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. Sa... [ Continue Reading ]
_thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel_ David had won the good-will of the people as their leader in war. Cp. 1Sa 18:5; 1 Samuel 18:13; 1 Samuel 18:16. _the_Lord _said to thee_ See note on ch. 2 Samuel 3:9. _Thou shalt feed_ Lit. "thou shalt _shepherd_" (LXX. ποιμανεῖς): a natural... [ Continue Reading ]
_all the elders of Israel_ From 2 Samuel 5:1 and 1 Chronicles 12:23-40 it is evident that a general assembly of the nation, and not merely a few delegates, met at Hebron: here the _elders_are particularly specified because they acted as the representatives of the people in negotiating with David. Se... [ Continue Reading ]
_thirty years old_ The prime of life: the age at which the Levites entered upon their duties (Numbers 4:3): at which young men commenced to take part in public business in Greece: at which Joseph was made ruler over Egypt (Genesis 41:46): at which Jesus Christ was "anointed with the Holy Ghost" in H... [ Continue Reading ]
The compiler of Chronicles omits these verses here, but inserts the substance of them in 1 Chronicles 29:27.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Capture of Jebus = 1 Chronicles 11:4-9 6. _to Jerusalem_, &c. The Chronicler paraphrases the text thus, "to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land." Writing after the Captivity, he felt it necessary to explain how the Jebusites came to be dwelling in J... [ Continue Reading ]
_Nevertheless_ Heb. simply, AND. _the strong hold of Zion_ See Additional Note VI. p. 239.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Whosoever_, &c. An obscure and probably corrupt passage. The E. V., which transposes the first two clauses and introduces an apodosis from Chronicles, cannot be defended. The most probable explanations, neither of them however free from serious objections, are: (1) WHOSOEVER SMITETH THE JEBUSITE,... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the fort_ IN THE STRONG HOLD, the same word as in 2 Samuel 5:7, and in 1 Chronicles 11:5 (E. V. castle). _Millo_ THE MILLO. See Additional Note VI., p. 241. _and inward_ Within or under the protection of the Millo, which was the outermost defence of the city. Chron. adds "And Joab repaired th... [ Continue Reading ]
_And David went on, and grew great_ = "So David waxed greater and greater" in Chron. The E. V. obliterates the identity of the Hebrew. See Introd. p. 22, _note_[99] [99] This verbal coincidence is frequently obscured in the E.V. by different renderings of the same original. This may be partly due t... [ Continue Reading ]
David's Palace and Family =1 Chronicles 14:1-7 11. _Hiram king of Tyre_ In 1Ki 5:10; 1 Kings 5:18, the name is spelt _Hirom_, in Chron. _Huram_. Josephus (against Apion i. 18) states, on the authority of Menander of Ephesus, who wrote a history of Tyre based upon native Tyrian documents, that Hir... [ Continue Reading ]
_And David perceived_, &c. The friendly co-operation of so powerful a king as Hiram, and the success of his enterprises in general, were unmistakeable proofs of divine favour.... [ Continue Reading ]
_took him mo concubines and wives_ In accordance with the general custom of Oriental monarchs. The law of the king in Deuteronomy 17:17 imposes some limitation on the practice. See note on ch. 2 Samuel 3:5. _Mo_as the comparative of _many_is an archaism which has disappeared from modern editions of... [ Continue Reading ]
_And these_, &c. The list of David's sons is given again in 1 Chronicles 3:5-8, as well as in 1 Chronicles 14:4-7. The first four were sons of Bathsheba, and as Solomon is always placed last it is natural to suppose that he was the youngest. See note on ch. 2 Samuel 12:24. Josephus distinctly calls... [ Continue Reading ]
Two victories over the Philistines =1 Chronicles 14:8-16 17. _But when the Philistines heard_ This Philistine invasion probably followed soon after the capture of Jebus. The Philistines were alarmed by the union of the Israelites under a king of proved vigour, who had inaugurated his reign by a br... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Philistines also came_ BUT THE PHILISTINES CAME. Taking a different route, perhaps by the _Wady-es-Surâr_and Beth-shemesh (see note on 1 Samuel 6:9), so as to avoid David and his army, they came up and occupied "the valley of Rephaim," an open plain or upland valley, stretching in a S.W. direct... [ Continue Reading ]
_inquired of the_Lord] Cp. 1 Samuel 23:2, and note on ch. 2 Samuel 2:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
_as the breach of waters_ Isaiah calls the scene of the battle "_mount_Perazim" (Isaiah 28:21). David, we may suppose, occupied the hill, and swept down from it upon the Philistines in the plain below, scattering them irresistibly as a mountain torrent swollen by a sudden storm sweeps all before it... [ Continue Reading ]
_their images_ Cp. 1 Samuel 31:9 (E. V. _idols_). They brought them into the field to ensure victory, as the Edomites appear to have done (2 Chronicles 25:14), and as the Israelites brought out the Ark (1 Samuel 4:3). _burnt them_ Render, TOOK THEM AWAY, as spoil, perhaps to display in his triumphal... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt not go up_ The addition of the Sept. "_to meet them_" is needed to complete the sense. This answer implies the same question as in 2 Samuel 5:19. _fetch a compass behind them_ Go round to their rear. "Compass" in old English means "circuit;" and "to fetch a compass" means "to make a cir... [ Continue Reading ]
_the sound of a going_ THE SOUND OF MARCHING. The cognate verb is used of Jehovah "marching" (so to speak) before His people in Judges 5:4; Psalms 68:7; Habakkuk 3:12. A rustling in the tops of the trees like the marching of an army was to be the signal that Jehovah Himself would lead David's army t... [ Continue Reading ]
_from Geba_ The Sept. and Chron., as well as Isaiah 28:21, which almost certainly refers to this miraculous defeat of the Philistines, all read GIBEON. This seems to be the true reading. Geba (see note on 1 Samuel 10:5) was too far to the east: Gibeon (see note on ch. 2 Samuel 2:12) was on the natur... [ Continue Reading ]