Baanah (Nehemiah 10:27)

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).

Baanah’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).