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The Assassination of Ishbosheth according to Josephus

Summary: 2 Samuel 4 relates the ignominious end of Ishbosheth, Israel's shadow king, and the summary execution of the perpetrators by David. This article presents a detailed comparison of Josephus' version of the episode in Ant. 7.46‑52 with its Biblical source. The comparison devotes particular attention to such questions as: the text(s) of 2 Samuel 4 used by Josephus, the rewriting techniques applied by him to the source data, the distinctive features of tris presentation of Ishbosheth's end, and the messages tris version might be intended to convey to tris double audience, ite. Gentiles and fellow Jews. Among the findings: Josephus' account evidences a noteworthy agreement with LXX 2 Samuel 4 against MT. The historian goes beyond the source in tris attention to the motivations of the assassins and the ironie contrast between their expectations as to how David will respond to their deed and tris actual reaction to it. Finally, in Josephus' re‑telling, the story seems to reflect tris pre‑occupation with the contemporary problem of intra‑Jewish violence.