Ish-bosheth (, "man of shame"), also called Eshbaal (, ; alternatively spelled Ishbaal, "man of

Baal Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...

") was, according to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Kingdom of Israel. After the death of his father,

Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

, Ish-bosheth ascended to the throne and reigned for two years. During his reign, Ish-bosheth engaged in a protracted conflict with

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, who had been anointed as Saul's successor by the prophet

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

. 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 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 ...

, 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.

Biblical narrative

In the biblical account,

Abner In the Hebrew Bible, Abner ( ) was the cousin of King Saul and the commander-in-chief of his army. His name also appears as "Abiner son of Ner", where the longer form Abiner means "my father is Ner". Biblical narrative Abner is initially men ...

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

Mahanaim Mahanaim ( ''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 identified, the precis ...

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

battle of Gilboa Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh cen ...

(). 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 (son of Jacob), Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was one of the tribes to take its place in Canaan, occupying it ...

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 (; ; ) 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, then of all Israel, maki ...

, 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,

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 d ...

; 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 (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

().

Problem of naming

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

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

. 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 Judaism has different names given to God in Judaism, God, which are considered sacred: (), (''Adonai'' ), (''El (deity), El'' ), ( ), (''El Shaddai, Shaddai'' ), and ( ); some also include I Am that I Am.This is the formulation of Josep ...

became substituted for the ineffable

Tetragrammaton The TetragrammatonPronounced ; ; also known as the Tetragram. is the four-letter Hebrew-language theonym (transliteration, transliterated as YHWH or YHVH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four Hebrew letters, written and read from ...

(see

taboo deformation A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...

As Ish-bosheth

He is exclusively called Ish-bosheth in the

Books of Samuel The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Book of Joshua, Joshua, Book of Judges, Judges, Samuel, and Books of ...

in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

: When he was assassinated and King

punished the killers:

As Eshbaal

Meanwhile, in the

Books of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") 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 section of the Jewish Ta ...

, he is exclusively called Eshbaal:

Archaeology

In 2012, according to the

Israel Antiquities Authority The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, ; , before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of Antiquities. The IAA regulates excavation and conservatio ...

, archaeologists had discovered a 3,000-year-old inscription on a reconstructed large ceramic jar found in

Khirbet Qeiyafa Khirbet Qeiyafa (), also known as Elah Fortress and in Hebrew as Horbat Qayafa (), is the site of an ancient fortress city overlooking the Valley of Elah and dated to the first half of the 10th century BCE. The ruins of the fortress were uncove ...

, 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 11th-century BC births 11th-century BC deaths Kings of Israel (united monarchy) Israelite civil conflicts 11th-century BCE Hebrew people Biblical murder victims 11th-century BC murdered monarchs Dethroned monarchs Children of Saul