2 Samuel 5:8

“And David said on that day, etc.] On which he took the strong hold of Zion: whosoever getteth up to the gutter; where it is generally supposed the blind and lame were, whether images or real men: but what is meant by “Tzinnur”, we render “gutter”, is not easy to say; we follow some of the Jewish writers, who take it to be a canal, or water spout, used to carry off the water from roofs of houses into cisterns, as the word is rendered in (<194207>Psalm 42:7); which is the only place besides this in which it is used in Scripture; but R. Isaiah takes it to be the bar or bolt of the gate, and the sense to be, whoever got up to the gate, and got in at that, unbolting it, or breaking through it;…”

“Whosoever getteth up to the gutter--This is thought by some to mean a subterranean passage; by others a spout through which water was poured upon the fire which the besiegers often applied to the woodwork at the gateways, and by the projections of which a skilful climber might make his ascent good; a third class render the words, "whosoever dasheth them against the precipice" (Ch1 11:6).”

“i. e. “Whosoever will smite the Jebusites, let him reach both the lame and the blind, who are the hated of David’s soul, by the gutter or water-course, and he shall be chief.” The only access to the citadel was where the water had worn a channel (some understand a subterranean channel), and where there was, in consequence, some vegetation in the rock. Joab (see the marginal reference) took the hint, and with all the activity that had distinguished his brother Anabel 2 Samuel 2:18, climbed up first. The blind and the lame are either literally such, placed there in derision by the Jebusites who thought the stronghold impregnable, or they are the Jebusite garrison, so called in derision by…”

“To the gutter - That is, whosoever scaleth the fort, or getteth up to the top of it, where the gutter was. That are hated - The Jebusites, and the lame, and the blind, Who had probably themselves insulted him, and blasphemed God. He shall be - These words are fitly supplied out of Ch1 11:6, where they are expressed. They said &c. - That is, whence it became a proverb, or a common saying, used by David, and others, the blind and the lame Jebusites, were set to keep the house, that is, the fort of Zion; and to keep others from coming into it; but now they are shut out of it, and none of them, either of the Jebusites, or of blind and lame persons, shall be admitted to come into it again. Which…”

“5:8 How David conquered Jerusalem is debated. Possibly he used a water tunnel as a conduit for his troops to enter the city, but not all interpreters agree. Another possibility is that David and his men conquered Jerusalem with the more traditional siege works and by scaling the walls. The term translated water tunnel occurs only here and in Ps 42:7 (“raging seas”); the statement might be metaphorical, referring to the ferocity of the attack. • The blind and the lame may not enter the house: House could refer either to the Temple, which had not yet been built, or to David’s palace. The proverb may explain why Mephibosheth, Saul’s descendant, was barred from the throne (see study note on 2…”

“Whosoever: Jos 15:16, Jos 15:17; Sa1 17:25 he shall be: Ch1 11:6-9 Wherefore: etc. or, Because they had said, even the blind and the lame, he shall not come into the house 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 5:9”