Assassinations in the Bible

• 'Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret'Deut 27:24
  The verses

  Deut 27:24‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
• David executed the killers of Ish-bosheth2 Sam 4:9–12
  The verses

  2 Sam 4:9–12But 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, when someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news! How much more, when wicked men kill a righteous man in his own house and on his own bed, shall I not now require his blood from your hands and remove you from the earth!” So David commanded his young men, and they killed Rechab and Baanah. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron, but they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.

Examples

• Ehud killed King Eglon of Moab with a hidden swordJudg 3:15–22
  The verses

  Judg 3:15–22And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Ehud had made for himself a double-edged sword a cubit long. He strapped it to his right thigh under his cloak and brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was an obese man. After Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he ushered out those who had carried it. But upon reaching the idols near Gilgal, he himself turned back and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” “Silence,” said the king, and all his attendants left him. Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in the coolness of his upper room. “I have a word from God for you,” Ehud said, and the king rose from his seat. And Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglon’s bowels emptied.
• Abimelech murdered his brothers on one stone; Jotham hidJudg 9:5
  The verses

  Judg 9:5He went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself.
• Joab stabbed Abner in the gateway of Hebron2 Sam 3:27
  The verses

  2 Sam 3:27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.
• Rechab and Baanah killed Ish-bosheth in his bed at midday2 Sam 4:5–7
  The verses

  2 Sam 4:5–7Now 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. They entered the interior of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah slipped away. They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was lying on his bed, and having stabbed and killed him, they beheaded him, took his head, and traveled all night by way of the Arabah.
• Absalom's men killed Amnon when he was merry with wine2 Sam 13:28–29
  The verses

  2 Sam 13:28–29Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!” So Absalom’s young men did to Amnon just as Absalom had ordered. Then all the other sons of the king got up, and each one fled on his mule.
• Joab took Amasa by the beard and stabbed him2 Sam 20:9–10
  The verses

  2 Sam 20:9–10“Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him. Amasa was not on guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach and spilled out his intestines on the ground. And Joab did not need to strike him again, for Amasa was dead. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri.
• Baasha struck down King Nadab at Gibbethon1 Kgs 15:27–28
  The verses

  1 Kgs 15:27–28Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging the city. In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.
• Zimri killed King Elah while he was drunk1 Kgs 16:9–10
  The verses

  1 Kgs 16:9–10However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. So in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. And Zimri reigned in his place.
• Jehu shot King Joram between the shoulders2 Kgs 9:24
  The verses

  2 Kgs 9:24Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot.
• Jehu's men shot King Ahaziah of Judah in his chariot2 Kgs 9:27
  The verses

  2 Kgs 9:27When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot on the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam, and he fled to Megiddo and died there.
• Joash was killed by his servants at Beth-millo2 Kgs 12:20–21
  The verses

  2 Kgs 12:20–21And the servants of Joash rose up and formed a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla. His servants Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer struck him down, and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the City of David, and his son Amaziah reigned in his place.
• Conspirators followed Amaziah to Lachish and killed him2 Kgs 14:19
  The verses

  2 Kgs 14:19And conspirators plotted against Amaziah in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But men were sent after him to Lachish, and they killed him there.
• In Israel Shallum, Menahem, Pekah, and Hoshea each killed a king2 Kgs 15:10, 2 Kgs 15:14, 2 Kgs 15:25, 2 Kgs 15:30
  The verses

  2 Kgs 15:10Then Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah, struck him down and killed him in front of the people, and reigned in his place.

  2 Kgs 15:14Then Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to Samaria, struck down and killed Shallum son of Jabesh, and reigned in his place.

  2 Kgs 15:25Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him along with Argob, Arieh, and fifty men of Gilead. And at the citadel of the king’s palace in Samaria, Pekah struck down and killed Pekahiah and reigned in his place.

  2 Kgs 15:30Then Hoshea son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. In the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah, Hoshea attacked Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place.
• King Amon was killed in his palace by his servants2 Kgs 21:23
  The verses

  2 Kgs 21:23Then the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his palace.
• Sennacherib was killed by his sons while worshiping2 Kgs 19:37, Isa 37:38
  The verses

  2 Kgs 19:37One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.

  Isa 37:38One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.
• Ishmael son of Nethaniah killed Gedaliah2 Kgs 25:25
  The verses

  2 Kgs 25:25In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down and killed Gedaliah, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
• Mordecai uncovered a plot of two eunuchs to kill XerxesEsth 2:21–23
  The verses

  Esth 2:21–23In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, grew angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she informed the king on Mordecai’s behalf. After the report had been investigated and verified, both officials were hanged on the gallows. And all this was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king.