2 Samuel 5:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.

NIV: Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim;

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

CSB: The Philistines came up again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.

NLT: But after a while the Philistines returned and again spread out across the valley of Rephaim.

KJV: And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

NKJV: Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.

When the Philistines heard David was king of all Israel, they amassed troops to wipe out his army, likely hoping to stop David before he could grow strong enough to defend Israel against their domination. With God's approval, David and his men met them and destroyed them. The surviving Philistines fled so quickly they abandoned their idols behind for Israel's army to burn (2 Samuel 5:17–21; 1 Chronicles 14:12).

The Philistines should have known better. David has been fighting Philistines since he was a shepherd boy (1 Samuel 17) and quickly became one of King Saul's most successful military commanders. Even when David swore to fight the Israelites under Achish, king of Gath, the other Philistine kings refused his help (1 Samuel 29). But they're desperate. A united Israel, protected by David, is a threat to their occupation of the northern tribes, and possibly their existence.

Now, they've come again, to the same Valley of Rephaim, to try one more time to get the situation under control. This time, David drives them all the way to their city of Gezer. But David has a different experience. It seems God allows him to hear the army of angels who fight with him (2 Samuel 5:23–25).

The Valley of Rephaim is south and slightly west of Jerusalem, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

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.