2 Samuel 2:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

NIV: The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months.

NASB: And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

CSB: The length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

NLT: David made Hebron his capital, and he ruled as king of Judah for seven and a half years.

KJV: And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

NKJV: And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Years before, when David was just a shepherd boy, the prophet Samuel told then-King Saul that God would take the throne away give it to his neighbor (1 Samuel 15:27–28). God then sent Samuel to Bethlehem and instructed him to anoint Jesse's youngest son as king (1 Samuel 16:11–13). From that point, David faithfully served and honored Saul, even when Saul tried to kill him in a jealous rage. David saw Saul as God's anointed and trusted God's timing.

Eventually, Saul and three of his sons died in battle (1 Samuel 31:1–4). David had sent spoils from one of his battles to the elders of Judah (1 Samuel 30:26–31), and they made him king of the tribe (2 Samuel 2:1–4). Five years later, Abner made Saul's son Ish-bosheth king over the rest of Israelite territory (2 Samuel 2:8–10).

Even now, David is in no hurry. God will give him the nation in His timing.

Ironically, that timing is determined by Abner. It is he who unites the northern and eastern tribes. And it's he who, tired of Ish-bosheth, will deliver those tribes to David (2 Samuel 3:6–21). When David takes the crown of the unified nation, he'll reign for another thirty-three years.

Second Samuel 2:8–11 records when Abner made Ish-bosheth king. Saul and Jonathan are dead (1 Samuel 31:1–4). The men of Judah have made David king of their tribe (2 Samuel 2:1–4). Now Abner, Saul's cousin and army commander (1 Samuel 14:50), takes Saul's son Ish-bosheth and makes him king over the rest of Israel. Abner will fight David's forces for two years before he realizes he can't win. He switches to David's side and convinces Israel to follow David before both he and Ish-bosheth are murdered (2 Samuel 2:12—4:12).

David returns to Israel, where he is anointed king over Judah, and settles in Hebron. Abner declares Saul's son Ish-bosheth king over Israel. David blesses the men of Jabesh-gilead for burying Saul's remains. Abner, leading Ish-bosheth's men, faces off against Joab, leading David's fighters, at Gibeon. In a fierce, one-sided battle, Abner kills Joab's brother, but David's men overwhelm Abner's Benjaminite fighters, losing twenty but killing 360. Abner and the survivors prepare for a last stand on the hill of Ammah, but Joab calls off the battle when Abner pleads with him to stop. Both sides return home.

Saul and three of his sons are dead (1 Samuel 31:1–4). David becomes king of Judah, and Saul's son Ish-bosheth is king of the remaining tribes. When the two sides meet in battle, Ish-bosheth's army fares poorly. David continues to grow stronger over two years of fighting. Ish-bosheth's general Abner appears to make a futile attempt to take the crown from his king, then starts the work to peacefully hand David the crown of Israel (2 Samuel 3:1–12).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.