2 Samuel Chapter 5

“Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, etc.] All the rest of the tribes, save the tribe of Judah, who had made him king over them in Hebron seven years ago. These were ambassadors sent in the name of the several tribes to him, quickly after the deaths of Abner and Ishbosheth; from having any hand in which David had sufficiently cleared himself, and which had tended to reconcile the minds of the people of Israel to him: and spake, saying, we [are] thy bone and thy flesh; for though he was of the tribe of Judah, yet as all the tribes sprung from one man, they were all one bone, flesh, and blood;…”

“THE TRIBES ANOINT DAVID KING OVER ISRAEL. (Sa2 5:1-5) Then came all the tribes of Israel--a combined deputation of the leading authorities in every tribe. [See on Ch1 11:1.] David possessed the first and indispensable qualification for the throne; namely, that of being an Israelite (Deu 17:15). Of his military talent he had furnished ample proof. And the people's desire for his assumption of the government of Israel was further increased by their knowledge of the will and purpose of God, as declared by Samuel (Sa1 16:11-13).”

“Compare the marginal reference. The chronicler adds some interesting details 2Sa. 12:23-40 of the manner in which the various tribes from both sides of the Jordan came to Hebron to make David king, and of the joyful festivities on the occasion. The consummation to which events in God’s Providence had been leading had now come. Saul and Jonathan, Abner and Ish-bosheth, were dead; David was already head of a very large portion of Israel; the Philistines, and perhaps the remnant of the Canaanites, were restless and threatening; and it was obviously the interest of the Israelite nation to unite themselves under the…”

“Shalt feed - That is, rule them, and take care of them, as a shepherd doth of his sheep, Psa 78:70-71. This expression, he useth to admonish David, that he was not made a king to advance his own glory, but for the good of his people; whom he ought to rule with all tenderness, and to watch over with all diligence. 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 5:3”

“5:1-25 After the murder of Abner and Ishbosheth, the elders of the northern tribes accepted David as their king. David thus obtained an extended empire (5:1-5), a new capital city (5:6-10), a new palace (5:11), a new family (5:13-16), and renewed confidence (5:17-25). 5:1 your own flesh and blood: Years of civil war had set brother against brother, resulting in much bloodshed (see 3:1).”

“came: Ch1 11:1-3, 12:23-40 we: Sa2 19:13; Gen 29:14; Deu 17:15; Jdg 9:2; Eph 5:30; Heb 2:14 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 5:2”

“Sa2 5:1-2 David Anointed King over all Israel. - Sa2 5:1-3 (compare with this the parallel passages in Ch1 11:1-3). After the death of Ishbosheth, all the tribes of Israel (except Judah) came to Hebron in the persons of their representatives the elders (vid., Sa2 5:3), in response to the summons of Abner ( Sa2 3:17-19), to do homage to David as their king. They assigned three reasons for their coming: (1.) "Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh," i.e., thy blood-relations, inasmuch as all the tribes of Israel were lineal descendants of Jacob (vid., Gen 29:14; Jdg 9:2). (2.) "In time past, when Saul was king over…”