Early reign of David

The Second Book of Samuel, as noted earlier, relates the exploits of David and the events of his monarchy. After mourning the death of Saul and executing an Amalekite who claimed to have killed the former king, David began to consolidate his position as the successor to Saul. He was anointed king of Judah at Hebron while Ishbosheth (“man of shame,” originally Ishbaal, or “man of Baal”), Saul’s son, reigned in the rest of Israel under the guidance of Abner, Saul’s general. After seven years, the army of Israel, under Abner, and the army of Judah, under Joab, David’s general and nephew, met at Gibeon—each chose 12 champions to fight each other, and all were killed. After the minor battle, a major engagement ensued, with the forces of Judah emerging victorious. A long war of attrition developed between the house of Saul and the house of David. Abner attempted to deliver Israel to David but was killed by Joab to avenge his brother Asahel’s death at Abner’s hand in the first engagement between the two reigning houses. With Abner dead, Ishbosheth’s position became exceedingly insecure, and he was beheaded by two of his own captains, whom David, in turn, executed for murdering the last ruler of the house of Saul.

Because of the course of events, the Israelites asked David to become king over all of Israel, and David made a covenant with the elders of northern Israel. He next engaged in a war with the Jebusite (Canaanite) stronghold of Jerusalem, which he captured. He selected this city as his new capital because it was a neutral site and neither the northerners nor the southerners would be adverse to the selection. From the very beginning of his reign, David showed the political astuteness and acumen that made for him a reputation that has continued for 3,000 years. He built at his new capital a palace, fortified the defenses, and established a harem. The Philistines, concerned about the man whom they had considered a former vassal, decided to move against David, which proved to be their undoing. David effectively contained them in a small area of the Mediterranean coast.

The expansion of the Davidic Empire

The third section of Samuel (II Samuel, chapter 6 through chapter 20, verse 22) contains the account of the reign of David from Jerusalem, ruling over a minor empire that stretched from Egypt in the south to Lebanon in the north and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Arabian Desert in the east. He thus controlled the crossroads of the great empires of the ancient Near East. His second act of political astuteness was to bring theark of the Covenant to Jerusalem; but because of pressures from conservative elements who wanted to retain the tent that housed the ark (which had symbolic value from the days of the Exodus), David was not able to build a temple. Because the ark was now in Jerusalem, however, the city became both the political and the religious cult centre of his kingdom. In chapter 8 is a summary account of David’s extension of his kingdom by military means and of the military, administrative, and priestly leaders of Israel.

II Samuel, chapters 9 through 20, verse 22—together with I Kings, chapters 1 and 2, the so-called Succession History, or the Family History of David, which, according to many scholars, forms the oldest section of historiography in Scripture—contains accounts of the domestic problems of David’s reign. Though he showed generosity to Mephibosheth, the sole surviving son of the house of Saul, he showed his weakness for the charms of Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his generals. After ensuring Uriah’s death by sending him into the front lines in a battle with the Ammonites, David married Bathsheba, who had become pregnant by the King. When the prophet Nathan came to David and told him of a rich man’s unjust actions toward a poor man, David’s response was one of anger and a demand for justice, whereupon Nathan said, “You are the man,” and that Yahweh would exact retribution by not allowing the child to live. David then repented. He later went to Bathsheba and she conceived and bore another child, Solomon, who was to be the future king of Israel.

Though David was viewed as a master in the art of governing a nation, he was depicted as an unsuccessful father of his family. One son, Amnon (half-brother to Absalom and his sister Tamar), raped Tamar, for which act Absalom later exacted revenge by having Amnon assassinated at a feast. Absalom then fled to Geshur, stayed there three years, was taken back to Jerusalem by Joab, and two years later was reconciled to his father. Absalom’s ambition to succeed his father as king caused him to initiate a revolt so that David had to flee from Jerusalem. Absalom was crowned king at Hebron, went to the concubines of David’s harem in the palace, and decided to raise a massive army to defeat David. If he had then heeded the advice of Ahithophel, one of David’s former counsellors, and attacked David’s forces while they were disorganized, he probably would have been successful in retaining the throne. The forces of David under Joab, however, defeated Absalom’s army “in the forest of Ephraim.” While in flight on a mule, Absalom caught his head in an oak tree, and when Joab heard of his predicament he killed the hanging son of David. When David heard of the death of his rebellious son, he uttered one of the most poignant laments in literature: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” David then returned to Jerusalem and settled some of the quarrels that had erupted in his absence. A revolt led by the conservative Benjaminite Sheba, under the old rallying cry “every man to his tents, O Israel,” was thwarted by Joab, who had to kill David’s newly appointed commander Amasa to accomplish this end.

The appendix (chapter 20, verse 23, through chapter 24) has been noted earlier in this section.