According to 1 S 31", Saul's three eldest sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua fell with their father upon Mt. Gilboa. David's sovereignty was thereupon acknowledged by the men of Judah ; but Abner.who had been Saul's general, remained faithful to the cause of his master and kinsman, and under his directions Ishbosheth was proclaimed king at Mahanaim on the E. side of the Jordan. This locality was probably selected by Abner as his headquarters, because the land of Israel proper was completely overrun by the Philistines. Pre- sently the men of David, under the command oi Joab, encountered those of I., commanded by Abner, at Gibeon (2 S 2'-'-). It was aCTeed to abide the issue of a combat between twelve champions selected on either side, but this proved indecisive, as all the twenty-four fell mortally wounded. A general engagement now ensued in which Abner's forces were completely routed. Some time there- after I. had the misfortune to give deadly offence to Abner. Having detected his general in an intrigue ■\rith Rizpah, Saul's concubine, he re- proached him with what, according to the usages of the time, amounted to an act of treason (2 S S*""). Abner hotly resented such treatment, and declared his intention of transferring his allegiance to David. The full accomplishment of his purpose was, indeed, prevented by Joab, who, in order to avenge the death of his brother Asahel, treacherously murdered Abner on the occasion of his visit to David in Hebron. The cause of I., weak before, was hopelessly ruined by the defec- tion and death of its chief supporter, and the unfortunate claimant of his father's throne was not long afterwards murdered by two of his officers (2 S 4'"'). The detaUs of the crime are obscured by the rendering of AVand text of KV, although they are correctly given in the margin of the latter, which follows the Sept. That the latter is here to be preferred to the MT needs no proof (see W. li. Smith, OTJC^ 82). Instead of the unintelligible language and meaningless repetitions of w.*- ', we read, ' And lo, the woman that kept the door was cleaning wheat, and she slumbered and slept, and the brothers Rechab and Baanah passed in un- observed and came into the house as Ishbosheth Uy upon his bed, and they smote him and slew
him,' etc. The assassins came to David with the head of their victim ; but, instead of receiving tha reward they expected, they were overwhelmed with reproaches and condemned to instant death (2 S 4'"*-). This was the turning-point in the fortunes of David, who, although be had no com- plicity in the assassination, could noc help pro- fiting from the death of his rival. Seeiu" that he was the only possible leader against the Philistines, the whole nation of Israel now oH'ered him their allegiance, and shortly thereafter he was able vastly to strengthen his position by wresting from the Jebusites the stronghold of Jerusalem, which city was henceforward the capital of the kingdom.
2. Ishbosheth (i.e. Ishbaal) should also prob. be read in 2 S 23* for Josheb-basshebeth (wh. see).
J. A. Sei.iiie.
ISHHOD (iVi;''x 'man of majesty'). — A Manass- ite, 1 Ch 7" (AV Ishod). See Genealogy.
ISHI ('Vv'' ' salutary '). — 1. A Jerahmeelite, 1 Ch 2^1. 2. A Judahite chief, 1 Ch 4™. 3. A chief of East Manasseh, 1 Ch 5='. 4. One of the captains of the 500 men of the tribe of Simeon (which see) who smote the Amalekites at Mt. Seir, 1 Ch 4« See Genealogy, II. 5, IV. 11, 57, VII.* 8.
ISHI (T'N ' my husband,' LXX 6 ivi,p ^ou).— The name which Hosea (2'°) recommends Israel to apply to J" instead of Baali, 'my lord' (see Hosea, and cf. W. E. Smith, Broph. of Isr. 171, 408 f.).
ISHUA (NCv''). — One of the sons (ace. to LXX) of Etam, 1 Ch 4». The MT is undoubtedly cor- rupt. See Genealogy.
ISHMAEL (Wcif': 'God heareth,' or better, 'May God hear'"). — The son of Abraham, by his concubine Hagar. The history of Ishmael is con- tained in parts of Gn 16. 17. SI'""' 25— chapters of which le"'- »• i»- 1« 17. 25'-''*- "-" belong to P, the rest (so far as it relates to Ishmael) belonging to J (ch. 16) or E (ch. 21). Sarah was barren (Gn 16') ; so, in accordance with the manners of the age (cf. 30^- ', also 22=^, Ex 21'-*), she gives Abraham her handmaid Hagar, an Egyptian, as his concu- bine, in the hope that she may be ' buihled up from her' (16-), i.e. obtain a family by hert — viz. by adopting Hagar's ottspring as her own. When Hagar saw that she had conceived, a womanly feeling of superiority took possession of her, and she 'despised' Sarah (cf. 1 S 1"), who forthwith complains reproachfully to her husband, uttering the passionate wish that the indignity done to her may be visited upon him, and appealing to Jehovah to jud"e whether he is not to blame for permitting it. Abraham replies that Hagar is Sarah's slave, and she can do to her as she pleases. She accord- ingly ' deals hardly ' with her, lit. ' humbles ' her.t viz. by imposing upon her hard or degrading work, from which Hagar seeks refuge by flight (16^-'). Hagar was an Egyptian : so she naturally fled in the direction of Egypt ; and there, in the wOder- ness, by ' the spring on the way to Shur ' — the spring known afterwards (v.'*) as the well Beer- lahai-roi, and identified by many § with Muweilih, a watering-place about 25 miles W.N.W. of 'Ain ^adis, on the caravan route between Hebron and