2 Samuel 5:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

NIV: So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

NASB: Then David did so, just as the Lord had commanded him; he struck and killed the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.

CSB: So David did exactly as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer.

NLT: So David did what the Lord commanded, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

KJV: And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.

NKJV: And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.

David has spent his entire adult life fighting. When he served King Saul, he mostly battled the Philistines. Now that David is king of Israel, the Philistines are concerned. Before, the nation wasn't truly united, and the Philistines were able to attack the northern tribes regularly. If they don't defeat David, their territory is at risk.

They tried fighting him before, in the Valley of Rephaim, southwest of Jerusalem. David's men beat them so thoroughly that the survivors fled without their idols. David had them collected and burned (2 Samuel 5:17–21).

Now, the Philistines return. As before, David asks for God's direction. This time, the Lord provides a very specific battle plan. David is to attack the enemy from the rear. But he must wait until he hears what sounds like marching coming from the trees. If this sound came from the Philistines' front, they think they're being attacked from two directions (2 Samuel 5:23–24). The sound may also have been a reassuring signal to the Israelites that God's army was with them.

David does exactly as the Lord tells him to and once again defeats the Philistines in an overwhelming victory. This time, David drives the surviving Philistines from Geba, north of Jerusalem, back to Gezer, to their own territory to the west. He effectively chases them out of central Israel in a decisive and lasting victory.

The next segments of 2 Samuel aren't given in a strict chronology. From chapter 5 through chapter 10, the text tells stories of David's greatness and God's blessing. In chapter 11, David sins against Bathsheba and Uriah. The rest of the book, until his death, recount the tragedies that result from his sin.

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.