1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said, Truly, we are your bone and your flesh.
Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron, and said, Truly, we are your bone and your flesh. In the past, when Saul was king, it was you who went at the head of Israel when they went out or came in; and the Lord your God said to you, You are to be the keeper of my people Israel, and their ruler. So all the responsible men of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord; and they put the holy oil on David and made him king over Israel, as the Lord had said by Samuel.
And say to Amasa, Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God's punishment be on me, if I do not make you chief of the army before me at all times in place of Joab!
Then see that you take as your king the man named by the Lord your God: let your king be one of your countrymen, not a man of another nation who is not one of yourselves.
Say now in the ears of all the townsmen of Shechem, Is it better for you to be ruled by all the seventy sons of Jerubbaal or by one man only? And keep in mind that I am your bone and your flesh.
These are the numbers of the chiefs of the armed men, ready for war, who came to David at Hebron, to give the kingdom of Saul into his hands, as the Lord had said. There were six thousand, eight hundred spearmen of the children of Judah, armed for war; Seven thousand, one hundred of the children of Simeon, great men of war; Of the children of Levi, four thousand, six hundred. And Jehoiada, chief of the family of Aaron, and with him three thousand, seven hundred men; And Zadok, a young man, great and strong in war, with twenty-two captains from his father's people. And of the children of Benjamin, the brothers of Saul, three thousand; for up to that time the greater part of them had been true to Saul. And of the children of Ephraim, twenty thousand, eight hundred great men of war, men of great name in their families. And from the half-tribe of Manasseh, eighteen thousand, listed by name, came to make David king. And of the children of Issachar, there were two hundred chiefs, men who had expert knowledge of the times and what it was best for Israel to do, and all their brothers were under their orders. Of Zebulun, there were fifty thousand men, who went out with the army, expert in ordering the fight, to give help with all sorts of arms; true-hearted men. And of Naphtali, a thousand captains with thirty-seven thousand spearmen. And of the Danites, twenty-eight thousand, six hundred, expert in ordering the fight. And of Asher, forty thousand who went out with the army, expert in ordering the fight. From the other side of Jordan, there were a hundred and twenty thousand of the Reubenites and the Gadites and the men of the half-tribe of Manasseh, armed with every sort of instrument of war. All these men of war, expert in ordering the fight, came to Hebron with the full purpose of making David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were united in their desire to make David king. For three days they were there with David, feasting at his table, for their brothers had made ready food for them. And those who were near, as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came with food on asses and camels and mules and oxen, with meal for food and cakes of figs and masses of grapes, and wine and oil and oxen and sheep in great numbers, for there was joy in Israel.
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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].