1 Then came all the tribes of Israel to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
2 In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel: and Yahweh said to you, You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.
3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh: and they anointed David king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
6 The king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, Except you take away the blind and the lame, you shall not come in here; thinking, David can't come in here.
7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.
8 David said on that day, Whoever strikes the Jebusites, let him get up to the watercourse, and [strike] the lame and the blind, who are hated of David's soul. Therefore they say, There are the blind and the lame; he can't come into the house.
9 David lived in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. David built round about from Millo and inward.
10 David grew greater and greater; for Yahweh, the God of hosts, was with him.
11 Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons; and they built David a house.
12 David perceived that Yahweh had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.
13 David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron; and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.
14 These are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,
15 and Ibhar, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,
16 and Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet.
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Commentary on 2 Samuel 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 5
2Sa 5:1-5. The Tribes Anoint David King over Israel.
1, 2. Then came all the tribes of Israel—a combined deputation of the leading authorities in every tribe. [See on 1Ch 11:1.] David possessed the first and indispensable qualification for the throne; namely, that of being an Israelite (De 17:15). Of his military talent he had furnished ample proof. And the people's desire for his assumption of the government of Israel was further increased by their knowledge of the will and purpose of God, as declared by Samuel (1Sa 16:11-13).
3. King David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord—(see on 1Sa 10:17). This formal declaration of the constitution was chiefly made at the commencement of a new dynasty, or at the restoration of the royal family after a usurpation (2Ki 11:17), though circumstances sometimes led to its being renewed on the accession of any new sovereign (1Ki 12:4). It seems to have been accompanied by religious solemnities.
2Sa 5:6-12. He Takes Zion from the Jebusites.
6. the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites—The first expedition of David, as king of the whole country, was directed against this place, which had hitherto remained in the hands of the natives. It was strongly fortified and deemed so impregnable that the blind and lame were sent to man the battlements, in derisive mockery of the Hebrew king's attack, and to shout, "David cannot come in hither." To understand the full meaning and force of this insulting taunt, it is necessary to bear in mind the depth and steepness of the valley of Gihon, and the lofty walls of the ancient Canaanitish fortress.
7. the stronghold of Zion—Whether Zion be the southwestern hill commonly so-called, or the peak now level on the north of the temple mount, it is the towering height which catches the eye from every quarter—"the hill fort," "the rocky hold" of Jerusalem.
8. Whosoever getteth up to the gutter—This is thought by some to mean a subterranean passage; by others a spout through which water was poured upon the fire which the besiegers often applied to the woodwork at the gateways, and by the projections of which a skilful climber might make his ascent good; a third class render the words, "whosoever dasheth them against the precipice" (1Ch 11:6).
9. David dwelt in the fort, &c.—Having taken it by storm, he changed its name to "the city of David," to signify the importance of the conquest, and to perpetuate the memory of the event.
David built round about from Millo and inward—probably a row of stone bastions placed on the northern side of Mount Zion, and built by David to secure himself on that side from the Jebusites, who still lived in the lower part of the city. The house of Millo was perhaps the principal corner tower of that fortified wall.
11, 12. Hiram … sent carpenters, and masons—The influx of Tyrian architects and mechanics affords a clear evidence of the low state to which, through the disorders of long-continued war, the better class of artisans had declined in Israel.
2Sa 5:13-16. Eleven Sons Born to Him.
13. David took him more concubines and wives—In this conduct David transgressed an express law, which forbade the king of Israel to multiply wives unto himself (De 17:17).
2Sa 5:17-25. He Smites the Philistines.
17. when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel—During the civil war between the house of Saul and David, those restless neighbors had remained quiet spectators of the contest. But now, jealous of David, they resolved to attack him before his government was fully established.
18. valley of Rephaim—that is, "of giants," a broad and fertile plain, which descends gradually from the central mountains towards the northwest. It was the route by which they marched against Jerusalem. The "hold" to which David went down "was some fortified place where he might oppose the progress of the invaders," and where he signally defeated them.
21. there they left their images—probably their "lares" or household deities, which they had brought into the field to fight for them. They were burnt as ordained by law (De 7:5).
22. the Philistines came up yet again—The next year they renewed their hostile attempt with a larger force, but God manifestly interposed in David's favor.
24. the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees—now generally thought not to be mulberry trees, but some other tree, most probably the poplar, which delights in moist situations, and the leaves of which are rustled by the slightest movement of the air [Royle].