King of Israel

The Reign Summary

"David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah." — 2 Samuel 5:4–5

The Jebusite Stronghold

Jerusalem — at this point called Jebus — was a Canaanite city-state inhabited by the Jebusites, descendants of Canaan. The city had remained unconquered through the entire period of the judges. Joshua's conquest had bypassed it; Judah and Benjamin had attacked it but never permanently held it Josh 15:63; Judg 1:8, 21.

Why Jerusalem?

Reason	Detail
Geographic neutrality	Sat on the border between Judah (south) and Benjamin (north) — neither tribe could claim it as exclusively theirs
Defensible	Surrounded on three sides by deep valleys (Kidron, Hinnom, Tyropoeon)
Water source	The Gihon Spring just outside the eastern wall
Central location	Roughly midway between the northern and southern tribes
Untainted by tribal history	No prior claim by any Israelite tribe to spark jealousy
Patriarchal history	Mount Moriah (where the temple would stand) was where Abraham offered Isaac Gen 22

The Jebusite Taunt

The Jebusites mocked David's siege:

"You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off." — 2 Samuel 5:6

The taunt's meaning: their city was so secure that even the blind and lame on the walls could repel any attack. The text adds: "thinking, 'David cannot come in here.'"

Joab and the Water Shaft

David offered: "Whoever strikes the Jebusites first shall be chief and commander" 1 Chr 11:6. Joab son of Zeruiah went up first and became commander.

The method of entry involved the tsinnor (Hebrew, "water shaft" or "watercourse") 2 Sam 5:8. Most archaeologists identify this with Warren's Shaft — a vertical tunnel cut into the bedrock that allowed access to the Gihon Spring's waters from inside the city walls. Joab and his men likely climbed up through this water system and entered the city from below.

The City Captured

The Jebusite city — built on the hill called Mount Zion — was taken. David called it the City of David 2 Sam 5:9. He built up the city around it from the Millo (a series of stepped stone terraces on the eastern slope) inward.

Hiram of Tyre

Hiram king of Tyre — the Phoenician coastal kingdom — sent messengers to David, along with:

• Cedar trees from Lebanon
• Carpenters
• Masons

They built David a house 2 Sam 5:11. This was a recognition by an outside power that David was now a king to be reckoned with — and Hiram would maintain the alliance with David through Solomon.

David's Self-Awareness

"And David knew that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel." — 2 Samuel 5:12

More Wives, More Sons

2 Samuel 5:13–16 records that David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem and had more sons and daughters. The sons born in Jerusalem (per 2 Sam 5:14–16 and 1 Chr 3:5–8; 14:4–7):

Order	Name	Notes
1st	Shammua	Also called Shimea
2nd	Shobab	—
3rd	Nathan	Through whom Mary's line traces in Luke 3
4th	Solomon	Son of Bathsheba; successor to the throne
5th	Ibhar	—
6th	Elishua (Elishama)	—
7th	Eliphelet (Elpalet)	—
8th	Nogah	Listed only in 1 Chr 3:7; 14:6
9th	Nepheg	—
10th	Japhia	—
11th	Elishama	—
12th	Eliada (Beeliada)	—
13th	Eliphelet	—

The first four were sons of Bathsheba (Bathshua) according to 1 Chr 3:5. The total recorded sons of David: 6 at Hebron + 13 at Jerusalem = 19 named sons, plus daughters (only Tamar is named) and additional unnamed sons of concubines 1 Chr 3:9.

The Two Philistine Battles

The Philistines, hearing that David had been anointed king over all Israel, came up to seek him. He went down to "the stronghold" — likely Adullam or the cave region of his fugitive days 2 Sam 5:17.

First Battle: Baal-perazim

The Philistines spread out in the Valley of Rephaim, southwest of Jerusalem. David inquired of the LORD:

1. "Shall I go up against the Philistines?" — Yes
2. "Will you give them into my hand?" — I will give them into your hand

David defeated them there. He said: "The LORD has broken through my enemies before me like a bursting flood." Therefore the place was named Baal-perazim ("Lord of breakthroughs") 2 Sam 5:20.

The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off and burned them 1 Chr 14:12.

Second Battle: The Balsam Trees

The Philistines came up again into the Valley of Rephaim. David inquired again. This time the answer was different:

"You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the LORD has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines." — 2 Samuel 5:23–24

David did so. They struck down the Philistines from Geba (or Gibeon) to Gezer 2 Sam 5:25; 1 Chr 14:16.

The principle: even after success, David inquired again. The same enemy on the same battlefield required new guidance.

The Ark of the Covenant — Background

The Ark had been captured by the Philistines decades earlier at the Battle of Aphek in the days of Eli the priest 1 Sam 4. It had passed through Philistine cities causing plagues, was returned on a cart pulled by milk cows 1 Sam 6, came to Beth-shemesh (where 70 men died for looking inside), and ended up at Kiriath-jearim in the house of Abinadab on the hill 1 Sam 7:1–2. It had been there for 20 years.

Throughout Saul's 40-year reign, the Ark sat at Kiriath-jearim, largely unconsulted. Bringing it to Jerusalem was a deliberate theological statement: the LORD reigns at the center of Israel's new capital.

First Attempt — Uzzah's Death

David gathered 30,000 chosen men of Israel 2 Sam 6:1. They went to Baale-judah (Kiriath-jearim) to bring up the Ark.

The Wrong Method

The Ark was placed on a new cart — modeled on the Philistine method 1 Sam 6:7 rather than the Mosaic command. The Law required:

• Carried by Levites (specifically the Kohathites) Num 4:15
• On poles inserted through rings on the Ark's sides Ex 25:14
• Never to be touched directly under penalty of death Num 4:15

Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, drove the cart. There was a procession of singing and music — lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, cymbals.

The Threshing Floor of Nacon

When the oxen stumbled at the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Ark to steady it. The anger of the LORD was kindled, and God struck him down. He died there beside the Ark 2 Sam 6:6–7.

David's Reaction

David was angry — at God, at himself, or at the circumstances — and afraid:

"How can the ark of the LORD come to me?" — 2 Samuel 6:9

He renamed the place Perez-uzzah ("Breaking out against Uzzah").

The Ark at Obed-edom's House

David left the Ark with Obed-edom the Gittite for three months. The LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household 2 Sam 6:11.

Who Was Obed-edom?

Despite the name "Gittite" (suggesting Philistine origin from Gath), Obed-edom is later identified as a Korahite Levite — possibly a Gittite of the Levitical city of Gath-rimmon. He becomes one of the chief gatekeepers and musicians of the Ark in Jerusalem 1 Chr 15:18, 24; 16:38.

Second Attempt — The Right Method

David, having learned from Uzzah's death, reorganized the procession. 1 Chronicles 15 gives the detailed account.

David's Confession

"Because you did not carry it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule." — 1 Chronicles 15:13

The New Procession

Levites carried the Ark on poles, on their shoulders. The musicians included:

• Heman, Asaph, Ethan — chief singers, sons of Levi
• Various Levites playing harps, lyres, cymbals
• Chenaniah directed the singing
• Obed-edom and Jeiel — gatekeepers

Sacrifices were offered — every six steps, an ox and a fattened animal 2 Sam 6:13.

David's Dance

David was clothed in a fine linen robe and a linen ephod. He danced before the LORD with all his might 2 Sam 6:14.

The Hebrew verbs used describe leaping, whirling, and rejoicing with abandon. This was not stately processional dancing — this was the king of Israel surrendering all dignity in public worship.

Michal's Contempt

As the procession entered the city, Saul's daughter Michal looked out the window. She saw David leaping and dancing — and "she despised him in her heart" 2 Sam 6:16.

The Confrontation

After David finished the ceremony — offering burnt offerings, peace offerings, blessing the people in the name of the LORD of hosts, distributing a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins to every Israelite — he returned home to bless his household.

Michal met him with biting sarcasm:

"How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!" — 2 Samuel 6:20

David's Response

"It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the LORD — and I will celebrate before the LORD. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor." — 2 Samuel 6:21–22

The Permanent Result

"And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death." — 2 Samuel 6:23

The text does not clarify whether this was divine judgment, a permanent breach in their marriage (David never went to her again), or biological. The result was the same: the line of Saul did not continue through David. The man Michal had loved as a young woman, the man whose escape she had engineered with the household idol — that relationship died at the city gate.

Psalms Associated with the Ark's Coming

Several psalms are traditionally tied to this event:

Psalm	Connection
Psalm 24	"Lift up your heads, O gates!... that the King of glory may come in" — likely composed for the Ark's entrance into Jerusalem
Psalm 68	"Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered" — opens with the same words spoken when the Ark moved in the wilderness Num 10:35
Psalm 132	Recalls David's oath to find a dwelling for the LORD
Psalm 105	1 Chronicles 16:8–22 records this psalm as having been sung at the Ark's installation
Psalm 96	1 Chronicles 16:23–33 records this psalm as part of the same celebration

The Tabernacle of David

The Ark was placed in a tent David had pitched for it on Mount Zion 2 Sam 6:17; 1 Chr 16:1. This was a separate structure from the Mosaic Tabernacle (which was still at Gibeon with Zadok the priest 1 Chr 16:39).

Two Tabernacles, Two Worship Centers

Tabernacle	Location	Priest	Contents
Mosaic Tabernacle	Gibeon	Zadok	Bronze altar; standard sacrificial worship
Davidic Tabernacle	Mount Zion, Jerusalem	Abiathar (initially) — Asaph and brothers ministered	The Ark itself; continual praise and song

The Davidic Tabernacle was unique: open access for the praising community, continual song day and night by appointed Levites, no veil separating the Ark. This pattern of worship — proximity, praise, presence — is what the apostle James cites in Acts 15:16–17 as being restored in the messianic age, quoting Amos 9:11–12:

"After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name." — Acts 15:16–17

The Worship Order

1 Chronicles 16:4–6, 37–42 lists the appointed Levitical worship under the Davidic Tabernacle:

Before the Ark in Jerusalem

• Asaph as chief, sounding the cymbals
• Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel — playing harps and lyres
• Benaiah and Jahaziel, the priests, sounding trumpets continually
• Obed-edom and Hosah — gatekeepers

Before the Tabernacle at Gibeon

• Zadok the priest and his fellow priests — offering burnt offerings to the LORD on the bronze altar morning and evening
• Heman and Jeduthun — appointed to give thanks to the LORD with trumpets and cymbals

The Established Capital

By the end of 2 Samuel 6 / 1 Chronicles 16:

Political capital

Jerusalem (the City of David)

Royal residence

The house of cedar built by Hiram's craftsmen

Spiritual center

Mount Zion — the Tabernacle of David housing the Ark

Levitical orders

Continual worship organized; Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun appointed

National unity

All twelve tribes united under one king

Foreign alliances

Hiram of Tyre established

Looking Forward

The Ark was home in Jerusalem. The kingdom was secure. The king was at rest from his enemies for the first time in his life. He was about to receive the greatest promise of his life — but not the one he was expecting to give.

The next chapter — the Davidic Covenant of 2 Samuel 7 — is the theological apex of David's biography and one of the most foundational texts in all of Scripture.