2 Samuel 2:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."

NIV: Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them."

NASB: Now then, let your hands be strong and be valiant, since Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.'

CSB: Therefore, be strong and valiant, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."

NLT: Now that Saul is dead, I ask you to be my strong and loyal subjects like the people of Judah, who have anointed me as their new king.'

KJV: Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.

NKJV: Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

David is thanking the people of Jabesh-gilead for rescuing Saul's body from the Philistines. He gave them a formal blessing in the form of a prayer that the Lord will show them steadfast love and faithfulness for their courageous act in burying Saul's remains. David has also promised to do good for them himself (2 Samuel 2:5–6).

Now, David encourages them to be strong and valiant. Saul was good in war; one of his first battles was rescuing Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11). Now, he's dead, and there is no centralized army to protect the Israelites from the Philistines who have moved in (1 Samuel 31:7).

David finishes by mentioning he's now king of Judah. David is a man of war to the Philistines, but a man of peace to the Israelites. When Saul chased him, he ran rather than fighting. Instead of taking the crown of Judah by force, he sent gifts to the elders and allowed them to decide (1 Samuel 31:26–31; 2 Samuel 2:1–4). And in his five years being king of Judah, he apparently makes no attempt to threaten the other tribes to accept him. He may subtly bribe Jabesh-gilead with thanks and the inference of protection, but he won't conquer them.

Jabesh-gilead either won't or can't follow David. Five years into David's reign in Judah, Abner, Saul's cousin and military commander, makes Saul's son Ish-bosheth king in Gilead (2 Samuel 2:8). The two kingdoms will fight for two years until Abner realizes that Ish-bosheth is not kingly material, and that Abner can't take the crown. Abner manages a mostly peaceful transfer of power to David (2 Samuel 3:1–21).

Second Samuel 2:5–7 is David's thanks to those who honored the body of his own enemy. Early in his reign, King Saul saved Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11:1–11). At Saul's death, the Philistines hanged Saul's and three of his sons' bodies on a wall. The men of Jabesh-gilead risked their lives to rescue the bodies and bury them properly (1 Samuel 31). David's thanks are sincere yet may also be a way to win support. Meanwhile, Saul's general Abner makes Saul's son Ish-bosheth king of Israel (2 Samuel 2:8–11).

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.