2 Samuel 5 Study Notes

5:1 Representatives of all the tribes then came to David at Hebron. They were not his own flesh and blood as much as the Judahites were (19:41-43), but they were Israelites just like him. The troops who came to David at Hebron are listed at 1Ch 12:23-40.

5:2 Robert Bergen notes, “Though the prophetic revelation regarding David in v. 2 was not presented in the preceding narratives, it is consistent with other biblical claims relating to him” (cp. 1Sm 13:14; 25:30; Ps 78:71).

5:3 In the Lord’s presence (lit “before Yahweh”) further confirmed God’s blessing over David’s reign. This was David’s third anointing (cp. 2:4; 1Sm 16:12-13).

5:4-5 The mention of Jerusalem anticipates David’s conquest of the city and his making it his capital (vv. 6-9).

5:6 The Jebusites had held at least a district of Jerusalem since the days of Joshua (Jos 15:63; 1Ch 11:4-9), and they thought their city was invincible.

5:7 Zion was a poetic name for Jerusalem; its exact meaning is unknown. The size of Jebusite Jerusalem was only about twelve acres (David subsequently expanded it somewhat), with a population estimated around 1,500. Nonetheless, the city would serve the king well.

5:8 Water shaft may designate an almost fifty-foot vertical shaft (today called “Warren’s Shaft” after Charles Warren who discovered it) cut through rock from the Gihon Spring, Jerusalem’s main water source. David’s reference to the lame and the blind should be understood as a mocking taunt of the Jebusites who were not, in fact, able to defend their city (cp. v. 6).

5:9 Archaeological excavations have revealed some of David’s supporting terraces on the city’s eastern slope. David’s choice of Jerusalem as his capital was a strategic move. It was more centrally located than Hebron, and it was located in Benjamin, the tribe of Saul. The northern tribes probably applauded this move because it promoted healing and unity among the tribes following the bitter civil war.

5:10 The phrase the Lord God of Armies was with him shows that the Lord was the true source of David’s power and greatness.

5:11 King Hiram of Tyre, the leader of a wealthy Phoenician port city, sought to placate David through building assistance. He would later partner with David’s son, Solomon, in the building of Israel’s temple (1Kg 5:1-12).

5:12 David had a clear understanding that he was playing the role for which God had prepared him for the sake of . . . Israel.

5:13-16 Of the sons . . . born to David in Jerusalem, only Solomon would later play a role in the biblical account (12:24-25; 1Kg 1:33-40).

5:17 The Philistines heard about David’s unification of Israel; now he stood as their enemy. They marched against him as he gathered his forces at the stronghold, Jerusalem, his new capital (vv. 7,9).

5:18 The Valley of Rephaim lay just southwest of Jerusalem (1Ch 14:13-16).

5:19 David inquired of the Lord as he had on many other key occasions (1Sm 23:2,9-12; 30:7-8). The Philistines were a major threat to Saul and ultimately killed him; David, however, sought the Lord’s guidance and received assurance of victory.

5:20 David was quick to give God the credit for his victory over the Philistines.

5:21 The Philistines abandoned their idols, and David and his men carried them off presumably to destroy them (cp. 1Ch 14:12 and note there).

5:22-25 God added a particular strategy to his encouragement of David to engage the Philistines again. The sound of marching in the balsam trees was possibly produced by strong winds that typically would come up in the afternoon combined with an undisclosed act of God. When the Israelites heard this distinct sound, they would know God was marching before them, leading them to victory. David cut off the Philistines’ path of retreat, and they had to flee northward down the Aijalon Valley instead of toward Gezer.