2 Samuel 5:8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:6-10

If Salem, the place of which Melchizedec was king, was Jerusalem (as seems probable from Ps. 76:2), it was famous in Abraham's time. Joshua, in his time, found it the chief city of the south part of Canaan, Josh. 10:1-3. It fell to Benjamin's lot (Josh. 18:28), but joined close to Judah?s, Josh. 15:8. The children of Judah had taken it (Jdg. 1:8), but the children of Benjamin suffered the Jebusites to dwell among them (Jdg. 1:21), and they grew so upon them that it became a city of Jebusites,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:8

And David said on that day ,.... On which he took the strong hold of Zion: whosoever getteth up to the gutter ; where it is generally supposed the blind and lame were, whether images or real men: but what is meant by "Tzinnur", we render "gutter", is not easy to say; we follow some of the Jewish writers, who take it to be a canal, or water spout, used to carry off the water from roofs of houses into cisterns, as the word is rendered in Psalm 42:7 ; which is the only place besides this... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:1-10

The facts are: 1 . The tribes of Israel come to Hebron to formally acknowledge David as rightful king. 2 . They assign three reasons for their united action. 3 . A solemn league being made between David and the tribes, they anoint him king over Israel. 4 . The question of the crown being settled, David applies himself to the acquisition of Jerusalem as the seat of government. 5 . Being proudly defied by the Jebusites, on account of the strength of their position, he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:2-12

( 1 Chronicles 11:2 , 1 Chronicles 11:9 ; 1 Chronicles 14:2 ). ( HEBRON .) The shepherd king. This is the first occasion on which we find the occupation of a shepherd made use of to describe the office of a king. Jacob, who had "fed Laban's flocks," spoke of "the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel" ( Genesis 49:24 ; Genesis 48:15 ); Moses, who had "kept the flock of Jethro," prayed that Jehovah would "set a man over the congregation" as his successor, so that they might not be "as... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:6-9

( 1 Chronicles 11:4-9 ) Jerusalem. David's first act after his anointing amidst the assembled tribes ( 1 Chronicles 12:38-40 ) was to place himself at the head of his army, and march against Jebus, the capital of the Jebusites. With this place he was familiar from his boyhood, and often, perhaps, wondered why it was suffered to remain so long unsubdued ( Joshua 1:3 , Joshua 1:4 ). He perceived its advantages as a site for the capital of his kingdom, and the necessity of its... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:8

Whosoever getteth up to the gutter. The word rendered "gutter" occurs elsewhere only in Psalms 42:7 , where it is translated "waterspout." Josephus thinks that it was an underground passage or drain. Ewald argues that it was a precipice, and others that it was a dent or hollow in the rocky face of the ravine, which David had noticed and thought practicable. The view of Josephus, suggested to him probably by his knowledge of the way in which the site of Jerusalem is honeycombed by tunnels,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 5:8

i. e. “Whosoever will smite the Jebusites, let him reach both the lame and the blind, who are the hated of David’s soul, by the gutter or water-course, and he shall be chief.” The only access to the citadel was where the water had worn a channel (some understand a subterranean channel), and where there was, in consequence, some vegetation in the rock. Joab (see the marginal reference) took the hint, and with all the activity that had distinguished his brother Anabel 2 Samuel 2:18, climbed up... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Samuel 5:8

2 Samuel 5:8. David said on that day When the assault was made; Whosoever getteth up into the gutter That is, whosoever scaleth the fort, or getteth up to the top of it, where the gutter was. Or, as some understand it, cuts off their pipes of water, or their cisterns into which the water fell. Dr. Kennicott observes that “the Hebrew, צנור , zenur, gutter, occurs but once more in the Bible, and does not seem commonly understood in this place. The English version calls it, the gutter; ... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:1-25

5:1-10:19 DAVID ESTABLISHES HIS KINGDOMConquest of Jerusalem (5:1-25)All the tribes of Israel now sent a representative force of soldiers to Hebron to present themselves to David, their new king (5:1-3; 1 Chronicles 12:23-40). The two-year civil war had now finished, and for the next five and a half years David reigned in Hebron over a unified Israel (4-5; cf. 2:10-11).David probably realized that so long as he remained in the territory of his own tribe in the south, the northern tribes would... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 2 Samuel 5:8

to the gutter = by (or through) the zinnor, a rock-cut passage from the lower Gihon or En-Rogel (now the Virgin's Fount on east of Ophel), leading up into the city and supplying water. Discovered by Sir Charles Warren. Compare note on Nehemiah 2:13 , &c. soul . Hebrew. nephesh. App-13 . he shall be chief and captain . These words are supplied from 1 Chronicles 11:6 , which tells that Joab got up the zinnor first. Probably revealed to him (or to David) by Araunah, who (though a... read more

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