John Gill Commentary 2 Samuel 4

And when Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron
By Saul's son is meant Ishbosheth, to whom tidings were soon brought of the death of Abner his general, and that he died in Hebron, where David his rival reigned, and was there murdered by Joab the general of his army:

his hands were feeble :
not only in a natural sense, being quite dispirited at hearing such news; but in a civil sense, having lost his main support and strength, he being president of his council, and commander of his forces, and in whom he placed all his confidence:

and if he knew nothing of his being at Hebron, it must surprise him to hear of his dying there; from where he might conclude, that since he was there without his knowledge, it could not be in his favour, some plot was forming, and schemes laying with his rival to dethrone him; or if he knew of it, and understood it in this light, that he was endeavouring to make peace between him and David, and upon advantageous terms to him, of which now he might entertain no hopes; he was dispirited, and might conclude that Joab was against any terms at peace, and therefore had dispatched him:

and all the Israelites were troubled ;
at the loss of so great a man in their kingdom, and of whose designs to unite them to Judah, and put them under the government David, they were not ignorant;

but now were in the utmost confusion, not knowing what step to take, and whom to send to carry on the treaty, in which Abner was concerned; and whether it would be safe for any to go upon it, since he who had the management of it was murdered, and no justice done on the murderer, and therefore might question David's sincerity and uprightness in this affair; these things greatly distressed and embarrassed them for the present, but Providence opened a way for their future establishment and prosperity.

And Saul's son had two men [that were] captains of bands

Of troops in the army, or of guards about the person of Ishbosheth son of Saul:

the name of the one [was] Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the
sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin ;

so that these men were brethren in nature, as well as in iniquity; they had the same father, who is described by his name and city, and their names are expressly mentioned and recorded to their infamy; and they were not only the servants of Ishbosheth, who had commissions under him, but were of the same tribe with him; all which is observed as an aggravation of their crime:

for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin ;

the place from whom Rimmon their father is denominated, and where he dwelt, as well as Gittaim, where they had sojourned, as in (2 Samuel 4:3) . This place, Beeroth, originally belonged to the Gibeonites, and fell to the lot of Benjamin at the division of the land, see (Joshua 9:17) (18:25) .

And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until that day. At the death of Saul, when many of the Israelites deserted their cities, and left them to the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:7); and so the inhabitants of Beeroth forsook their city, which was near the Philistines, and went to Gittaim, a city in the same tribe, though a little further off, see (Nehemiah 11:33).

And Jonathan, Saul's son
His eldest son, who died at the same time with him:

had a son [that was] lame of [his] feet ;
of both feet, which were broken or bruised by a fall, as later related: and

he was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out
of Jezreel :
that is, when the tidings of their death came from Jezreel, the place where the battle was fought in which they died, to Gibeah, and the royal palace there; so that he was now twelve years of age:

and his nurse took him up and fled ;
fearing the Philistines would come thither and destroy the family of Saul; and this child being the son of Jonathan, the eldest son of Saul, was by birth heir to the crown, his father and grandfather being both dead, and which might make the nurse the more solicitous to save his life by flight:

and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and
became lame ;
in her hurry and fright he dropped out of her arms, and had some bone broken or dislocated, which was never rightly replaced, or had some contusion, of which he was never cured,

and his name [was] Mephibosheth ,
called Meribbaal, (1 Chronicles 8:34) (9:40) ; of the change of such names (See Gill on 2 Samuel 2:8). This story of Mephibosheth, and of his nurse's flight with him, and what happened upon it, is here inserted on occasion of the flight of the Beerothites, (2 Samuel 4:3) ; but chiefly to observe in what condition Saul's family now was,

and what encouraged the murderers of Ishbosheth to be guilty of the crime they were, since when he was taken off, there was none but this lame child of that family; and as the removal of Ishbosheth would be of so much service to David, they doubted not but it would be very acceptable to him, and they should be greatly rewarded and honoured; and which they might do with the greatest safety, since the nearest kinsman and avenger of blood was so young, and lame of both his feet:

or rather this is mentioned to show that Ishbosheth had no right to the throne, his eldest brother's son being living; so that those murderers might think they did the right thing, to take away the life of an usurper.

And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah ,
went
From Gittaim, where they were sojourners, (2 Samuel 4:3) ; or from the army, where they had commissions, wherever it was:

and came, about the heat of the day ;
the middle of the day, at noon, as follows:

to the house of Ishbosheth ;
which was at Mahanaim:

who lay on a bed at noon ;
as was usual in hot countries, especially for great personages, as kings; so the Targum, ``and he was sleeping the sleep of kings;'' or at a time when king's usually slept; though this is remarked by some as an instance and proof of the sluggishness and inactivity of this prince, who left the management of all affairs to Abner his general, and gave himself to sloth and sensuality; which, when indulged, bring ruin on princes and their kingdoms.