Chapter 07
King of Judah
Seven years at Hebron and the civil war with the house of Saul
News of Saul's Death
Two days after returning to Ziklag from the Amalekite battle, a young man arrived from Saul's camp with torn clothes and dirt on his head. He brought news: the Israelites had fled, many had fallen, and Saul and Jonathan were dead.
The young man identified himself as an Amalekite and gave a version of Saul's death contradicting 1 Samuel 31. He claimed to have personally killed the wounded Saul at the king's request, taking Saul's crown and arm-bracelet as proof.
Most commentators conclude:
- The 1 Samuel 31 account (Saul falling on his own sword) is the true account.
- The Amalekite found Saul's body after his suicide, took the items, and fabricated his role hoping for reward from David.
- Or — David accepted the man's testimony at face value, since the man condemned himself by his own words.
David's Response
David and his men tore their clothes and mourned. They fasted until evening for Saul, Jonathan, the people of the LORD, and the house of Israel.
David then turned to the Amalekite:
"How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?... Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the LORD's anointed.'" — 2 Samuel 1:14, 16
David commanded one of his young men to strike the Amalekite down.
The Song of the Bow
David composed his lament — the Song of the Bow — and commanded that it be taught to the people of Judah. It was preserved in the now-lost Book of Jashar 2 Sam 1:18.
Full text in 2 Samuel 1:19–27. Excerpt:
"Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!... Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions... I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women. How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!" — 2 Samuel 1:19–27 (excerpts)
The refrain "How the mighty have fallen!" appears three times.
Inquiring of the LORD
After the mourning period, David inquired of the LORD:
- "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?" — Answer: "Go up."
- "To which shall I go up?" — Answer: "To Hebron."
Why Hebron?
Hebron was strategically and theologically significant:
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Patriarchal heritage | Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were buried at the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron Gen 23, 25, 49 |
| Tribal center | The chief city of Judah's hill country |
| Caleb's inheritance | Given to Caleb after the conquest Josh 14:13–14 |
| Levitical city | Designated as a city of refuge Josh 21:13 |
| Elevation | About 3,000 feet above sea level — defensible |
| Approximate location | ~19 miles south of Jerusalem |
David's Move to Hebron
David moved to Hebron with:
- His two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail (Nabal's widow)
- His men, "every one with his household"
The Anointing at Hebron
"And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah." — 2 Samuel 2:4
David was now thirty years old 2 Sam 5:4 — somewhere between fifteen and twenty years after his secret anointing by Samuel.
Note: this is David's second anointing. He would receive a third when he was made king over all Israel seven years later 2 Sam 5:3.
David's First Royal Act
When David learned that the men of Jabesh-gilead had recovered and buried Saul's body, he sent messengers thanking them:
"May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing." — 2 Samuel 2:5–6
And he sent a careful diplomatic message: "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."
This was diplomatic recruitment. Jabesh-gilead was on the eastern side of the Jordan — Saul's stronghold territory. David was reaching out to the loyalists of the previous king's house.
Ish-bosheth Crowned at Mahanaim
Saul's surviving son Ish-bosheth (called Esh-baal in 1 Chronicles 8:33; the name was changed to avoid the pagan element "baal") had not been at Mount Gilboa.
Abner son of Ner — Saul's first cousin and his army commander throughout his reign — took Ish-bosheth across the Jordan to Mahanaim and made him king over:
- Gilead
- The Ashurites
- Jezreel
- Ephraim
- Benjamin
- All Israel (except Judah)
Ages and Reigns
- Ish-bosheth was 40 when he began to reign 2 Sam 2:10
- He reigned 2 years over Israel
- David reigned 7 years and 6 months over Judah 2 Sam 2:11
The discrepancy (David's 7.5 years vs. Ish-bosheth's 2 years) suggests Ish-bosheth's reign began about 5 years after the battle of Gilboa, possibly after Abner spent years recovering territory from the Philistines.
The Battle at the Pool of Gibeon
The two factions met at the pool of Gibeon. Abner led Ish-bosheth's men. Joab — David's nephew and now his commander — led David's men.
The Twelve-on-Twelve Combat
Abner proposed a representative combat: "Let the young men arise and compete before us." Joab agreed. Twelve from each side. They each grasped opponents by the head and stabbed each other simultaneously. All twenty-four died.
The site was named Helkath-hazzurim ("Field of Sword-Edges") 2 Sam 2:16.
The General Battle
A general battle followed. Abner's men were defeated. The battle was very severe that day.
Asahel's Death
Joab's youngest brother Asahel — one of David's mighty men, described as "swift of foot as a wild gazelle" 2 Sam 2:18 — pursued Abner.
Abner, twice, urged Asahel to turn aside and take an armor and weapons from a younger soldier:
"Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?" — 2 Samuel 2:22
Asahel refused. Abner thrust the butt-end of his spear backward into Asahel's stomach, killing him instantly. All who came to the place where Asahel had fallen stood still.
This killing — defensive but deadly — would haunt the politics of David's reign.
The Truce
Joab and Abishai continued the pursuit. At sundown they came to a hill in the Wilderness of Gibeon. Abner called from the top:
"Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?" — 2 Samuel 2:26
Joab agreed and blew the trumpet. The battle ended.
Casualties
| Side | Dead |
|---|---|
| Abner's forces (Benjamin / Israel) | 360 men |
| David's forces (Joab's command) | 19 men plus Asahel |
Asahel was buried in his father's tomb at Bethlehem 2 Sam 2:32.
The Long War
The conflict did not end with one battle:
"There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker." — 2 Samuel 3:1
David's Sons Born at Hebron
During the seven and a half years at Hebron, David fathered six sons by six different wives 2 Sam 3:2–5:
| Order | Son | Mother | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Amnon | Ahinoam of Jezreel | Would rape his half-sister Tamar; killed by Absalom |
| 2nd | Chileab (also Daniel in 1 Chr 3:1) | Abigail, Nabal's widow | Not mentioned again — likely died young |
| 3rd | Absalom | Maacah, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur | Murdered Amnon; led the rebellion against David |
| 4th | Adonijah | Haggith | Attempted to seize the throne; executed by Solomon |
| 5th | Shephatiah | Abital | Not mentioned again |
| 6th | Ithream | Eglah | Not mentioned again. The text adds "David's wife" specifically — possibly his first wife, perhaps Michal in some manuscript traditions |
This polygamous strategy was politically calculated — alliances with various clans and a foreign king (Talmai of Geshur) — but each marriage planted seeds of future trouble.
The Abner Defection
Abner had been the real power behind Ish-bosheth's throne. The break came over a woman.
Rizpah
Abner had taken Rizpah, Saul's former concubine, for himself. Taking a king's concubine was tantamount to claiming the throne (see Absalom's later actions in 2 Samuel 16). Ish-bosheth confronted Abner about it.
Abner's response was violent and decisive:
"Am I a dog's head of Judah? To this day I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the LORD has sworn to him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba." — 2 Samuel 3:8–10
Abner sent messengers to David offering to deliver all Israel to him.
David's Demand: Michal
David's reply to Abner contained one condition: bring back his wife Michal, whom Saul had given to Palti son of Laish.
David also wrote directly to Ish-bosheth demanding Michal back. Ish-bosheth complied. Michal was taken from her husband Palti, who walked behind her weeping all the way to Bahurim until Abner ordered him to go back 2 Sam 3:14–16.
Why David Wanted Michal
Possible reasons:
- Legitimacy: Marriage to Saul's daughter strengthened David's claim to the throne
- Genuine love: David had loved her once
- Honor: She had saved his life when Saul tried to kill him 1 Sam 19
- Bride-price: She had been bought with 200 Philistine foreskins
Whatever the reason, the marriage that resumed at Hebron would never produce a child 2 Sam 6:23, and would end in cold estrangement after Michal despised David for dancing before the Ark.
Abner's Meeting with David
Abner came to Hebron with twenty men and met with David. He committed to gathering all Israel to crown David king. David made a feast for him. Abner left in peace 2 Sam 3:20–21.
The Murder of Abner
Joab returned to Hebron just after Abner had left. When he heard what David had done, he was furious. He went to David:
"What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away, so that he is gone? You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing." — 2 Samuel 3:24–25
Joab — without David's knowledge — sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the cistern of Sirah. Joab took him aside privately at the city gate and stabbed him in the stomach. Abner died.
The text gives two reasons for Joab's act:
- "For the blood of Asahel his brother" 2 Sam 3:27 — revenge
- Implied: Abner had been positioning himself for power; Joab eliminated a rival commander
David's Response
David disavowed the killing immediately and powerfully:
"I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD forever for the blood of Abner the son of Ner. May it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father's house, and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge or who is leprous or who holds a spindle or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread!" — 2 Samuel 3:28–29
David commanded Joab and all the people to tear their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. David himself walked behind the bier.
At Abner's grave, David lamented:
"Should Abner die as a fool dies? Your hands were not bound; your feet were not fettered; as one falls before the wicked you have fallen." — 2 Samuel 3:33–34
David refused to eat that day until sundown. The people noticed and approved — they recognized that "it was not the king's will to put to death Abner the son of Ner" 2 Sam 3:37.
David's private statement about Joab:
"These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are more severe than I. The LORD repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!" — 2 Samuel 3:39
David would remember the Abner killing on his deathbed and command Solomon to deal with Joab 1 Kings 2:5–6.
The Murder of Ish-bosheth
With Abner dead, Ish-bosheth's hands sank. Two captains of his raiding bands, brothers named Baanah and Rechab, sons of Rimmon a Beerothite of Benjamin, decided to act.
They came to Ish-bosheth's house at noon while he was taking his afternoon rest. The doorkeeper, a woman, had been cleaning wheat and had fallen asleep. They slipped past her, entered the bedroom, stabbed Ish-bosheth in the stomach, beheaded him, and fled with the head 2 Sam 4:5–7.
They brought the head to David at Hebron, expecting reward:
"Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. The LORD has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring." — 2 Samuel 4:8
David's Response
David executed them on the spot. He cited the precedent of the Amalekite who had brought news of Saul's death: "How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?" 2 Sam 4:11
The young men killed Baanah and Rechab, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool at Hebron. They buried Ish-bosheth's head in Abner's tomb at Hebron 2 Sam 4:12.
The Tribes Come to Hebron
With Abner and Ish-bosheth both dead, the house of Saul had no viable male heir of fighting age (Mephibosheth was crippled and only about twelve years old). All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron 2 Sam 5:1; 1 Chr 12:23–40.
Their Three-Point Appeal
- "We are your bone and flesh" — kinship
- "In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel" — proven military leadership
- "The LORD said to you, 'You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel'" — divine appointment
The Numbers Who Came
1 Chronicles 12:23–37 records the number of warriors from each tribe who came to Hebron to make David king:
| Tribe | Warriors |
|---|---|
| Judah (carrying shield and spear) | 6,800 |
| Simeon | 7,100 |
| Levi | 4,600 |
| Aaronites (with Jehoiada) | 3,700 |
| Zadok and his father's house | 22 commanders |
| Benjamin (Saul's tribe) | 3,000 |
| Ephraim | 20,800 |
| Half-tribe of Manasseh (west) | 18,000 |
| Issachar | 200 chiefs + relatives |
| Zebulun | 50,000 |
| Naphtali | 1,000 chiefs + 37,000 men |
| Dan | 28,600 |
| Asher | 40,000 |
| Reuben, Gad, half-Manasseh (east) | 120,000 |
The total — well over 300,000 — represents the entire fighting force of Israel arriving to crown David. They feasted with him for three days 1 Chr 12:39.
The Third Anointing
"So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel." — 2 Samuel 5:3
Final Summary of the Hebron Years
- Duration
- 7 years and 6 months
- Age at start
- 30 (per 2 Sam 5:4)
- Age at end / start of united reign
- 37
- Capital
- Hebron
- Territory
- Judah only (south); Ish-bosheth held the north
- Major events
- Civil war with house of Saul · 6 sons born to 6 wives · Abner's defection and murder · Ish-bosheth's murder · National unification at Hebron
- Anointings to date
- Three: by Samuel privately, by men of Judah at Hebron, by elders of Israel at Hebron
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May 20, 2026 at 9:15 PM
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I worked through the first half of Chapter 7, King of Judah, covering the opening of 2 Samuel 1 and 2. The chapter begins with an Amalekite messenger arriving at Ziklag two days after my return from fighting the Amalekites. He came with torn clothes and dust on his head, bringing news that Saul and Jonathan were dead. When pressed, he claimed he had personally killed Saul on Mount Gilboa at Saul's own request, saying Saul was wounded and leaning on his spear in agony. He brought Saul's crown and bracelet as proof. What struck me here is that the messenger's account contradicts 1 Samuel 31, where Saul falls on his own sword. Most commentators conclude the Amalekite likely found Saul's body after the suicide, stripped the items, and fabricated his role hoping for a reward from David. But David accepted the man's own testimony as enough to condemn him. David tore his clothes, mourned, and fasted until evening for Saul, Jonathan, the people of the LORD, and the house of Israel. Then he had the Amalekite executed for daring to put his hand against the LORD's anointed. Next came the Song of the Bow in 2 Samuel 1:17-27, David's lament for Saul and Jonathan. It's structured around the refrain "How the mighty have fallen," repeated three times. What stood out to me was that David honored Saul publicly even though Saul had hunted him for years. His grief over Jonathan was particularly raw, saying Jonathan's love to him surpassed the love of women. Then we moved into 2 Samuel 2. David inquired of the LORD twice, asking first whether to go up to a city of Judah, then asking which one. The LORD said Hebron. David went with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal, along with all his men and their households. The men of Judah came and anointed David king over the house of Judah. This was David's second anointing. Samuel had anointed him privately years earlier, and his third would come seven years later when all Israel made him king. David's first royal act was to thank the men of Jabesh-gilead for recovering Saul's body and burying him. This was a diplomatic move because Jabesh-gilead was on the east side of the Jordan, in Saul's stronghold territory, and David was extending peace to Saul's loyalists. Meanwhile, Abner took Saul's surviving son Ish-bosheth across the Jordan to Mahanaim and made him king over the northern territories. I needed to work through who Abner was, because his role wasn't immediately clear. Abner was Saul's first cousin and had served as the commander of Saul's army throughout Saul's entire reign. He was not related to David at all. He represented the old guard of the Sauline dynasty, and his loyalty was to the house of Saul. This raised a real question for me. If Saul and David had been friends, why did it have to come to civil war? The answer is that they were only friends at the very beginning. David played music for Saul and they were close, but Saul grew jealous of David's military success and popularity and hunted him for years. By the time Saul died, they were no longer friends. More importantly, Saul's power structure did not simply dissolve when he died. His army, his family, and the northern tribes remained loyal to his house, and Abner fought to preserve that structure by crowning Ish-bosheth. Even though Samuel had anointed me as king years earlier, the house of Saul did not hand over the throne willingly. We stopped before reading the battle at the Pool of Gibeon, and we'll pick up there next time.