2 Samuel 4 Footnotes

4:6 Why does this verse read so differently in various Bible versions? In a few recent translations, this verse relates that Rechab and Baanah slipped past a female doorkeeper who fell asleep after sifting wheat. Other translations do not mention the doorkeeper, and state that Rechab and Baanah stabbed Ish-bosheth in the stomach. These variations mirror the different readings in the Hebrew and Greek texts of the OT, with most following the Hebrew tradition. Both readings stem from ancient sources, and it is impossible to know today which one represents the original text. In either case the essential meaning of the passage is the same: Rechab and Baanah entered the king’s house and murdered him in a shameful and gory manner.