2 Samuel 2:1-3

David is Anointed King

2:1 Afterward David inquired of the Lord, “Should I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” The Lord told him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where should I go?” The Lord replied, ¹  “To Hebron.” 2:2 So David went up, along with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, formerly the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 2:3 David also brought along the men who were with him, each with his family. They settled in the cities ²  of Hebron.

2 Samuel 5:1-5

David Is Anointed King Over Israel

5:1 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron saying, “Look, we are your very flesh and blood! ³  5:2 In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the real leader in Israel. ⁴  The Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over Israel.’”

5:3 When all the leaders ⁵  of Israel came to the king at Hebron, King David made an agreement with them ⁶  in Hebron before the Lord. They designated ⁷  David as king over Israel. 5:4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign and he reigned for forty years. 5:5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem ⁸  he reigned for thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

2 Samuel 15:7

15:7 After four ⁹  years Absalom said to the king, “Let me go and repay my vow that I made to the Lord while I was in Hebron.

[2:1]  ¹ tn Heb “he said.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[2:3]  ² tc The expression “the cities of Hebron” is odd; we would expect the noun to be in the singular, if used at all. Although the Syriac Peshitta has the expected reading “in Hebron,” the MT is clearly the more difficult reading and should probably be retained here.

[5:1]  ³ tn Heb “look we are your bone and your flesh.”

[5:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “you were the one leading out and the one leading in Israel.”

[5:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “elders.”

[5:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the king, David, cut for them a covenant.”

[5:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “anointed.”

[5:5]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:7]  ⁹ tc The MT has here “forty,” but this is presumably a scribal error for “four.” The context will not tolerate a period of forty years prior to the rebellion of Absalom. The Lucianic Greek recension (τέσσαρα ἔτη, tessara ete), the Syriac Peshitta (’arba’ sanin), and Vulgate (post quattuor autem annos) in fact have the expected reading “four years.” Most English translations follow the versions in reading “four” here, although some (e.g. KJV, ASV, NASB, NKJV), following the MT, read “forty.”