2 Samuel 5:6-13

2 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 2 Samuel 5:6 The account of David’s kingship over all of Israel starts with his capture of the Jebusite city of Jerusalem, on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin. Jerusalem had not been controlled by any one tribe, and thus it was both symbolically and geographically better suited to be the capital of all Israel than Hebron, which was in central Judah. Jerusalem was the “Salem” of which Melchizedek was king (Genesis 14:18). It had been too strong to be conquered when the Israelites first entered Canaan (Joshua 15:63). The stronghold of Zion was on the western slope of the Kidron Valley above the city’s water source, the spring of Gihon. According to 1 Chronicles 11:6, Joab led the attack by entering through the water shaft and was made David’s chief commander because of his success.