2 Samuel 2:9

9 He made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over Israel, all of it.

2 Samuel 2:9 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 2:9

And he made him king over Gilead
Which lay beyond Jordan, and included the tribes of Gad and Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh; these he prevailed upon to acknowledge Ishbosheth, their king, and proclaimed him king over them:

and over the Ashurites:
that is, those of the house or tribe of Asher, as the Targum, and indeed none else can well be thought of; some indeed read the Geshurites, as the Vulgate Latin version; but these were never expelled by the Israelites, and had at this time a king over them, ( 2 Samuel 3:3 ) ; see ( Joshua 13:13 ) ;

and over Jezreel;
the great plain which went along the borders of Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali, and included these tribes:

and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin:
the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin:

and over all Israel,
excepting the tribe of Judah; that is, he prevailed first on one of these, then on another, until he got all the tribes of Israel to own him for their king; David all this time being still and quiet, and not opposing him, waiting God's own time to open the way for his possession of the kingdom over all Israel, and having a strict regard to his oath to Saul, ( 1 Samuel 24:21 1 Samuel 24:22 ) .

2 Samuel 2:9 In-Context

7 So then, let your hands be strong and {be valiant}, for your lord Saul [is] dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me as king over them."

8 But Abner the son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over [to] Mahanaim.

9 He made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over Israel, all of it.

10 Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul [was] forty years old when he became king over Israel and he reigned two years; however, the house of Judah {followed} David.

11 The number of days that David was king over Hebron, over the house of Judah, [was] seven years and six months.