Ish-bosheth ( he, , translit=ʼĪš-bōšeṯ, "man of shame"), also called Eshbaal (, ; alternatively spelled Ishbaal, "fire of

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied t ...

") was, according to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Kingdom of Israel who succeeded his father,

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...

. He reigned for two years, during which he was at war with

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. He was killed by two of his own army captains.

Biblical narrative

In the biblical account, Abner, the captain of Saul's army, proclaimed Ish-bosheth king over Israel at

Mahanaim Mahanaim ( he, מַחֲנַיִם ''Maḥănayīm'', "camps") 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 ...

in Transjordan (), after the slaying of Ish-bosheth's father and brothers in the

battle of Gilboa Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

(). Ish-bosheth was 40 years old at this time and reigned for two years (). However, after the death of King Saul, the

tribe of Judah According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was the first tribe to take its place in the Land of Israel, occupying the southern ...

seceded from the rule of the House of Saul by proclaiming

as its king (), and war ensued (). David's faction eventually prevailed against Ish-bosheth's (), but the war continued until Abner joined David (). Before the death of Saul, David had been married to Saul's daughter

Michal Michal (; he, מיכל , gr, Μιχάλ) was, according to the first Book of Samuel, a princess of the United Kingdom of Israel; the younger daughter of King Saul, she was the first wife of David (), who later became king, first of Judah, ...

, Ish-bosheth's sister, until Saul and David had a falling out and Saul gave her to another man (). Later, at the conclusion of the war with Ish-bosheth, David's terms for peace required returning Michal to him, and Ish-bosheth complied (). After Abner's death, Ish-bosheth seems to have given up hope of retaining power (). Two of Ish-bosheth's own army-captains,

Rechab Rechab ( ''Rēḵāḇ'') is the name of three men in the Bible: *One of the two "captains of bands" whom Saul's son Ish-bosheth took into his service, and who conspired to kill him. (2 Samuel 4:2) *A Kenite, mentioned as the father of Jehonadab ...

and Baanah, assassinated the deposed king, () expecting a reward from David for this. David, however, refused to give any commendation for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

; 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 Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

().

Problem of naming

The names ''Ish-bosheth'' and ''Eshbaal'' have ambiguous meanings in the original

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. In Hebrew, ''Ish-bosheth'' means "Man of shame". He is also called ''Eshbaal'', in Hebrew meaning "Baal exists", or "fire of Baal". Critical scholarship suggests that ''Bosheth'' was a substitute for ''Baʿal'', beginning when Baʿal became an unspeakable word; as (in the opposite direction) Adonai became substituted for the ineffable

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

(see taboo deformation).

As Ish-bosheth

He is exclusively called Ish-bosheth in the

Books of Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Josh ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Ner NER may refer to: * New European Recordings, a record label * ISO 3166-1 three letter code for Niger * Named entity recognition, a text processing task that identifies certain words as belonging to one class or another * Northeast Regional, an Amt ...

, captain of Saul's host, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; and he made him king over Gilead, and over the

Ashurite According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Asher was one of the Tribes of Israel descended from Asher (), the eighth son of Jacob. It is one of the ten lost tribes. Biblical narrative According to the biblical Book of Joshua, following the com ...

s, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Ish-bosheth Saul's son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. (, Jewish Publication Society, 1917) When he was assassinated and King

punished the killers: :...

and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth, as he took his rest at noon, and they came into the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they struck him in the groin; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. ... And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David in Hebron, and said to the king: "Behold the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed." ... And David answered ... "shall I not now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?" ... But they took the head of Ish-bosheth, and buried it in the grave of Abner in Hebron. ()

As Eshbaal

Meanwhile, in the

Books of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sec ...

, he is exclusively called Eshbaal: :And Ner begot Kish; and Kish begot Saul; and Saul begot Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal. ( and , Jewish Publication Society, 1917)

Archaeology

In 2012, according to the

Israel Antiquities Authority The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, he, רשות העתיקות ; ar, داﺌرة الآثار, before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of ...

, 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.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Ish-bosheth (Article by: Emil G. Hirsch and M. Seligsohn in Jewish Encyclopedia)Easton's Bible Dictionary (Ish-bosheth)"Eshbaʽal Ben Bedaʽ" pottery inscription discovery, from the Time of King David
{{authority control 1050s BC births 1010s BC deaths 11th-century BC Kings of Israel (united monarchy) Kings of ancient Israel Ancient murdered monarchs 11th-century BC biblical rulers 11th-century BCE Hebrew people Biblical murder victims 11th-century BC murdered monarchs Dethroned monarchs Male murder victims House of Saul