II Shmuel 4: Right to Execute?

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi · Sep 7, 2026 · 2m

Sometimes you read a chapter of Tanach and it immediately clicks that the chapter reminds you of a similar story you just read in Tanach. For example, the two stories of David sneaking up to Shaul in I Samuel, once cutting his robe and once stealing his spear. It is rare, however, to have someone in the actual text notice the similarities between the stories. In chapter 4, two guards of Ish Boshet kill him in his sleep (וַיָּבֹאוּ הֵנָּה עַד־תּוֹךְ הַבַּיִת לֹקְחֵי חִטִּים וַיַּכֻּהוּ אֶל־הַחֹמֶשׁ) (II Samuel 4:6). The two then cut off Ish Boshet’s head and bring it to David hoping for a…