bōšeṯ, "man of shame"), also called Eshbaal (אֶשְׁבַּעַל, ’Ešba‘al; alternatively spelled Ishbaal, "man of Baal") was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the second monarch of the Kingdom of Israel. After the death of his father, Saul, Ish-bosheth ascended to the throne and reigned for two years. [1]
During his reign, Ish-bosheth engaged in a protracted conflict with David, who had been anointed as Saul's successor by the Tribe of Judah. This rivalry between the two leaders shaped the political landscape of the kingdom at the time. The Hebrew Bible recounts that Ish-bosheth's reign was marked by war with David's forces, as both factions vied for control and legitimacy. According to biblical accounts, he was killed by two of his own army captains, Baanah and Rechab, who believed that assassinating Ish-bosheth would earn them favour with David. This act not only brought a premature conclusion to Ish-bosheth's rule but also played a significant role in the subsequent unification of the kingdom under David's leadership.
In the biblical account, Abner, the captain of Saul's army, proclaimed Ish-bosheth king over Israel at Mahanaim in Transjordan (2 Samuel 2:8), after the slaying of Ish-bosheth's father and brothers in the battle of Gilboa (1 Samuel 31:1). Ish-bosheth was 40 years old at this time and reigned for two years (2 Samuel 2:10).
However, after the death of King Saul, the tribe of Judah seceded from the rule of the House of Saul by proclaiming David as its king (2 Samuel 2:4), and war ensued (2 Samuel 2:12). David's faction eventually prevailed against Ish-bosheth's (2 Samuel 3:1), but the war continued until Abner joined David (2 Samuel 3:6).
Before the death of Saul, David had been married to Saul's daughter Michal, Ish-bosheth's sister, until Saul and David had a falling-out and Saul gave her to another man (1 Samuel 25:44). Later, at the conclusion of the war with Ish-bosheth, David's terms for peace required returning Michal to him, and Ish-bosheth complied (2 Samuel 3:14). After Abner's death, Ish-bosheth seems to have given up hope of retaining power (2 Samuel 4:1).
Two of Ish-bosheth's own army-captains, Rechab and Baanah, assassinated the deposed king, (2 Samuel 4:5) expecting a reward from David for this. David, however, refused to give any commendation for high treason; he had both killers executed and their hands and feet cut off. David's supporters buried the head of Ish-bosheth in Abner's grave at Hebron (2 Samuel 4:12).
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The names Ish-bosheth and Eshbaal have ambiguous meanings in the original Hebrew. In Hebrew, Ish-bosheth means "Man of shame". [2] He is also called Eshbaal, in Hebrew meaning "Baal exists", [2] or "fire of Baal".
Critical scholarship suggests that Bosheth was a substitute for Baʿal, beginning when Baʿal became an unspeakable word; [3] as (in the opposite direction) Adonai became substituted for the ineffable Tetragrammaton (see taboo deformation).
He is exclusively called Ish-bosheth in the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible:
When he was assassinated and King David punished the killers:
Meanwhile, in the Books of Chronicles, he is exclusively called Eshbaal:
In 2012, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority, archaeologists had discovered a 3,000-year-old inscription on a reconstructed large ceramic jar found in Khirbet Qeiyafa, containing the name "Eshbaal ben Beda". Though this Eshbaal is a different person than the Eshbaal/Ish-bosheth of the Bible, it was the first time the name was discovered in an ancient inscription. It is one of only four Hebrew inscriptions ever discovered dating to the 10th century BC. [4] [5]
In the Hebrew Bible, Abner was the cousin of King Saul and the commander-in-chief of his army. His name also appears as אבינר בן נר "Abiner son of Ner", where the longer form Abiner means "my father is Ner".
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Baal, or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord' in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods. Scholars previously associated the theonym with solar cults and with a variety of unrelated patron deities, but inscriptions have shown that the name Ba'al was particularly associated with the storm and fertility god Hadad and his local manifestations.
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Mahanaim is a place mentioned a number of times by the Bible said to be near Jabbok, in the same general area as Jabesh-gilead, beyond the Jordan River. Although two possible sites have been identified, the precise location of Mahanaim is uncertain. Tell edh-Dhahab el-Gharbi, the western one of the twin Tulul adh-Dhahab tells, is one proposed identification.
Rechab is the name of three men in the Bible:
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According to the Deuteronomistic history in the Hebrew Bible, a United Monarchy or United Kingdom of Israel existed under the reigns of Saul, Eshbaal, David, and Solomon, encompassing the territories of both the later kingdoms of Judah and Israel.
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Mephibosheth, or Miphibosheth, was the son of Jonathan—and, thus, a grandson of Saul—mentioned in the Biblical Books of Samuel and Chronicles.
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