Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Samuel
Chapter 5: The LORD God of Hosts Was With Him
At last all Israel comes to David and anoints him king. He captures the stronghold of Zion and makes it the city of David, and 'grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.' When the Philistines attack, David does not presume on past victories but enquires of the LORD each time, and God gives him the triumph.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Samuel chapter 5. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 5 brings David at last to the throne of all Israel, to the city of Jerusalem, and to victory over the Philistines. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
All the Tribes Come to David (2 Samuel 5:1-5)
The whole nation gathers to David at Hebron and anoints him king, the shepherd God had appointed to feed His people.
Thou Shalt Feed My People Israel
"Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah."
Word Study
"Thou shalt feed my people," Hebrew ra'ah (רָעָה), "to shepherd, tend, pasture a flock." The elders quote God's own word to David: "Thou shalt feed (ra'ah, shepherd) my people Israel." The verb is the shepherd's word, and it is no accident that the man chosen to rule Israel had begun as a literal shepherd of Bethlehem. In the Bible, to be king is to be a shepherd, to feed, guide, and protect the flock, not to fleece it. David is Israel's shepherd-king, and in that he is the clearest Old Testament type of the Lord Jesus, "the good shepherd" who "giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11), the "one shepherd" over the one flock (John 10:16), and "that great shepherd of the sheep" (Hebrews 13:20). The people also confess, "we are thy bone and thy flesh," owning kinship with their king, as the church is joined to Christ, "we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones" (Ephesians 5:30). After long delay, at thirty years old, the shepherd is enthroned over all, an age at which another Son of David would begin His ministry (Luke 3:23).
Explanation
The long division is over. All the tribes come to Hebron and acknowledge three things: their kinship with David ("thy bone and thy flesh"), his proven leadership even under Saul, and above all the LORD's own word that David should shepherd Israel. So the elders make a covenant with him "before the LORD," and David is anointed king over all Israel, his third anointing, and the public fulfillment of what Samuel had done secretly years before. The summary of his reign is given: king at thirty, forty years in all, seven and a half at Hebron over Judah, and thirty-three at Jerusalem over the whole nation. The shepherd of Bethlehem, anointed as a boy and long rejected and hunted, has come at last, in God's time, to the throne of a united people.
Gospel Focus
David's enthronement over all Israel, after his anointing as a boy and long years of rejection, is a bright picture of the greater Son of David. Jesus was marked out as King from His birth, yet "came unto his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11); He walked a long road of rejection before His exaltation, and one day "all the tribes" shall own Him. He is the true Shepherd-King, appointed by the Father to "feed my people," who does not drive or exploit the flock but lays down His life for them. And His people are joined to Him as "bone and flesh," members of His very body. The union that Israel confessed with David, we have with Christ, and it is far deeper: we are one with Him who feeds and keeps us. Have you come, as all the tribes came, and owned Him King, confessing kinship with the Shepherd who gave Himself for the sheep?
The Capture of Zion (2 Samuel 5:6-16)
David takes the stronghold of Jerusalem, makes it his capital, and grows great because the LORD is with him.
David Grew Great, and the LORD Was With Him
"And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him. And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house. And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake. And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David. And these be the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia, And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet."
Word Study
"Zion," Hebrew Tsiyyon (צִיּוֹן), the fortified hill of Jerusalem, "the city of David." David captures the ancient Jebusite stronghold of Zion, and it becomes the "city of David," the political and, soon, the spiritual center of the nation. From this point Tsiyyon grows into one of Scripture's richest words: it comes to mean the dwelling place of God, "the LORD hath chosen Zion" (Psalm 132:13), and finally the heavenly city of the redeemed, "ye are come unto mount Sion... the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem" (Hebrews 12:22). The secret of David's success is stated plainly and twice implied: "David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him." His greatness was not his own; it was the presence of the LORD. And David rightly discerned the purpose of it: God "had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake", not for David's glory but for the good of God's people. The taunt of the Jebusites, that even "the blind and the lame" could hold the walls against David, is overturned by the God of hosts.
Explanation
David moves to make Jerusalem his capital, a wise choice, for it lay on the border between Judah and the northern tribes and belonged to none of them, a neutral center for a united kingdom. The Jebusites, confident in their fortress, mock him, boasting that even blind and lame defenders could keep him out. But David takes the stronghold of Zion, apparently by a bold assault up the water shaft, and makes it the city of David, building it up from the Millo inward. His fame spreads: Hiram of Tyre sends cedar and craftsmen to build him a palace. The narrator gives the reason for it all, "the LORD God of hosts was with him", and records David's own godly insight that God had established and exalted him "for his people Israel's sake." A list of sons born in Jerusalem follows, among them Nathan and Solomon, names that will matter greatly in the line of the Messiah.
Gospel Focus
The heart of these verses is a single, repeated truth: "the LORD God of hosts was with him." David's greatness, his capital, his palace, his growing kingdom, all rested on the presence of God, not on his own strength or the strength of Zion's walls. This is the whole secret of a fruitful life and ministry: not gifts, strategy, or resources, but God with us. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). And David humbly saw that his exaltation was "for his people Israel's sake", God lifts up His servants not for their private glory but for the good of His people. Zion, the city David took, becomes the enduring emblem of God's dwelling with His people, fulfilled in the church and consummated in "the heavenly Jerusalem." The King who is truly "God with us," Immanuel, has taken His Zion, and no Jebusite taunt, no gate of hell, can keep Him out. Where the LORD of hosts is present, the stronghold falls and the kingdom grows.
Victory Over the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17-25)
Twice the Philistines attack, and twice David enquires of the LORD, never presuming on the last victory to win the next.
When David Enquired of the LORD
"But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold. The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand. And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim. And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them. And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer."
Word Study
"Baalperazim," Hebrew Baal-peratsim (בַּעַל פְּרָצִים), "the master, or place, of breakings-through." After the first victory David names the site "Baalperazim," explaining, "The LORD hath broken forth (parats) upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters." The image is of a dam bursting, an unstoppable flood of divine power sweeping the enemy away. The victory is emphatically the LORD's breaking-through, not David's might. But the deepest lesson is in what David does before each battle: he "enquired of the LORD." Twice the Philistines come, and twice David asks, and, strikingly, God gives a different battle plan the second time, direct assault first, then a flanking movement waiting for "the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees." Had David simply repeated his first strategy, presuming on past success, he might have failed. The man after God's own heart never lives on yesterday's guidance; he seeks the LORD afresh for every battle. Old victories are no substitute for present dependence.
Explanation
No sooner is David king over all Israel than the Philistines, who had tolerated him as a vassal at Ziklag, come in force to crush the new united monarchy. David, though now a king with an army, does not rush to battle on his own judgment; he enquires of the LORD and is told to go up, with the promise of victory. He wins at Baalperazim, where God "broke forth" on the enemy like a flood, and the Philistines abandon even their idols, which David burns. But the Philistines regroup and attack again. This time David enquires once more, and receives a completely different plan: not a frontal assault, but a circling maneuver, waiting for the mysterious "sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees" as the signal that the LORD Himself has gone out before him. David obeys exactly, and routs the Philistines across a wide stretch of land. Two victories, two enquiries, two different strategies, one dependent king.
Gospel Focus
The double battle teaches a vital lesson in walking with God: never presume on past guidance or past victory. David, freshly crowned and freshly triumphant, still enquired of the LORD before the second battle, and God gave a new plan. Yesterday's manna will not feed today; yesterday's strategy may not win today's fight. "The LORD... is thy keeper" who neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:3-5), and He wills that we depend on Him moment by moment, "in all thy ways acknowledge him" (Proverbs 3:6). Note too that David waited for the sign that "the LORD go out before thee"; the victory came when God went first. Our part is to enquire, to wait, and then to "bestir" ourselves in step with God's own moving. The greater Son of David won His victory in the same spirit of perfect dependence, doing "always those things that please" the Father (John 8:29). Enquire afresh; wait for God to go before; then move, and the enemy will be broken like the breach of waters.
Chapter 5 in Review
2 Samuel 5 brings David at last to the throne of all Israel. The tribes gather to Hebron, confess their kinship with him and the LORD's word that he should shepherd the people, and anoint him king; at thirty he begins a forty-year reign. He captures the Jebusite stronghold of Zion, makes it the city of David, and "grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him," discerning that God had exalted him "for his people Israel's sake." When the Philistines attack the new king twice, David does not presume but enquires of the LORD each time, wins a flood-like victory at Baalperazim, and then, following a wholly new battle plan, routs them again as the LORD goes before him in the tops of the mulberry trees.
For the Apostolic reader, David enthroned as the long-rejected shepherd-king, joined to his people as "bone and flesh," pictures the greater Son of David, the Good Shepherd who was rejected before He was exalted and to whom all the tribes shall yet come. The secret of David's greatness, "the LORD God of hosts was with him," is the secret of every fruitful life; and Zion, the city he took, grows into the emblem of God's dwelling with His people, the heavenly Jerusalem. Above all, David's fresh enquiry before each battle calls us never to live on yesterday's guidance, but to depend on God anew and move only as He goes before.
- David is the shepherd-king appointed to "feed my people," a type of Christ the Good Shepherd.
- "The LORD God of hosts was with him", the presence of God, not David's strength, was the secret of his greatness.
- God exalted David "for his people Israel's sake"; He lifts His servants for the good of His people, not their glory.
- David enquired afresh before each battle; never presume on past guidance or past victory.
Questions for Reflection
- Have you come to own the Shepherd-King, confessing your union with Him who gave His life for the sheep?
- Is the secret of your labors "the LORD... was with him," or your own strength and strategy?
- Do you enquire of God afresh, or lean on yesterday's guidance for today's battle?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- David anointed king over all Israel; the shepherd-king: 2 Samuel 5:1-5; John 10:11; John 10:16; Hebrews 13:20; Ephesians 5:30; Luke 3:23; John 1:11.
- The capture of Zion; the LORD with him; the city of God: 2 Samuel 5:6-16; Psalm 132:13; Hebrews 12:22; Romans 8:31.
- Victory over the Philistines; fresh dependence: 2 Samuel 5:17-25; Psalm 121:3-5; Proverbs 3:6; John 8:29.