Baanah and his brother Rechab were captains under Ishbosheth, who became king after the death of his father, King Saul, in battle. Ishbosheth was crowned by Saul’s general, Abner, and was David’s rival for the throne of Israel. Baanah and Rechab, seeking favor with David, murdered Ishbosheth while he slept and cut off his head (2 Samuel 4:2–7). They brought Ishbosheth's head to David, expecting to be rewarded for killing the son of his enemy. However, David, who had mourned the death of Saul, God’s chosen king (2 Samuel 1), was outraged. He ordered the execution of Baanah and Rechab, had their hands and feet cut off, and their bodies hanged (2 Samuel 4:8–12).
→ View encyclopedia entryBaanah’s son, Heled, from the town of Netophah near Bethlehem in the tribal land of Judah. He was one of David’s 30 “mighty men” (2 Samuel 23:29; 1 Chronicles 11:30).
→ View encyclopedia entryAn alternative form of Baana, Hushai’s son, in 1 Kings 4:16.
A leader who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel after the exile in Babylon (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 7:7).
→ View encyclopedia entryA political leader who signed Ezra’s promise of faithfulness to God with Nehemiah and others after the exile in Babylon (Nehemiah 10:27). He is possibly the same as Baana (Nehemiah 3:4).
Baanah
This term has multiple meanings in the Bible:
From Tyndale Bible Dictionary, adapted by Mission Mutual. CC BY-SA 4.0.