2 Samuel 2:4

_SO DAVID WENT UP THITHER, AND HIS TWO WIVES ALSO, AHINOAM THE JEZREELITESS, AND ABIGAIL NABAL'S WIFE THE CARMELITE._ No JFB commentary on these verses....

Verse 2 Samuel 2:4. _ANOINTED DAVID KING_] He was anointed before by Samuel, by which he acquired _jus ad regnum, a right TO the kingdom_; by the present anointing he had _jus in regno, authority OVER the kingdom_. The other parts of the kingdom were, as yet, attached to the family of Saul....

David had already been anointed by Samuel 1 Samuel 16:13. His first anointing indicated God’s secret purpose, his second the accomplishment of that purpose. (Compare the case of Saul, 1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel 11:14.) David was anointed again king over Israel 2 Samuel 5:3. The interval between the anointing of the Lord Jesus as the Christ of God, and His taking to Himself His kingdom and glory, seems to be thus typified....

EXPOSITION 2 SAMUEL 2:1 UNTO HEBRON. As soon as David had assuaged his grief, his thoughts would naturally turn towards his country. Fuller news would reach him every day respecting the movements of the Philistines, who, after so decisive a victory, would quickly overrun all the central districts of Palestine, where the battle had been fought. And very bitter must David's feelings have been. Had he continued in Israel, he and his six hundred men would now have hastened to the rescue, and all the braver warriors of the land would have gathered round them. As it was, he was too entangled with the Philistines, and too much distrusted by the northern tribes, to be of much use. Still, we learn from 1 Chronicles 12:1; that brave men did continually

AND THE MEN OF JUDAH CAME,.... The inhabitants of the tribe of Judah came from the several parts of it to Hebron, that is, the principal of them, the elders of each city: AND THERE THEY ANOINTED DAVID KING OVER THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; they did not take upon them to make him king over all Israel, but left the rest of the tribes to act for themselves; and no doubt in this they had the mind of David, who was not willing to force himself upon the people at once, but by degrees get the whole government into his hands, as Providence should make his way; these men knew the kingdom was promised to their tribe, from Genesis 49:10; and were quite clear in what they did, and, without question, knew that David had been anointed by Samuel: but as that anointing was only a declaration of the Lord's choice of him, and of his will that he should be king after Saul's death, he is again anoin

2. DAVID ANOINTED KING OVER JUDAH CHAPTER 2:1-7 _ 1. David's inquiry of the Lord (2 Samuel 2:1)_ 2. Anointed king over Judah (2 Samuel 2:4) 3. His message to the men of Jabesh-gilead (2 Samuel 2:5) The first thing mentioned of David after his lamentation over Saul and Jonathan is that he inquired of the Lord. He would not do a single step towards claiming the rights which belonged to him without consulting the Lord. It shows how David, with all his faults, was in submission to the Lord. He waits on the Lord ready to follow His guidance and in this David acknowledged his complete dependence on Him who had chosen him as His King over His people. In this he is a type also of our Lord Jesus.

2 SAMUEL 2-6. (J). APART FROM MINOR ADDITIONS AND CHANGES, IT IS VERY COMMONLY HELD THAT THESE CHAPTER S FORM A CONTINUOUS NARRATIVE FROM THE SAME SOURCE. 2 Samuel 2:1 to 2 Samuel 3:5. Civil War between David, ruling at Hebron, and Ish-bosheth, ruling at Mahanaim (J). 2 SAMUEL 2:1. David occupies Hebron (Judges 1:10 *, p. 31), and is anointed king by the men of Judah, doubtless with the consent of the Philistines, and as their vassal. He thanks the men of Jabesh-gilead for their loyalty to Saul. 2 SAMUEL 2:8. Abner makes

ANOINTED DAVID. Aged thirty years. See note on 1 Samuel 16:13....

_the men of Judah came_ An assembly of David's own tribe was held in order to elect him king. No doubt he had previously secured the support of the elders. Cp. 1 Samuel 30:26. _they anointed David_ David had already been anointed privately by Samuel to mark God's choice of him as the future king, but it was natural that the ceremony should now be repeated publicly as the formal inauguration of his reign, and even a third time, when he was made king over all Israel (ch. 2 Samuel 5:3). Similarly Saul was first privately anointed (1 Samuel 10:1), and afterwards publicly installed in his office, and possibly anointed a second time ...

AND THE MEN OF JUDAH CAME, AND THERE THEY ANOINTED DAVID KING— David had no other title to the succession than the appointment of God by Samuel; and this claim, on which he founded his pretensions, was universally known to the people of Israel, and the avowed reason why they advanced him to the throne. It was known to Jonathan his friend; Saul himself was no stranger to it; Abigail confesses this appointment of God; Abner was not ignorant of it, as appears by his words to Ish-bosheth; and his message to the elders of Israel, who also acknowledged it: so that David's appointment to be king by the God of Israel, who anointed him by Samuel, was the foundation of his claim, and the reason why all at last centered in him; and which justified his pretensions to, and contest for the crown, after the death of Saul: and it was a better claim than what Ish-bosheth had, who, in reality, had none at...