2 Samuel 5

VBL · Chapter 5/24

1Todas las tribus de Israel se acercaron a David en Hebrón y le dijeron: “Somos tu carne y tu sangre.

2Antes, cuando Saúl era nuestro rey, tú eras el que dirigía el ejército israelita en la batalla. El Señor te dijo: ‘Tú serás el pastor de mi pueblo Israel y serás su gobernante’”.

3Todos los ancianos de Israel acudieron al rey en Hebrón, donde el rey David llegó a un acuerdo con ellos en presencia del Señor. Entonces lo ungieron como rey de Israel.

4David tenía treinta años cuando llegó a ser rey, y reinó durante cuarenta años.

5Reinó sobre Judá siete años y seis meses desde Hebrón, y reinó sobre todo Israel y Judá durante treinta y tres años desde Jerusalén.

6El rey David y sus hombres fueron a Jerusalén para atacar a los jebuseos que vivían allí. Los jebuseos le dijeron a David: “Nunca entrarás aquí. Hasta los ciegos y los cojos podrían impedírtelo”. Estaban convencidos de que David no podría entrar.

7Pero David sí capturó la fortaleza de Sión, ahora conocida como la Ciudad de David.

8En ese momento dijo: “Si queremos conquistar a los jebuseos, tendremos que subir por el pozo de agua para atacar a esos ‘cojos y ciegos’, a esa gente que odia a David. Por eso se dice: ‘Los ciegos y los cojos nunca entrarán en la casa’”.

9David se fue a vivir a la fortaleza y la llamó Ciudad de David. La extendió en todas las direcciones, empezando por las terrazas de apoyo exteriores y avanzando hacia el interior.

10David se volvía cada vez más poderoso, porque el Señor Dios Todopoderoso estaba con él.

11Tiempo después, el rey Hiram de Tiro envió representantes a David, junto con madera de cedro, carpinteros y canteros, construyeron un palacio para David.

12David se dio cuenta de que el Señor lo había instalado como rey de Israel y había engrandecido su reino por el bien de su pueblo Israel.

13Después de mudarse de Hebrón, David tomó más concubinas y esposas de Jerusalén, y tuvo más hijos e hijas.

14Estos son los nombres de sus hijos nacidos en Jerusalén Samúa, Sobab, Natán, Salomón,

15Ibhar, Elisúa, Nefeg, Jafía,

16Elisama, Eliada y Elifelet.

17Cuando los filisteos se enteraron de que David había sido ungido rey de Israel, todo el ejército filisteo salió a capturarlo, pero David se enteró y entró en la fortaleza.

18Entonces los filisteos llegaron y se extendieron por el valle de Refaim.

19Y David preguntó al Señor: “¿Debo ir a atacar a los filisteos? ¿Me los entregarás?”

20David fue a Baal-perazim y allí derrotó a los filisteos. “Como un torrente que se desborda, así ha estallado el Señor contra mis enemigos delante de mí”, declaró David. Y llamó a ese lugar Baal-perazim.

21Los filisteos dejaron sus ídolos, y David y sus hombres los quitaron.

22Un tiempo después, los filisteos volvieron a llegar y se extendieron por el valle de Refaim.

23David le preguntó al Señor qué hacer. El Señor le respondió: “No los ataques directamente, sino que rodea por detrás de ellos y atácalos frente a los árboles de bálsamo.

24En cuanto oigas el ruido de la marcha en las copas de los bálsamos prepárate, porque eso significa que el Señor ha salido delante de ti para atacar el campamento filisteo”.

25David cumplió las órdenes del Señor, y mató a los filisteos desde Geba hasta Gezer.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

All the tribes of Israel come to David at Hebron and anoint him king over all Israel. He conquers Jerusalem from the Jebusites, making it his capital (the 'City of David'), and defeats the Philistines in two battles.

Explanation

This is a pivotal moment in Israel's history: the unification of the twelve tribes under a single king and the choice of Jerusalem as the capital, a city that would become the religious and political center of the people for millennia. Jerusalem had a strategic advantage (easy to defend) and belonged to no specific tribe, avoiding favoritism. The victory over the Philistines shows David seeking God's guidance before acting — a pattern that appears repeatedly and contrasts with the impulsive decisions of his later life.

Fun facts

  • The conquest of Jerusalem involved the 'water shaft' (probably Warren's Shaft, an underground water structure) that David's soldiers may have used to enter the city — an archaeological discovery confirmed at the site.
  • David was 30 years old when he began to reign and ruled for 40 years in all (7 in Hebron over Judah, 33 in Jerusalem over all Israel).

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Samuel 5:1All the tribes of Israel come to David at Hebron and say that they are “thy bone and thy flesh”—acknowledging their kinship and the shared identity of the whole people.
  2. 2 Samuel 5:2The tribes recall that even while Saul was still king, it was David who led Israel out and in, and that the LORD Himself had already said he would be shepherd and ruler over the people.
  3. 2 Samuel 5:3The elders of Israel make a formal covenant with David before the LORD in Hebron, and they anoint him king over all Israel—not only over Judah.
  4. 2 Samuel 5:4David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and his reign lasted forty years in all.
  5. 2 Samuel 5:5Summary of the reign: seven years and six months in Hebron over Judah, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah united.
  6. 2 Samuel 5:6David marches against the Jebusites, who still held Jerusalem, and they mock him, saying that even the blind and the lame would be enough to keep him out.
  7. 2 Samuel 5:7Despite the mockery, David captures the stronghold of Zion, which becomes known as “the city of David.”
  8. 2 Samuel 5:8The saying “the blind and the lame shall not come into the house” grows out of the insult the Jebusites hurled at David, claiming that even the blind and the lame would be enough to keep him out of Jerusalem—David turns the phrase back on the Jebusites themselves after taking the city.
  9. 2 Samuel 5:9David settles in the captured stronghold, calling it the city of David, and keeps building around it, from the Millo inward.
  10. 2 Samuel 5:10David grows greater and greater, for the LORD God of hosts was with him.
  11. 2 Samuel 5:11Hiram, king of Tyre, sends messengers, cedar wood, and craftsmen to build a house for David—a friendly alliance between the two kingdoms.
  12. 2 Samuel 5:12David recognizes that it was the LORD who had established him as king and exalted his kingdom, all for the sake of His people Israel.
  13. 2 Samuel 5:13Now in Jerusalem, David takes more concubines and wives, and more sons and daughters are born to him.
  14. 2 Samuel 5:14The names of the sons born to David in Jerusalem are listed: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, among others.
  15. 2 Samuel 5:15The list of sons born in Jerusalem continues: Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, and Japhia.
  16. 2 Samuel 5:16This verse closes the list of the eleven sons born to David in Jerusalem—among them Nathan and Solomon, whom the Bible will follow closely in the chapters ahead.
  17. 2 Samuel 5:17When the Philistines hear that David has been anointed king over Israel, they all mobilize to attack him, and David goes down to the stronghold for safety.
  18. 2 Samuel 5:18The Philistines arrive and spread out in the valley of Rephaim, ready for battle.
  19. 2 Samuel 5:19David inquires of the LORD before acting, asking whether he should go up against the Philistines, and receives the assurance that victory will be delivered into his hands.
  20. 2 Samuel 5:20David defeats the Philistines at Baal-perazim and says that the LORD had “broken forth” upon his enemies like a breach of waters—hence the name of the place.
  21. 2 Samuel 5:21The Philistines abandon their idols as they flee, and David and his men carry them off as plunder.
  22. 2 Samuel 5:22The Philistines try again, spreading out once more in the valley of Rephaim for another attack.
  23. 2 Samuel 5:23This time David inquires of the LORD again, and the instructions change: instead of attacking head-on, he is to circle around behind the enemy and attack from beyond the mulberry trees.
  24. 2 Samuel 5:24Hearing “the sound of a going” in the tops of the mulberry trees was the agreed signal for David to attack—a sound of wind or footsteps in the treetops understood as God Himself already moving ahead against the Philistine army.
  25. 2 Samuel 5:25David obeys God’s instructions exactly and defeats the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer.

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