‏ 2 Samuel 1

Book of 2 Samuel — Quick facts:

Purpose: To describe the reign of David and to demonstrate God’s commitment to David’s line

Author: Unknown

Date: Records events that occurred around 1011–971 BC

Setting: Following Saul’s death, David sought to establish his throne over all Israel and to expand Israelite territory



Book of Samuel — Overview:

Setting
While Saul was still reigning, Samuel anointed David as Israel’s next king (1 Sam 16:1-13  ^a), but it was several years before David assumed the throne. Throughout most of this period, David was the object of Saul’s jealousy and wrath. Saul tried many times to kill David, but David never reciprocated when he had the chance. Instead, David trusted in the Lord’s plan and timing.
David’s reign brought significant changes to Israel, both internally and externally. Internally, the nation began to develop a new awareness of itself as a unified nation. During Saul’s reign and the early part of David’s reign, the nation was not completely unified, and the twelve tribes still primarily found their identity at the tribal level rather than as a nation. By the end of David’s reign, a sense of national unity was in place that set the stage for the glory days of King Solomon.
Externally, Israel’s position in relation to its neighbors improved significantly during David’s reign. Most notably, the constant threat posed by the Philistines, so obvious in the book of Judges and throughout Saul’s reign, largely vanished as the result of David’s skillful leadership (see, e.g., 2 Sam 5:17-25  ^b; 21:15-22  ^c; 23:9-17  ^d). David’s reign brought peace and stability to Israel’s borders.


Summary
For 7½ years after the deaths of Saul and Jonathan (1:1-27  ^e), David reigned as king of Judah only. For two years of that time, Saul’s only surviving son, Ishbosheth, was king of the northern tribes, and this led to a murderous civil war. David became progressively stronger while Ishbosheth became weaker. In the end, Ishbosheth and his top commander, Abner, were assassinated against David’s wishes (3:22–4:12  ^f). Following Ishbosheth’s death, the leaders of the northern tribes pledged their loyalty to David. David immediately relocated his capital from Hebron to the more centrally located Jerusalem, driving out its Jebusite inhabitants (5:6-16  ^g).
Jerusalem was more than David’s political capital. By bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, David made it Israel’s spiritual capital as well (6:1-15  ^h). Shortly thereafter, God made an eternal covenant with David and his descendants (7:1-29  ⁱ). In these early years, David enjoyed success on every side (8:1-18  ^j; 10:1-19  ^k) and fulfilled his vow to treat the descendants of Saul and Jonathan kindly (9:1-13  ^l).
Then David made the worst mistake of his life: He brought Bathsheba, who was another man’s wife, to his house for sexual intimacy (11:1-5  ^m). She became pregnant, and David arranged for her husband’s murder (11:6-27  ⁿ). God was angry with David’s actions and chastised him (12:1-12  ^o). Although David repented and experienced God’s forgiveness, the child conceived in the affair died (12:13-23  ^p). Yet David remained God’s chosen king (12:24-31  ^q).
From this point forward, problems compounded for David. Amnon, one of David’s sons, raped his half sister Tamar, and her brother Absalom avenged the act (13:1-39  ^r). Later, Absalom tried to overthrow and replace David, but he was killed in the coup (14:1–19:43  ^s). Sheba, a Benjamite, also led a revolt against David but was defeated and executed (20:1-26  ^t).
As king, David twice acted to allay God’s wrath against the nation (21:1-22  ^u; 24:1-25  ^v). In the second instance, David built an altar in Jerusalem (24:18-25  ^w) on what became the site of the Temple (see 1 Chr 21:18–22:1  ^x). Sandwiched between these two episodes are passages that celebrate God’s power working through David and descriptions of the loyalty and heroism of David’s special warriors (22:1–23:39  ^y).


Authorship
The same anonymous author who wrote 1 Samuel probably also wrote 2 Samuel (see 1 Samuel Book Introduction, “Authorship”).


Historical Issues
Evidence for David. For a long time, David’s name had not been discovered in any document from antiquity outside of the Bible. This led some critical scholars to claim that David and his story were fictitious. However, in 1993, archaeologists working at Tell Dan in northern Israel found an inscription in Aramaic about Hazael, king of Syria (around 842–800 BC), who was celebrating a military victory over Israel and Judah. The inscription reads, “I put Jeho ... , son of ... ruler of Israel, and ...iahu, son of ...g of the house of David to death” (ellipses represent portions of the text illegible in the inscription). This inscription provides evidence of David’s existence and acknowledgment that he founded a dynasty in Judah.
Violence. To a greater degree than any other biblical book, 2 Samuel tells of murders and executions, most notably those involving David’s political rivals and their supporters (Saul and Jonathan, 1:1-15  ^z; Abner, 3:30  ^aa; Ishbosheth, 4:6-8  ^ab; Absalom, 18:14-15  ^ac; other male descendants of Saul, 21:8-9  ^ad; Amasa, 20:10  ^ae; Sheba, 20:21-22  ^af). However, the narrator is careful to show that David was not responsible for these murders. Contrary to the claims of some (see 16:5-8  ^ag), David could not be accused of murderous political ambition. David was guilty of murder only in the case of Uriah. Without question, this was a horrible sin, but it was devoid of political motive.
David had no involvement in the many murders surrounding his rise to power. He was not a usurper who violently eliminated the previous royal family. In fact, he genuinely lamented the deaths of Saul and Jonathan and ordered the executions of those who killed Saul and Ishbosheth (1:1-16  ^ah; 4:12  ^ai). David had deep respect for Saul as the Lord’s anointed king. Although David was aware that God had anointed him to replace Saul, he refused to take the matter into his own hands.


Meaning and Message
The book of 2 Samuel reports how God brought the private anointing of David as king (1 Sam 16:1-13  ^aj) to public fruition. Moreover, God made a covenant with David to solidify his commitment to David’s dynasty.
God’s covenant with David bears significant similarities to the covenant with Abraham. Both include promises of great fame (Gen 12:2  ^ak; 2 Sam 7:9  ^al) and of rest from their enemies (Gen 15:18-21  ^am; 2 Sam 7:10  ^an). Both are binding forever (Gen 13:15  ^ao; 2 Sam 7:16  ^ap), and much of the land God promised to Abraham and his descendants (Gen 15:18  ^aq) was acquired through David’s expansion of his empire (2 Sam 5:17-25  ^ar; 8:1-14  ^as; 10:1-9  ^at).
God’s commitment to David was crucial to David’s successes—despite civil war, revolts, the murderous ambition of some loyal subjects, and his personal failures. His shortcomings—particularly his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah—could lead one to wonder whether David would become like Saul, rejected by God and replaced by another. God certainly did punish David when he sinned (12:1–20:26  ^au; 24:1-25  ^av). Yet God remained committed to David and to his dynasty (7:14-16  ^aw). God’s commitment, rather than David’s merit, explains his success.
Kingship was central in God’s plan for his people and his creation. God’s commitment to David points beyond David and his immediate descendants to a distant son, Jesus Christ. The New Testament both begins (Matt 1:1  ^ax) and ends (Rev 22:16  ^ay) by focusing on Jesus, the Eternal King, as the descendant of David.


Summary for 2Sam 1:1-27: 1:1-27  ^az The forty years of Saul’s reign came to a painful end. The Philistines inflicted a crushing blow on Saul’s people, killing his sons and dismembering Saul’s body after his suicide (1 Sam 31  ^ba). On the heels of these tragedies, David’s career as leader came into focus.
Summary for 2Sam 1:1-16: 1:1-16  ^bb An unnamed Amalekite sought out David, claiming to have killed Saul. This was a lie, as Saul had committed suicide (1 Sam 31:4-6  ^bc). The Amalekite might have hoped that David would reward him for making it possible for David to assume the throne. Instead, David ordered him killed for harming the Lord’s anointed. 1:1  ^bd David returned from his victory: Just prior to this encounter, David and his men had killed many Amalekites because of what they had done to David’s city and family (see 1 Sam 30  ^be).
1:4  ^bf What happened? David was not aware of what had happened to Saul—he had no part in Saul’s death.

• Saul and ... Jonathan are also dead: Two other sons of Saul, Abinadab and Malkishua, were killed as well (1 Sam 31:2  ^bg). The Amalekite was either unaware of their deaths or he mentioned only the son who would stand in the way of David’s uncontested path to Israel’s throne.
1:6  ^bh The Amalekite man’s second lie is, I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. Instead, he had probably scoured the area after the battle, looking for victims whose valuables he could take.
1:9  ^bi Then he begged me: This is the Amalekite’s third lie; instead, Saul was probably already dead (cp. 1 Sam 31:4-6  ^bj).
1:10  ^bk The Amalekite apparently got to Saul’s corpse before the Philistines did, for they would not have left royal items such as his crown and his armband on his body.

• Israel’s king wore a crown (Hebrew nezer, “consecration”) as a sign of his consecration to God and status as the Lord’s anointed (1:14  ^bl).
1:13  ^bm Where are you from? David’s asking again (1:8  ^bn) likely reflects the depth of his grief.
Summary for 2Sam 1:15-16: 1:15-16  ^bo The Amalekite expected a reward for killing David’s rival but was instead condemned for killing the Lord’s anointed. David himself had twice refused the opportunity to kill Saul (see 1 Sam 24:5-7  ^bp; 26:9-11  ^bq).
1:18  ^br The extrabiblical Book of Jashar is no longer available. It was probably an Israelite epic poem or an anthology of poetry that covered, at minimum, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan (see Josh 10:13  ^bs) and the ascension of David.
1:19  ^bt Your pride and joy: David’s description focused more on Saul’s royal position than on his personal characteristics.
1:20  ^bu Gath and Ashkelon were major Philistine cities. Announcing the news of Saul’s death to the Philistines would give this hated foe the opportunity to gloat and glorify their false god, Dagon, while mocking Israel’s God, Yahweh.

• daughters of the Philistines: In ancient war culture, young women sometimes celebrated victories in song (cp. Exod 15:20-21  ^bv; 1 Sam 18:7  ^bw).
1:21  ^bx Saul and Jonathan died in the mountains of Gilboa (1 Sam 31:1  ^by).

• let there be no dew or rain: David was invoking a curse on the place of their death. In a Canaanite text from the 1300s BC, a father invokes a very similar curse on the place of his son’s death.

• The shield of Saul symbolizes his military exploits as king. It would no longer be anointed with oil for the same reason that Saul was no longer the anointed king, because of his death.
1:22  ^bz the blood of their enemies: Saul and Jonathan were known as military heroes (see 1 Sam 11:1-11  ^ca; 14:1-23  ^cb, 47-48  ^cc), though neither to the degree that David was (1 Sam 18:7  ^cd; 21:11  ^ce).
1:23  ^cf beloved and gracious ... together in life and in death: Although the relationship between Saul and Jonathan was strained, especially due to Saul’s treatment of David (see 1 Sam 20:30-33  ^cg), Jonathan nevertheless fought and died alongside his father while defending Israel against the Philistine menace.
1:26  ^ch deeper than the love of women: Jonathan’s loyalty and friendship to David involved personal risk and sacrifice. This commitment was unmatched in David’s experience, including the love of his wives. The phrase in no way implies a homosexual relationship. Jonathan’s love for David is highlighted three times in 1 Samuel (1 Sam 18:1  ^ci, 3  ^cj; 20:17  ^ck).

‏ 2 Samuel 2

Summary for 2Sam 2:1-32: 2:1-32  ^cl After Saul died, those loyal to David (the tribe of Judah) clashed with those loyal to Saul’s son Ishbosheth (the remaining tribes of Israel). The Philistines, who at this time were essentially overlords of all Palestine west of the Jordan River, likely favored and encouraged this division because it made it easier for them to divide and conquer. 2:1  ^cm David asked the Lord (cp. 5:23-24  ^cn; Judg 1:1-2  ^co; 20:18  ^cp; 1 Sam 10:22  ^cq) by consulting the Urim and Thummim (see Exod 28:30  ^cr; Lev 8:8  ^cs; Deut 33:8  ^ct; 1 Sam 14:41  ^cu) administered by Abiathar, David’s priest (1 Sam 23:1-12  ^cv; 30:7-8  ^cw). David acted when God directed, not before.

• Hebron was nineteen miles southwest of Jerusalem. Abraham had lived in this area for a time and eventually purchased a nearby cave for a family burial plot (Gen 23  ^cx). The people of the area were sympathetic toward David (see 1 Sam 30:26-31  ^cy).
2:2  ^cz Ahinoam: See study note on 1 Sam 25:43. David’s other wife, Saul’s daughter Michal, had been given to another man after David fled from Saul (1 Sam 25:44  ^da).

• Abigail: See 1 Sam 25  ^db.
Summary for 2Sam 2:4-7: 2:4b-7  ^dc Once established in Hebron, David made good faith gestures to those still loyal to Saul, such as the men of Jabesh-gilead. However, because they were loyal to ... Saul and his dynasty, they rejected David as king (2:8-11  ^dd). David was also in league with Nahash, king of the Ammonites (see 10:2  ^de; 17:27-29  ^df), who had caused havoc in Jabesh-gilead (1 Sam 11:1-15  ^dg).
2:7  ^dh David’s anointing by the people of Judah provided the legal basis of his kingship, just as it had for Saul (1 Sam 11:15  ^di). He had been anointed by the prophet Samuel years earlier (1 Sam 16:13  ^dj).
2:8  ^dk Abner: See study note on 1 Sam 20:25.

• Mahanaim was located east of the Jordan River, deep in the highlands of Gilead near a plentiful source of fresh water. Saul and his family had close ties to Gilead (1 Sam 11:1-11  ^dl; 31:11-13  ^dm). Locating east of the Jordan made Ishbosheth’s regime less susceptible to attack by David’s forces. This same area was later King David’s temporary refuge after Absalom’s coup (2 Sam 17:24  ^dn, 27  ^do).

• Ishbosheth means “man of shame.” His original name, Esh-baal, means “man of Baal.” The name Baal (“lord, master, possessor”) was associated with a pagan Canaanite deity (e.g., see Num 25:3  ^dp), so it is likely that Ishbosheth’s name was later changed because of that association.
2:9  ^dq Gilead was the easternmost district of the northern kingdom, Jezreel the northernmost, and Benjamin the southernmost, with Ephraim in the middle. It is unclear which area was the land of the Ashurites. All the rest of Israel refers to the tribes that Ishbosheth ruled over rather than to the geographical area of his kingdom.
Summary for 2Sam 2:10-11: 2:10-11  ^dr Ishbosheth ... ruled from Mahanaim for two years at some point during David’s 7½-year reign from Hebron. Apparently a gap of five years occurred in which the northern tribes were without a king.
Summary for 2Sam 2:12-32: 2:12-32  ^ds A protracted civil war ensued between Judah (led by David) and the northern tribes (led by Saul’s dynasty). These events set the stage for Abner’s murder (3:22-39  ^dt). 2:12  ^du Gibeon, about five miles northwest of Jerusalem, was a key city in Benjamin.
2:13  ^dv The pool of Gibeon extends down some 80 feet to the water table. Archaeologists estimate that the original diggers had to remove about 3,000 tons of limestone to create it.
2:14  ^dw a few of our warriors: In the ancient world, enemy armies would sometimes choose individuals or small groups to fight each other as representative gladiators—a custom often referred to as champion warfare (see also 1 Sam 17  ^dx).

• fight hand to hand: The Hebrew term usually includes a component of play. A contest of champions might have been seen as a type of high-stakes game. In this instance, it settled nothing; the fighting expanded into a much wider confrontation with heavier casualties (2 Sam 2:17-32  ^dy).
2:17  ^dz The casualty count of this fierce battle is noted in 2:30-31  ^ea.
2:18  ^eb Zeruiah was David’s sister (1 Chr 2:15-16  ^ec), so Joab, Abishai, and Asahel were his nephews.
Summary for 2Sam 2:20-22: 2:20-22  ^ed Go fight someone else! ... Get away from here! Abner’s words reflect respect between peers trained for the same career, as well as a sense of fair play. The youthful Asahel would have been no match for the more experienced Abner. Abner also knew that if he killed Asahel, the conflict with David would escalate and David’s forces would seek revenge (see 3:22-39  ^ee).
2:24  ^ef they set out after Abner: See 3:27  ^eg.

• Ammah (“conduit”) and Giah (“gushing”) suggest that there was an aqueduct system connected to the pool at Gibeon (2:12-13  ^eh).
2:26  ^ei bitterness is the only result: Realizing that such wars go on generation after generation, Abner wisely negotiated a truce.
2:28  ^ej The ram’s horn signaled the beginning and end of combat (see also 18:16  ^ek; Josh 6:15-16  ^el). For other uses of the ram’s horn, see study note on 2 Sam 6:15.
2:29  ^em Abner was wise to put as much distance as possible between his troops and Joab’s forces, recognizing that their desire for blood vengeance could overpower the truce.
2:31  ^en The 360 who died were all from the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s tribe, under the leadership of one of Saul’s relatives. This defeat was a direct blow to Saul’s dynasty (cp. 3:1  ^eo).

‏ 2 Samuel 3

Summary for 2Sam 3:1-39: 3:1-39  ^ep The house of David increased, while Saul’s house dwindled. The crucial occasion came when Abner, the real political power in Saul’s camp, switched allegiance to David, taking a considerable number of his northern kinsmen with him. 3:1  ^eq a long war: This civil war likely continued for most of the seven-plus years that David ruled from Hebron. The truce called by Joab and Abner (2:26-28  ^er) was short-lived.
Summary for 2Sam 3:2-5: 3:2-5  ^es One way David “became stronger and stronger” (3:1  ^et) was by taking more wives and having a son through each. Three of David’s Hebron-born sons died violent deaths, two during David’s reign (Amnon, Absalom), and one shortly after his death (Adonijah).
3:3  ^eu Geshur was a small Canaanite kingdom in upper Transjordan (the area east of the Jordan) near the Sea of Galilee. Marrying into neighboring royal families created political alliances and secured David’s position against the northern tribes. Solomon also followed this practice (1 Kgs 3:1  ^ev; 11:1  ^ew).
3:7  ^ex accused Abner of sleeping with one of [Saul’s] concubines: It is unclear whether Abner actually did so. Taking a king’s wife or concubine was often part of a usurper’s attempt to replace the king (see 12:8  ^ey; 16:21  ^ez; 1 Kgs 2:17-25  ^fa).

• Rizpah: See also 2 Sam 21:8-14  ^fb.
3:8  ^fc some Judean dog: Cp. 1 Sam 17:43  ^fd.

• by not handing you over to David: Abner had control over the life and death of Saul’s son.
3:9  ^fe help David get what the Lord has promised him! Abner was aware that God had chosen David to be king over all Israel (see also 3:18  ^ff).
3:10  ^fg and give it to David: Cp. 1 Sam 28:17  ^fh.

• I will establish the throne of David: Whether an ally or enemy, Abner was a powerful man. Here he speaks like God (see 2 Sam 7:13  ^fi).
3:11  ^fj didn’t dare say another word: Ishbosheth’s silence speaks loudly of his weakness as a ruler. Abner, who had installed him as king (2:8-9  ^fk), was the real power behind Ishbosheth’s reign.
3:12  ^fl In the proposed solemn pact (or covenant), Abner recognized that David would be king, while perhaps he hoped to be second-in-command.
3:13  ^fm Saul had given his daughter Michal to David as his wife (1 Sam 18:20-27  ^fn). However, when Michal saved David’s life from her father (1 Sam 19:11-17  ^fo), Saul terminated the marriage and gave Michal to another man, Palti (1 Sam 25:44  ^fp). For David to get her back now would further cement his claim to Saul’s kingdom (cp. 1 Kgs 2:13-25  ^fq).
3:14  ^fr the lives of 100 Philistines: Saul had hoped that David would be killed in his attempt to secure the bride-price (see 1 Sam 18:17-27  ^fs).
3:15  ^ft Ishbosheth took: Although Abner made the deal with David (3:12-13  ^fu), it was Ishbosheth who gave Michal to David. This transaction illustrates Ishbosheth’s weakness as a king and his fear of Abner (3:11  ^fv).
3:16  ^fw In spite of Palti’s anguished weeping, he was powerless to stop what was happening (cp. Judg 18:1-26  ^fx).

• Bahurim was probably a center of support for Saul’s clan just east of Jerusalem (cp. 2 Sam 16:5  ^fy).
3:17  ^fz Apparently, there had been growing momentum among the elders of Israel in the north to accept David as king, though the text has made no mention of it to this point.
3:18  ^ga See also 3:9  ^gb. By bringing relief from the Philistines, David would accomplish what Saul had failed to do (1 Sam 9:16  ^gc).
3:19  ^gd Because Saul was from their tribe, the men of Benjamin no doubt viewed David, from Judah, as a usurper of Saul’s throne. However, Abner was well-respected in Saul’s regime and so was able to elicit support for David even among Saul’s own tribe.
3:21  ^ge The narrator emphasized that David sent Abner safely on his way as a friend and an ally (restated in 3:22-23  ^gf). David was at peace with Abner and was not involved in the renowned military leader’s murder (cp. 3:28-29  ^gg).

• Despite the murder of Abner (3:27  ^gh), the northern tribes eventually did make a covenant with David to make him their king, just as Abner had promised (5:1-3  ^gi).
3:26  ^gj The precise location of the well of Sirah is unknown; presumably it was not far from Hebron.

• David knew nothing about it: See study note on 3:21.
3:27  ^gk as if to speak with him privately: Joab accused Abner of deception (3:25  ^gl), but he used deception himself to lure Abner to his death.

• in revenge: Joab was motivated by the practice of blood vengeance, avenging the death of a kinsman by killing the killer.
3:28  ^gm David made it clear that he had nothing to do with Abner’s death, labeling it as a crime. David knew that because his second-in-command had killed Abner, rumors would circulate among those loyal to Saul’s dynasty that David had ordered the killing.

• I vow by the Lord: David called on the Lord to hold him accountable if he were lying.
3:29  ^gn leprosy: While leprosy is a possible translation, the Hebrew here probably refers to a broader range of skin inflammations, not only Hansen’s disease.

• who walks on crutches: This curse effectively alienated Joab from David, and from this point on they had only a professional relationship. David’s deathbed order to Solomon to get rid of Joab (1 Kgs 2:5-6  ^go) and Solomon’s exoneration of David in Abner’s death (1 Kgs 2:31-33  ^gp) indicate that David’s mourning over Abner was genuine.
3:30  ^gq See 2:18-28  ^gr.
3:31  ^gs David himself walked: David’s public presence in the mourning procession, his open weeping at the gravesite (3:32  ^gt), and his dramatic fast (3:35  ^gu) made evident to the public that he had not ordered Abner’s killing (3:37  ^gv).
3:32  ^gw Burying Abner in Hebron, David’s capital city at the time, rather than at some northern site reinforced Abner’s shift of support from Saul to David. Presumably it encouraged others from the northern tribes to follow Abner’s example.
3:33  ^gx as fools die: Abner was deceived by Joab, an enemy who posed as a friend (see 3:27  ^gy).
3:34  ^gz a wicked plot: Normal warfare could not defeat Abner, a seasoned warrior. Only treachery could.
3:35  ^ha begged him to eat: See also 12:17  ^hb.
3:37  ^hc See study note on 3:31.
3:39  ^hd too strong for me to control: Just as Ishbosheth could not control Abner, David could not control Joab. However, David had faith that the Lord would repay Joab for murdering Abner.

‏ 2 Samuel 4

4:1  ^he all Israel became paralyzed with fear: Abner’s true power was evident in Ishbosheth’s reaction to his death (cp. Josh 2:9-11  ^hf; 5:1  ^hg). Ishbosheth’s timidity bred the same among his followers.
Summary for 2Sam 4:2-3: 4:2-3  ^hh Beeroth was located in Benjamin near Gibeon. Probably because of Saul’s persecution of the non-Israelite residents in that region (see 21:1-9  ^hi), the citizens of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim, the location of which is unknown.
4:4  ^hj This parenthetical statement shows that, with the death of Ishbosheth (4:5-7  ^hk), Saul’s dynasty was unable to continue—the only other heir was a young child who was crippled (see also 9:1-13  ^hl).

• Mephibosheth is a nickname meaning “from the mouth of shame,” possibly referring to his physical condition. No crippled animal could ever be offered to God, and no disabled priest was allowed to stand before God with the people’s offerings (Lev 21:19  ^hm). Likewise, Mephibosheth’s condition probably disqualified him from the crown. His name change from Merib-baal (see 1 Chr 9:40  ^hn) also removed association with Baal (see study note on 2 Sam 2:8).
4:6  ^ho Recab and Baanah believed they would gain David’s favor by committing this treacherous act.
4:8  ^hp your enemy Saul: As far as we know, David never referred to Saul as an enemy.

• the Lord has given ... revenge: Wrongdoers often presume upon God’s favor to justify political ambition. However, David would not reward treachery.
Summary for 2Sam 4:9-11: 4:9-11  ^hq Someone once told me: Cp. 1:1-16  ^hr.
4:12  ^hs cut off their hands and feet: Displaying the dismembered bodies of Ishbosheth’s killers shamed them by denying them proper burial (cp. 1 Sam 31:8-13  ^ht); it was also a public testimony of David’s innocence in Ishbosheth’s death.

‏ 2 Samuel 5:1-5

Summary for 2Sam 5:1-25: 5:1-25  ^hu After the murder of Abner and Ishbosheth, the elders of the northern tribes accepted David as their king. David thus obtained an extended empire (5:1-5  ^hv), a new capital city (5:6-10  ^hw), a new palace (5:11  ^hx), a new family (5:13-16  ^hy), and renewed confidence (5:17-25  ^hz). 5:1  ^ia your own flesh and blood: Years of civil war had set brother against brother, resulting in much bloodshed (see 3:1  ^ib).
5:2  ^ic you were the one: In the ancient world, a covenant relationship (a suzerain-vassal treaty) was sometimes formed between subjects (the vassals) and a ruler (the suzerain) because of past aid, often rescue from enemies (see Judg 8:22  ^id, Gideon; Judg 11:8-11  ^ie, Jephthah; 1 Sam 11:1-15  ^if, Saul). This type of relationship is the background for the covenant concept in Scripture: God was Israel’s covenant Lord because he had freed them from Egypt (cp. Exod 19:4  ^ig; 20:1-2  ^ih).

• the Lord told you: Israel was already aware of God’s selection of David (cp. 2 Sam 3:9  ⁱⁱ).

• shepherd of my people Israel: This phrase is quoted in Matt 2:6  ^ij when King Herod asks the leading priests about the prophecies concerning the Messiah.
5:3  ^ik King David made a covenant that demanded the people’s loyalty, yet allowed them to maintain a sense of tribal privilege and individual dignity. It served as a constitution, containing stipulations obligating both the king and the people.

• they anointed him king: While David had already been anointed by Samuel (1 Sam 16:13  ^il), this public ceremony demonstrated the people’s acceptance of David as king.
Summary for 2Sam 5:4-5: 5:4-5  ^im Hebron: See study note on 2:1.