1 Chronicles 11 Footnotes

11:1 From here to the end of the book, David is the focus of the Chronicler’s narrative. Second Ch begins with David’s son, Solomon. What was omitted from the Chronicler’s narration tells us almost as much of the Chronicler’s purpose as the story itself. He omitted all of David’s youth, his exile among the Philistines, and the struggle with Saul. He began after David’s first seven-year reign over Judah at Hebron. The narrative began with “all Israel” asking him to be king over the rest of the tribes. The Chronicler wanted to emphasize Israel’s corporate identity as a nation, with a divinely chosen ruler. If all the tribes of Israel were once unified under God, it could—and would—be so again in the future.

11:7 The “city of David” is Jerusalem, which became David’s personal property by right of conquest. The Chronicler included this event because a united Israel needed a political center, a capital. It was only later, during Solomon’s reign, that Jerusalem became the religious center of the nation.

11:9 This was in contrast to Saul. David was able to complete the task of occupying the land and conquering its inhabitants.