2 Samuel 5 Study Notes

5:11 King Hiram of Tyre, the leader of a wealthy Phoenician port city, sought to placate David through building assistance. He would later partner with David’s son, Solomon, in the building of Israel’s temple (1Kg 5:1-12).

5:12 David had a clear understanding that he was playing the role for which God had prepared him for the sake of . . . Israel.

5:13-16 Of the sons . . . born to David in Jerusalem, only Solomon would later play a role in the biblical account (12:24-25; 1Kg 1:33-40).

5:17 The Philistines heard about David’s unification of Israel; now he stood as their enemy. They marched against him as he gathered his forces at the stronghold, Jerusalem, his new capital (vv. 7,9).

5:18 The Valley of Rephaim lay just southwest of Jerusalem (1Ch 14:13-16).

5:19 David inquired of the Lord as he had on many other key occasions (1Sm 23:2,9-12; 30:7-8). The Philistines were a major threat to Saul and ultimately killed him; David, however, sought the Lord’s guidance and received assurance of victory.

5:20 David was quick to give God the credit for his victory over the Philistines.

5:21 The Philistines abandoned their idols, and David and his men carried them off presumably to destroy them (cp. 1Ch 14:12 and note there).

5:22-25 God added a particular strategy to his encouragement of David to engage the Philistines again. The sound of marching in the balsam trees was possibly produced by strong winds that typically would come up in the afternoon combined with an undisclosed act of God. When the Israelites heard this distinct sound, they would know God was marching before them, leading them to victory. David cut off the Philistines’ path of retreat, and they had to flee northward down the Aijalon Valley instead of toward Gezer.