2 Samuel 5:6

DAVID'S CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM

"And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, "You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off" ... thinking, "David cannot come in here." Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. And David said on that day, "Whoever would smite the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul" Therefore it is said, "The blind and the lame shall not come into the house." And David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. And David built the city round about from the Millo inward. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him."

"Jerusalem has been called the spiritual capital of the world, a judgment underscored by the judgment of the United Nations' resolution of 1947, designating it as an international holy city, held in honor by Moslems, Jews and Christians alike."[6] Christians honor Jerusalem as the place from which the "Word of the Lord went forth," the scene of Our Lord's earthly ministry, especially the place where he made Atonement for the sins of mankind in his vicarious Death upon Calvary and his Resurrection from the dead, and as the type of that "Heavenly Jerusalem which is our mother" (Galatians 4:26).

Regarding David's capture of this city, there is strong disagreement among able scholars regarding the exact time of its capture. As Willis said, "It is debated";[7] and we do not consider the question to be possible of any dogmatic solution. If the exact time had been of any great importance, surely the sacred writer would have informed us. Keil placed the capture of this Jebusite city at the very first of David's reign on the basis that the sum-total of the thirty-three years of David's reign were in Jerusalem, leaving no interim in which part of his reign over all Israel could have been while David lived anywhere else.[8] Caird also accepted this, stating that, "It is quite possible that the campaign against Jerusalem was already over before the Philistines ever heard that David had become king over a united kingdom."[9] Willis preferred the opinion that, "The two battles with the Philistines occurred between David's anointing as king over all Israel and his conquest of Jerusalem."[10] The simple truth appears to be that nobody knows for sure.

The Hebrew text of this passage has been damaged in transition, and the meaning is not certain, as a comparison of various versions shows. Also, the parallel account in 1 Chronicles 11:4-9 states that David said, "Whoever smites the Jebusites first shall be chief and commander. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief."

The ancient city of the Jebusites had a protected water supply that went down to a spring at the eastern foot of the ridge on which the city was built, called the water shaft in 2 Samuel 5:8. David overcame the city by sending his men up that water shaft. This has caused some to believe that David captured Jerusalem much earlier, for Joab was mentioned as the leader of David's men, during the first part of the reign of Ishbosheth (2 Samuel 2:13). However, it is significant that Joab is not there called "chief and commander," indicating that, following this exploit of Joab in the capture of Jerusalem, he received the titles indicated. In these extremely-abbreviated records, it is impossible to read all the details.

"The blind and the lame will ward you off" (2 Samuel 5:6). The conceit of Jebusites was such that they boasted that they could repel any attack by David by the blind and the lame manning their fortifications. Jerusalem was indeed strong, the ancient citadel occupying the rockbound tip of the ridge lying between the Kedron Valley on the east and the Tyropeon Valley on the west at the point where the two valleys joined.

"Attack the lame and the blind who are hated by David's soul" (2 Samuel 5:8). It is best to understand these words as David's reference to the Jebusites who had so labeled their defenders. Although the Jews later forbad crippled and blind persons from serving in the temple, there is no reason to connect that with what is said here. The judgment of H. P. Smith that this verse is corrupt may very well be true.[11]

"David built the city ... from the Millo inward" (2 Samuel 5:9). There may have been a number of fortifications in Palestine that were called 'Millo,' one of them being in Shechem (Judges 9:6,20). "It appears to have been a fortress of some kind, the northern defense of the city of David, and to have been a part of the original Canaanite defenses of the city of Zion."[12] Both Solomon and Hezekiah in later times strengthened and repaired the Millo.

With the capture of this stronghold, David eliminated a Jebusite fortress that, in effect, had cut his kingdom in two; and the making of Jerusalem as his capital was one of the most important achievements of David's kingship.