2 Samuel 5:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.

NIV: Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim;

NASB: Now the Philistines came and overran the Valley of Rephaim.

CSB: So the Philistines came and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.

NLT: The Philistines arrived and spread out across the valley of Rephaim.

KJV: The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

NKJV: The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.

In the time of Saul and David, the Philistines mostly occupied the western coast. They made occasional forays into Judah and the northern tribes. David fought them consistently while he served Saul, but not so much during the years when he and his men hid from the king in the wilderness. We're not told if David fought the Philistines during the seven years he was king of Judah in Hebron.

Now, however, David is king of all Israel, including those vulnerable northern tribes, and the Philistines are concerned. They need to weaken Israel's political unity and stop David before he can grow much stronger.

The Philistine armies spread out in the Valley of Rephaim, northeast of Jerusalem. This strategic location might allow them to cut off potential reinforcements from the territory of Judah in the south. Spreading out implies setting up their camps and settling in for as long as it will take to root David out and defeat him. As always, the Philistines come well-equipped and with large numbers.

The Philistines have their strategy, but David has his God. Before David responds, he asks if God even wants him to fight. And, if so, will he win? God gives him confirmation, and the Philistines lose spectacularly (2 Samuel 5:19). David says, "The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood" (2 Samuel 5:20).

Second 2 Samuel 5:17–25 explains how David confronts the Philistines as king of Israel. He has been fighting the Philistines since he was a boy (1 Samuel 17), and one of the reasons Israel has accepted him as king is because of his reputation as a military commander (2 Samuel 3:17–19; 5:2). This section is repeated in 1 Chronicles 14:8–17. The battles continue a series of examples of how God is blessing David's new kingship (2 Samuel 5). Second Samuel 5—10 describes David's successes as a man and a king. Second Samuel 11—24 describes his failures and their consequences.

Second Samuel 5 is a series of vignettes describing how God blesses David after his inauguration as king over the nation. David took Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made the city the nation's capital (2 Samuel 5:6–9). His first international ally, Hiram, king of Tyre, built his palace (2 Samuel 5:11). His family grew: exponentially (2 Samuel 5:13–16)! And he soundly beat his enemies (2 Samuel 5:17–25). David did all this because of God's favor, to bless the nation, not through his own skill or because of any good in him (2 Samuel 5:10, 12). First Chronicles 11:1–9 and 14:1–17 also record these events.

Second Samuel 5 is a pivot point for all of Israel's history. After Saul's son Ish-bosheth is killed, no opposition remains to David's kingship (2 Samuel 4:5–6). Convinced by Abner before his death to follow David (2 Samuel 3:17–19), the elders of Israel gather at Hebron to anoint David king over the entire nation. David moves his capital to Jerusalem and defends the nation against the Philistines. Now, he has enough security to bring the ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1–15). The following chapters seem to collectively describe David's accomplishments (2 Samuel 5:9—10:19) and his mistakes (2 Samuel 11—20).

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.