Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
2 Samuel 5:1-5
David Is At Last Anointed As King Over All Israel (2 Samuel 5:1).
This section began in 2 Samuel 2:1 onwards with David being anointed as king over Judah, and it now ends with David being anointed as king over all Israel. In all that went in between YHWH had been preserving David for this moment. And the important thing was that it was achieved without causing disharmony and bitterness. The whole of Israel were as one in wanting him as king.
Note the threefold reasons why they considered that David was a reasonable candidate for kingship:
1) He was a true-born Israelite (2 Samuel 2:1).
2) He had been a victorious war-leader as he had led them out and in (2 Samuel 2:2 a).
3) Above all YHWH had chosen him to be shepherd of His people (2 Samuel 2:2 b).
In other words he had the three important credentials. He was true-born, he was a successful war-leader, and he had been chosen by YHWH. The last, of course, crowned the other two.
Analysis.
a Then came all the tribes of Israel to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh” (2 Samuel 5:1).
b “In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel” (2 Samuel 5:2 a).
b And YHWH said to you, “You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel” (2 Samuel 5:2 b).
a So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron, and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before YHWH, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah (2 Samuel 5:3).
In ‘a' all the tribes of Israel came to David recognising that he was one of them, a true Israelite, and in the parallel all the tribes of Israel come to make him king. In ‘b' he was the war-leader who had led Israel out (to battle) and had brought them in, and in the parallel YHWH had established him to be the shepherd of His people.
‘ Then came all the tribes of Israel to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.'
All the tribes then came to David at Hebron, possibly in the person of their elders (2 Samuel 5:3), although it could have been by the calling of a general assembly of the adult menfolk, although that would have drawn the unwelcome attention of the Philistines. And their first emphasis was on the fact that he was a true-born Israelite (Deuteronomy 17:15). He was of the same make-up as they were. This was certainly better than having a foreign king over them, and was in accordance Deuteronomy 17:15..
‘ In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel, and YHWH said to you, “You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.” '
The next thing that they had brought to mind was how, when he was younger and Saul had been king, he had successfully and charismatically led them out against the Philistines. Thus he had demonstrated that he had the wherewithal to be a successful war-leader. But most important of all was that he had been sealed by YHWH.
Once again we are informed of a prophetic pronouncement which we have not come across previously. We are told that YHWH had said to him, “You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince (nagid=war-leader) over Israel.” The idea of the king as a shepherd was commonplace in the Ancient Near East, and was added to here by the fact that David had been a competent shepherd. To be nagid over Israel was to be YHWH's deputy. YHWH was king, his representative was a nagid. This term had been used by Samuel of Saul (1 Samuel 9:16; 1 Samuel 10:1), and is later initially used of Solomon (1 Kings 1:35). Such prophecies as this are required in order to explain why both Saul and Jonathan were so certain that David would one day be king.
‘ So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron, and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before YHWH, and they anointed David king over Israel.'
The result was that the elders of Israel came to Hebron in order to make him king. We note that the kingship was not absolute. The terms were laid down in a covenant, the main requirements of which would be to serve YHWH faithfully and to act as their war-leader whenever the need arose. Then they anointed him as king. We note that while Ish-bosheth would also almost certainly have been anointed, there is no mention of such a thing for him, whereas in the case of David it is mentioned both times that he receives a kingship. This was because in the eyes of the writer he was the true anointed one of Israel (1 Samuel 2:10; 1 Samuel 16:13).
‘ David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.'
We are then given the statistics of David and his reign as we had been previously with Ish-bosheth (2 Samuel 2:10), and will be in the case of future kings. He was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for forty years. The forty years is then divided up into seven and a half years over Judah in Hebron and thirty three years over all Israel and Judah in Jerusalem. We should note how Israel and Judah are now seen as two separate groupings. This process had been going on ever since Judah had, along with Simeon, settled the southern part of the land, while Ephraim and the other tribes had settled the north. Until the rise of the Philistine empire each had had different enemies to contend with. And as neither Judah nor Ephraim would yield precedence to the other the result was that once strong kingship ceased the division would almost be inevitable.
David's age when he began to reign (‘thirty years old') is the same age at which the priests and Levites were seen as fully matured enough to take up full service with regard to the Tabernacle (Numbers 4:3; Numbers 4:23, etc). Interestingly it is the same age as that at which Jesus Christ Himself commenced His ministry (Luke 3:23). It contains the hint therefore that David was now seen as mature enough to act in the name of YHWH.