After the death of King Saul his only surving son was proclaimed King of Israel; Ish-bosheth was 40 years old at this time and reigned for two years (). 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 (), and war ensued (). David's faction eventually prevailed against Ish-bosheth's (), but the war did not come to a close until Abner joined David (). Before the death of Saul, David had been married to Saul's daughter Michal, Ishbosheth'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 Ishbosheth, David's terms for peace required that Michal be returned to him, and Ish-bosheth complied (). After Abner's death, Ish-bosheth seems to have given up hope of retaining power ().Ish-bosheth was assassinated by two of his own army-captains, Rechab and Baanah (), who expected a reward from David because of this. David, however, refused to give any commendation for high treason; he had both killers hanged with their hands and feet cut off. The head of Ishbosheth was buried in Abner's grave at Hebron. ()Michal was childless.