2 Samuel 5:6

_AND THE KING AND HIS MEN WENT TO JERUSALEM UNTO THE JEBUSITES, THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND: WHICH SPAKE UNTO DAVID, SAYING, EXCEPT THOU TAKE AWAY THE BLIND AND THE LAME, THOU SHALT NOT COME IN HITHER: THINKING, DAVID CANNOT COME IN HITHER._ The king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites. The first expedition of David, as king of the whole country, was directed against this place, which had hitherto remained in the hands of the natives. The circumjacent country was barren and uninviting, so that the Hebrews had hitherto made no exertions to dislodge the inhabitants of the land." But now that the divided tribes of Israel were to be united under one monarchy into a compacted nation, it was necessary to fix the seat of government at a place more northerly than Hebron, as central a could be attained, and withal not too far removed from Judah. Jerusalem, with the sight of which, a...

6-10 The enemies of God's people are often very confident of their own strength, and most secure when their day to fall draws nigh. But the pride and insolence of the Jebusites animated David, and the Lord God of hosts was with him. Thus in the day of God's power, Satan's strong-hold, the human heart, is changed into a habitation of God through the Spirit, and into a throne on which the Son of David rules, and brings every thought into obedience to himself. May He thus come, and claim, and cleanse, each of our hearts; and, destroying every idol, may he reign there for ever!...

Verse 2 Samuel 5:6. _THE KING AND HIS MEN WENT TO JERUSALEM_] This city was now in the hands of the Jebusites; but how they got possession of it is not known, probably they took it during the wars between Ish-bosheth and David. After Joshua's death, what is called the _lower city_ was taken by the Israelites; and it is evident that the whole city was in their possession in the time of Saul, for David brought the head of Goliath thither, 2 Samuel 17:54. It appears to have been a very strong fortress, and, from what follows, deemed impregnable by the Jebusites. It was right that the Israelites should repossess it; and David very properly began his reign over the whole country by the siege of this city. _EXCEPT THOU TAKE AWAY THE BLIND AND THE LAME_] Scarcely a passage

David immediately after being anointed king of Israel, probably wished to signalize his accession by an exploit which would be popular with all Israel, and especially with Saul’s tribe, Benjamin. He discerned the importance of having Jerusalem for his capital both because it belonged as much to Benjamin as to Judah, and on account of its strong position. EXCEPT THOU TAKE AWAY THE BLIND ... - Rather, “and (the Jebusite) spake to David, saying, Thou shalt not come hither, but the blind and the lame shall keep thee off,” i. e. so far shalt thou be from taking the stronghold from us, that the lame and blind shall suffice to defend the place....

EXPOSITION 2 SAMUEL 5:1 THEN CAME ALL THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL. As Ishbosheth reigned only two years, and David's reign at Hebron lasted for seven years and a half, there is an interval of more than five years to be accounted for; and we have given reason for believing (see note on 2 Samuel 2:10) that it must be placed after the death of Ishbosheth. The treacherous murder of Abner, and the tragic fate of Ishbosheth following upon it so rapidly, must have filled all Israel with horror, and made them look upon David as "a bloody man" (2 Samuel 16:8). But gradually his innocence became clear to all except inveterate partisans, and as the prejudice against him passed away, th

AND THE KING AND HIS MEN WENT TO JERUSALEM,.... Which, at least part of it, belonged to the tribe of Benjamin; and therefore until all Israel, and that tribe, with the rest, made him king, he did not attempt the reduction of it, but now he immediately set out on an expedition against it: UNTO THE JEBUSITES, THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND: who inhabited the country about it, and even dwelt in that itself; for the tribe of Judah could not drive them out at first from that part of it which belonged to them, nor the tribe of Benjamin from that part which was theirs; in short, they became so much masters of it, that it was called, even in later times, Jebus, and the city of the Jebusites; see Joshua 15:63 Judges 1:21; WHICH SPAKE UNTO DAVID; when he came up against them, and besie

2. DAVID'S CONQUEST OF ZION AND VICTORY OVER THE PHILISTINES CHAPTER 5:6-25 _ 1. David's conquest of Zion (2 Samuel 5:6)_ 2. Hiram King of Tyre (2 Samuel 5:11) 3. David's additional concubines and wives (2 Samuel 5:13) 4. The victory over the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17) Zion is closely linked with David's anointing as king over all Israel. Here 1 Chronicles 11 must be read for a more complete account of what took place. Jerusalem is now to become the capital of the great kingdom. The oldest name

DAVID BECOMES KING OF UNITED ISRAEL AND JUDAH. HE CAPTURES JERUSALEM (J). (_Cf._ p. 282.) Two notes have been added to this section (2 Samuel 5:4 f. and 2 Samuel 5:13), of the same character as 2 Samuel 2:10_ a_, 11, 2 Samuel 3:1, and probably by the same hand. 2 SAMUEL 5:1. On the basis of terms, a covenant, agreed upon between him and the elders, or Sheikhs, of Israel, David is anointed king over Israel, thus becoming king of both Israel and Judah. This act brought Judah into organic union with the other tribes, for the first

MEN. Hebrew. _'enosh._ App-14. SAYING. What they said must be rendered thus "Thou shalt not come in hither, for the blind and the lame shall drive thee away [by saying]`David shall not come in hither.. ...

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 Jerusalem by a reference to its ancient name of Jebus. It is not a little remarkable that the metropolis of the Jewish monarchy, the most sacred city in the world, does not take its place in the history of the nation until a comparatively late period. As the capital of the important Canaanite tribe of the Jebusites, it bore the name of _Jebus_. It was assigned to Benjamin (Joshua 18:28), but, lying on the border, was first attacked by Judah ...