Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Samuel 4

All the Israelites were troubled. —The death of Abner affected both Ish-bosheth and his people. For the former, his hands were feeble, the whole support and strength of his throne being gone; the latter were troubled because they had been carrying on negotiations with David through Abner, and these were now thrown into confusion, and it became uncertain how they might result.

A Beerothite. —Beeroth was one of the four cities of the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:17), and was allotted with the others to the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:25). It is identified with the modern El-Bireh, nine miles north of Jerusalem. It is mentioned here, in the past tense, that Beeroth “was reckoned to Benjamin,” because in the time of the writer it was no longer inhabited. The fact that the murderers of Ish-bosheth were of his own tribe is made prominent.

Fled to Gittaim. —Neither the cause of their flight, nor the place to which they fled, can be certainly determined. The Beerothites here appear to be from the tribe of Benjamin, and it is probable that they fled from the incursions of the Philistines, and that Gittaim is the place mentioned in Nehemiah 11:35 as occupied by the Benjamites returning from Babylon. The expression “until this day” makes it likely that the time of the writer was not very far removed from the events which he relates.

A son that was lame. — The reason for introducing this account of Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, here is to show that because he was physically incapacitated for the throne, the house of Saul became practically extinct with the death of Ish-bosheth. There were other descendants, but they were either illegitimate or from the female line (2 Samuel 21:8–9), and therefore there was no one else from his house to claim the throne.

Who lay on a bed at noon —according to the custom in hot countries of taking a siesta at midday. Ish-bosheth’s bed was, of course, in the coolest and most retired part of the house.