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Biblical figure and Israelite monarch

Ish bosheth (, "man of shame"), also called Eshbaal (אֶשְׁבַּעַל, ; alternatively spelled Ishbaal, "man of Baal") was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the second monarch of the Kingdom of Israel. After the death of his father, Saul, Ish bosheth ascended to the throne and reigned for two years. During his reign, Ish bosheth engaged in a protracted conflict with David, who had been anointed as Saul's successor by the Tribe of Judah. This rivalry between the two leaders shaped the political landscape of the kingdom at the time. The Hebrew Bible recounts that Ish bosheth's reign was marked by war with David's forces, as both factions vied for control and legitimacy. According to biblical accounts, he was killed by two of his own army captains, Baanah and Rechab, who believed that assassinating Ish bosheth would earn them favour with David. This act not only brought a premature conclusion to Ish bosheth's rule but also played a significant role in the subsequent unification of the kingdom under David's leadership.

In the biblical account, Abner, the captain of Saul's army, proclaimed Ish bosheth king over Israel at Mahanaim in Transjordan (Samuel 2:8 (HE)), after the slaying of Ish bosheth's father and brothers in the battle of Gilboa (Samuel 31:1 (HE)). Ish bosheth was 40 years old at this time and reigned for two years (Samuel 2:10 (HE)). However, after the death of King Saul, the tribe of Judah seceded from the rule of the House of Saul by proclaiming David as its king (Samuel 2:4 (HE)), and war ensued (Samuel 2:12 (HE)). David's faction eventually prevailed against Ish bosheth's (Samuel 3:1 (HE)), but the war continued until Abner joined David (Samuel 3:6 (HE)). Before the death of Saul, David had been married to Saul's daughter Michal, Ish bosheth's sister, until Saul and David had a falling out and Saul gave her to another man Later, at the conclusion of the war with Ish bosheth, David's terms for peace required returning Michal to him, and Ish bosheth complied (Samuel 3:14 (HE)). After Abner's death, Ish bosheth seems to have given up hope of retaining power (Samuel 4:1 (HE)). Two of Ish bosheth's own army captains, Rechab and Baanah, assassinated the deposed king, (Samuel 4:5 (HE)) expecting a reward from David for this. David, however, refused to give any commendation for high treason; he had both killers executed and their hands and feet cut off. David's supporters buried the head of Ish bosheth in Abner's grave at Hebron (Samuel 4:12 (HE)).

The names Ish bosheth and Eshbaal have ambiguous meanings in the original Hebrew. In Hebrew, Ish bosheth means "Man of shame". He is also called Eshbaal, in Hebrew meaning "Baal exists", or "fire of Baal". Critical scholarship suggests that Bosheth was a substitute for Baʿal, beginning when Baʿal became an unspeakable word; as (in the opposite direction) Adonai became substituted for the ineffable Tetragrammaton (see taboo deformation).

In 2012, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority, archaeologists had discovered a 3,000 year old inscription on a reconstructed large ceramic jar found in Khirbet Qeiyafa, containing the name "Eshbaal ben Beda". Though this Eshbaal is a different person than the Eshbaal/Ish bosheth of the Bible, it was the first time the name was discovered in an ancient inscription. It is one of only four Hebrew inscriptions ever discovered dating to the 10th century BC.