2 Samuel 4:3

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, Sa1 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 Neh 11:33.

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2 Samuel 4:4

sa2 4:4

sa2 4:4

sa2 4:4And 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, Ch1 8:34; of the change of such names See Gill on Sa2 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, Sa2 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.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2Sa 4:3 And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.)

Ver. 3. And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim.] A town of their own tribe, but of far greater security. Hither therefore they fled for fear of the Philistines. See 1Sa 31:7.

Until this day.] Until the time that this story was written, the penners whereof were Gad and Nathan. {1Ch 29:29-30}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And, or, yet, or but; for this comes in to anticipate an objection against what he had now said. It is true, saith he, the

Beerothites fled. as others did, upon the overthrow of Saul and his army, 1Sa 31:7, to a place called

Gittaim, 2Sa 4:3; not that in Benjamin, Neh 11:33, but some other place of that name more remote from the Philistines; and so they were Gittaimites by their present habitation, but Beerothites by their original, and place of their birth.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2Sa 4:3. The Beerothites fled to Gittaim — When Saul was slain, several Israelites left their cities and fled, and the Philistines took possession of them. Among these, it seems, this city was forsaken of its inhabitants; and were sojourners there until this day — When this book was written they were not returned to their own country, being commodiously settled at Gittaim.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

After the death of Saul, for fear of the Philistines.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 3. The Beerothites fled to Gittaim] Probably the same as Gath; as Ramathaim is the same as Ramah.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) Fled to Gittaim.—Neither the cause of their flight, nor the place to which they fled, can be certainly determined. The Beerothites here appear as of 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 Neh_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 Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. Gittaim] A Benjamite town of this name is mentioned in Neh_11:33, but if the reason suggested above for the flight of the Beerothites is the correct one, it can hardly be the same, as they would have chosen a more distant refuge. The name is the dual form of Gath, meaning “two wine-presses,” which suggests that it may possibly have been in Philistia.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That. Hebrew, &c., "this day," when the historian wrote. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

3. The Beerothites fled to Gittaim — We are nowhere told the cause of this flight, but it has been plausibly conjectured that it arose from Saul’s persecution of the Gibeonites, (2Sa_21:1-2,) for Beeroth was one of their cities. Jos_9:17. Perhaps Rimmon or his sons had suffered by that persecution, and this may have been one reason for this bloody deed of the sons. They wreaked vengeance on the son of Saul for the wrongs committed by his father, as well as sought by the same deed to secure the favour of David. Gittaim was apparently not far from Beeroth, and was inhabited by Benjamites after the captivity, (Neh_11:33,) but its site is now unknown.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gittaim. This word is a dual, and means "the two Gaths;" the one being, probably, the acropolis, or upper town, at the foot of which nestled a new Gath, protected by the ancient stronghold. It is mentioned as belonging to Benjamin in Neh_11:33; but could not have been an Israelite town at this time, as the Beerothites are described as sojourners, that is, dwellers in a foreign country. When expelled from Beeroth, they probably seized Gittaim by force, and, on the reconciliation effected by the execution of Saul"s sons, returned to their allegiance to Israel.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the Be'erosites fled When Shaul died, the people of Yisroel abandoned the cities that surround the Peleshtim as is mentioned above. It was then that the Be'erosites fled.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.