2 Samuel 5:1

2 Samuel 5:1-5. David anointed king over all Israel

2 Samuel 5:1 = 1 Chronicles 11:1-3

1. Then came, &c. It is probable that no long interval elapsed between the death of Ish-bosheth and the election of David. "The consummation to which events in God's Providence had been leading was now come. Saul and Jonathan, Abner and Ish-bosheth, were all dead; there was no one of the house of Saul capable of taking the lead; David was already head of a very large portion of Israel; the Philistines, and perhaps the remnants of the Canaanites, were restless and threatening; and it was obviously the interest of the Israelitish nation to unite themselves under the sovereignty of the valiant and virtuous son of Jesse, their former deliverer, and the man designated by the word of God as their Captain and Shepherd." Speaker's Comm.

all the tribes of Israel The -congregation of Israel," or national assembly composed of all the warriors of the nation above the age of twenty who chose to come, met to elect David king. See note on 1 Samuel 10:17.

we are thy bone and thy flesh An expression denoting close relationship in virtue of common descent. Cp. Genesis 29:14; Judges 9:2.

Three reasons, arranged in the order of their importance, are given for electing David king: the tie of relationship: his proved capacity as a military leader: the divine choice. The first and third correspond to the precept of Deuteronomy 17:15: with the second compare ch. 2 Samuel 3:18.