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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Samuel 2:1 - 2:11
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David at Hebron
v. 1. And it came to pass after this that David enquired of the Lord, by means of the Urim and Thummim of the high priest. 1Sa_23:2-11; 1Sa_30:7-9, saying, Shall I go up, namely, from the low lands of Philistia, into any of the cities of Judah, this being his own tribe? And the Lord said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up, that is, to which special city or district? And He said, Unto Hebron, about twenty miles south of Jerusalem and near the center of the territory of Judah.
v. 2. So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, Nabal's wife, the Carmelite, 1Sa_30:5.
v. 3. And his men that were with him did David bring up, the six hundred men who had been faithful to him in his adversity, every man with his household; and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron, the suburbs in the vicinity.
v. 4. And the men of Judah came, the elders of his own tribe, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah, the affairs of the northern tribes at that time being in a condition of chaos. And they told David, saying, that the men of Jabesh-gilead were they that buried Saul. This seems to have been in answer to David's inquiry concerning the disposition of the bodies of Saul and Jonathan, his first official act after his crowning.
v. 5. And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, the city east of Jordan, whose inhabitants had been rescued by Saul and had, in gratitude, gotten his body from the walls of Beth-shan, 1Sa_31:11-13, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the Lord that ye have showed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him; they had shown that grateful love which became them in their relation to Saul as their king.
v. 6. And now the Lord show kindness and truth unto you, favor, gracious, faithful love in fulfilling all His promises for their benefit; and I also, by virtue of the royal authority now vested in him, will requite you this kindness, by calling down the divine blessing upon them, because ye have done this thing.
v. 7. Therefore, now, let your hands be strengthened, with a strong and cheerful courage, and be ye valiant, literally, "sons of valor or bravery"; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them. This message of David was a wise diplomatic move, particularly since the remnant of Saul's army had fled to Gilead, and there was danger that the heads of the army would not acknowledge David.
v. 8. But Abner, the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, this had evidently been done even before David sent his messengers, and brought him over to Mahanaim, a city in Gilead northeast of Jabesh,
v. 9. and made him king over Gilead, the country east of Jordan, and over the Ashurites, probably in the territory of the upper Jordan, and over Jezreel, the entire plain of the recent defeat, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel, all the northern tribes.
v. 10. Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah, with the descendants of Simeon living in their midst, followed David.
v. 11. And the time, the total number of days, that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. Thus the suffering and persecution which had darkened the life of David was now turned into joy. Even so, days of refreshing joy follow days of darkness in the lives of the Christians; for when God finds that faith has been sufficiently tested through afflictions, He changes tribulation into glory.