2 Samuel 5:1

1 Then all the tribes of Isra'el came to David in Hevron and said, "Here, we are your own flesh and bone.

2 Samuel 5:1 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 5:1

Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron
All the rest of the tribes, save the tribe of Judah, who had made him king over them in Hebron seven years ago. These were ambassadors sent in the name of the several tribes to him, quickly after the deaths of Abner and Ishbosheth; from having any hand in which David had sufficiently cleared himself, and which had tended to reconcile the minds of the people of Israel to him:

and spake, saying, we [are] thy bone and thy flesh;
for though he was of the tribe of Judah, yet as all the tribes sprung from one man, they were all one bone, flesh, and blood; all nearly related to each other, all of the same general family of which David was; and so, according to their law, a fit person to be their king, ( Deuteronomy 16:18-17:13 ) ; and from whom they might expect clemency and tenderness, being so near akin to them.

2 Samuel 5:1 In-Context

1 Then all the tribes of Isra'el came to David in Hevron and said, "Here, we are your own flesh and bone.
2 In the past, when Sha'ul was king over us, it was you who led Isra'el's military campaigns; and ADONAI said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Isra'el, and you will be chief over Isra'el.'"
3 So all the leaders of Isra'el came to the king in Hevron, and King David made a covenant with them in Hevron in the presence of ADONAI. Then they anointed David king over Isra'el.
4 David was thirty years old when he began his rule, and he ruled forty years.
5 In Hevron he ruled over Y'hudah seven years and six months; then in Yerushalayim he ruled thirty-three years over all Isra'el and Y'hudah.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.