4:5 Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite – Recab and Baanah – went at the hottest part of the day to the home of Ish-bosheth, as he was enjoying his midday rest. 4:6 They 1 entered the house under the pretense of getting wheat and mortally wounded him 2 in the stomach. Then Recab and his brother Baanah escaped.
4:7 They had entered 3 the house while Ish-bosheth 4 was resting on his bed in his bedroom. They mortally wounded him 5 and then cut off his head. 6 Taking his head, 7 they traveled on the way of the Arabah all that night.
1 tc For the MT’s וְהֵנָּה (vÿhennah, “and they,” feminine) read וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and behold”). See the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Targum.
2 tn Heb “and they struck him down.”
1 tn After the concluding disjunctive clause at the end of v. 6, the author now begins a more detailed account of the murder and its aftermath.
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ish-bosheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “they struck him down and killed him.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.
4 tn Heb “and they removed his head.” The Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate lack these words.
5 tc The Lucianic Greek recension lacks the words “his head.”