RECAB (rē'kăb, Heb. rēkhāv, horseman)

One of the assassins of Ish-Bosheth, a son of Saul. He and his brother Baanah entered the home of Ish-Bosheth while he was taking a rest at noon and killed him in his own bed. They then decapitated him and carried his head to David expecting to receive a reward, as the murder of Ish-Bosheth left David without a rival on the throne of Israel. However, the reaction of the king was quite different from what they had anticipated: he commanded them both to be executed (2Sam.4.5-2Sam.4.11). They were Benjamites from Beeroth (2Sam.4.5).An early ancestor of the Kenite clan, which later became identified with the tribe of Judah (1Chr.2.55). Recab was the founder of the order of the Recabites. It was Jehonadab, a son of Recab, who rode with Jehu on the penal mission against the house of Ahab (2Kgs.10.15ff.). Jeremiah used the example of the Recabites and their obedience to their father to drink no wine as a method of sharply berating the nation for their lack of obedience to God (Jer.35.1-Jer.35.19). The Recabites, though thirsty, had refused to partake of the wine rather than break faith; the Israelites, though partakers of the divine blessings, had indeed broken the covenant (Jer.35.12-Jer.35.16).