Rimmon רִמּוֹן
Father of Baanah and Rechab, murderers of Ish-bosheth
Who is Rimmon in the Bible?
Rimmon was a Beerothite man from the town of Beeroth in Benjamin's territory, and he is remembered in Scripture as the father of Rechab and Baanah (2 Samuel 4:2). His sons were captains under Ish-bosheth, Saul's son who briefly ruled Israel after Saul's death, but they conspired to murder their king while he slept, hoping to gain David's favor (2 Samuel 4:5-7). When they brought Ish-bosheth's head to David as a prize, David condemned them severely and ordered their execution, declaring that they had killed an innocent man (2 Samuel 4:9-12). Rimmon's significance in the biblical narrative lies in how his sons' treacherous act demonstrated the moral standards David upheld as king, refusing to reward assassination even when it removed a rival from power.
Biography
Rimmon was a Beerothite, from the town of Beeroth, which was located in the territory of Benjamin (2Sa.4.2). He was the father of Rechab and Baanah, two of Ish-bosheth's captains (2Sa.4.2, 5). After the death of King Saul and his sons, Ish-bosheth, Saul's surviving son, was made king over Israel (2Sa.2.8-10). However, his reign was short-lived, as Rechab and Baanah, seeking to gain favor with David, murdered Ish-bosheth while he was resting in his bed (2Sa.4.5-7). They brought Ish-bosheth's head to David, believing that he would reward them for eliminating his rival (2Sa.4.8). However, David condemned their actions and ordered their execution, as they had killed an innocent man in his own house (2Sa.4.9-12). The mention of Rimmon as the father of Rechab and Baanah provides background information on the assassins and their family origin. The treacherous act committed by Rimmon's sons led to the end of Ish-bosheth's reign and solidified David's position as king over all Israel (2Sa.5.1-3).
Family
In Scripture
1 biblical book2 Samuel 3 verses
- 2 Samuel 4:2
"Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding parties. One was named Baanah and the other Rechab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite of the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin,"
- 2 Samuel 4:5
"Now Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out and arrived at the house of Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day, while the king was taking his midday nap."
- 2 Samuel 4:9
"But David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress,"
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | רִמּוֹן |
Rimmon (1)
de in the rock of Rimmon four months" (Jud 20:45,47; 21:13). Robinson's identification (RB, I, 440) has been very generally accepted. He found a conical and very prominent hill some 6 miles North-Northeast of Jeba` upon which stands a village called Rummon. This site was known to Eusebius and Jerome (OS 146 6; 287 98), who describe it as 15 Roman miles from Jerusalem. Another view, which would locate the place of refuge of the Benjamites in the Mugharet el jai, a large cavern on the south of the Wady Suweinit, near Jeba`, is strongly advocated by Rawnsley and Birch (see PEF, III, 137-48). The latter connects this again with 1Sa 14:2, where Saul, accompanied by his 600, "abode in the uttermost part of Gibeah" under the pomegranate tree (Rimmon).
(2) (rimmon; Eremmon, or Rhemmoth): A city in the Negeb, near the border of Edom, ascribed to Judah (Jos 15:32) and to Simeon (Jos 19:7; 1Ch 4:32, the King James Version "Remmon"). In Zec 14:10 it is mentioned as the extreme South of Judah--"from Geba to Rimmon, South of Jerusalem." In the earlier references Rimmon occurs in close association with `Ain (a spring), and in Ne 11:29, what is apparently the same place, `Ain Rimmon, is called En-rimmon (which see).
(3) (rimmon (Jos 19:13), rimmonah, in some Hebrew manuscripts dimah (see DIMNAH) (Jos 21:35), and rimmono (1Ch 6:77)): In the King James Version we have "Remmon-methoar" in Jos 19:13, but the Revised Version (British and American) translates the latter as "which stretcheth." This was a city on the border of Zebulun (Jos 19:13) allotted to the Levites (Jos 21:35, "Dimnah"; 1Ch 6:77). The site is now the little village of Rummaneh on a low ridge South of the western end of the marshy plain el Battauf in Galilee; there are many rock-cut tombs and cisterns. It is about 4 miles North of el Mesh-hed, usually considered to be the site of Gath-hepher. See PEF, I, 363, Sh VI.
E. W. G. Masterman
(1) A Syrian god. Naaman the Syrian leper after being cured is troubled over the fact that he will still have to bow down in the house of the Syrian god, Rimmon, whe