Then all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron, saying: Behold we are thy bone and thy flesh.

“What more should I say? He did not open his mouth to those planning deceit, and, as though he did not hear, he thought no word should be returned, nor did he answer their reproaches. When he was spoken of evilly, he prayed. When he was cursed, he blessed. He walked in simplicity of heart and fled from the proud. He was a follower of those unspotted from the world, one who mixed ashes with his food when bewailing his sins, and mingled his drink with weeping. Worthily, then, was he called for by all the people. All the tribes of Israel came to him, saying, "Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. Also yesterday and the day before when Saul lived, and reigned, you were he that led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, you shall feed my people!" And why should I say more about him of whom the word of the Lord has gone forth to say: "I have found David according to my heart" Who else always walked in holiness of heart and in justice as he did, so as to fulfill the will of God; for whose sake pardon was granted to his children when they sinned, and their rights were preserved to his heirs?”

“We find that the word flesh is used in holy Scripture with many different meanings: for sometimes it stands for the whole person, that is, for that which consists of body and soul, as here: "And the Word was made flesh,"? and "All flesh shall see the salvation of our God." Sometimes it stands for sinful and carnal people, as here: "My spirit shall not remain in those men, because they are flesh." Sometimes it is used for sins themselves, as here: "But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit," and again, "Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Lastly there follows, "Neither shall corruption inherit incorruption." Sometimes [as with David] it stands for unity and relationship, as here: "Behold we are your bone and your flesh," and the apostle says, "If by any means I may provoke to emulation them who are my flesh, and save some of them." We must therefore inquire in which of these four meanings we ought to take the word flesh in this place.”

“Here is, I. The humble address of all the tribes to David, beseeching him to take upon him the government (for they were now as sheep having no shepherd), and owning him for their king. Though David might by no means approve the murder of Ish-bosheth, yet he might improve the advantages he gained thereby, and accept the applications made to him thereupon. Judah had submitted to David as their king above seven years ago, and their ease and happiness, under his administration, encouraged the rest of the tribes to make their court to him. What numbers came from each tribe, with what zeal and sincerity they came, and how they were entertained for three days at Hebron, when they were all of one heart to make David king, we have a full account, 1 Chr. 12:23-40. Here we have only the heads of their address, containing the grounds they went upon in making David king. 1. Their relation to him was some inducement: "We are thy bone and thy flesh (Sa2 5:1), not only thou art our bone and our flesh, not a stranger, unqualified by the law to be king (Deu 17:15), but we are thine," that is, "we know that thou considerest us as thy bone and thy flesh, and hast as tender a concern for us as a man has for his own body, which Saul and his house had not. We are thy bone and thy flesh, and therefore thou wilt be as glad as we shall be to put an end to this long civil war; and thou wilt take pity on us, protect us, and do thy utmost for our welfare." Those who take Christ for their king may thus plead with him: "We are thy bone and thy flesh, thou hast made thyself in all things like unto thy brethren (Heb 2:17); therefore be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand," Isa 3:6. 2. His former good services to the public were a further inducement (Sa2 5:2): "When Saul was king he was but the cypher, thou wast the figure, thou wast he that leddest out Israel to battle, and broughtest them in in triumph; and therefore who so fit now to fill the vacant throne?" He that is faithful in a little deserves to be entrusted with more. Former good offices done for us should be gratefully remembered by us when there is occasion. 3. The divine appointment was the greatest inducement of all: The Lord said, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, that is, thou shalt rule them; for princes are to feed their people as shepherds, in every thing consulting the subjects' benefit, feeding them and not fleecing them. "And thou shalt be not only a king to govern in peace, but a captain to preside in war, and be exposed to all the toils and perils of the camp." Since God has said so, now at length, when need drives them to it, they are persuaded to say so too. II. The public and solemn inauguration of David, Sa2 5:3. A convention of the states was called; all the elders of Israel came to him; the contract was settled, the pacta conventa - covenants, sworn to, and subscribed on both sides. He obliged himself to protect them as their judge in peace and captain in war; and they obliged themselves to obey him. He made a league with them to which God was a witness: it was before the Lord. Hereupon he was, for the third time, anointed king. His advances were gradual, that his faith might be tried and that he might gain experience. And thus his kingdom typified that of the Messiah, which was to come to its height by degrees; for we see not yet all things put under him (Heb 2:8), but we shall see it, Co1 15:25. III. A general account of his reign and age. He was thirty years old when he began to reign, upon the death of Saul, Sa2 5:4. At that age the Levites were at first appointed to begin their administration, Num 4:3. About that age the Son of David entered upon his public ministry, Luk 3:23. Then men come to their full maturity of strength and judgment. He reigned, in all, forty years and six months, of which seven years and a half in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem, Sa2 5:5. Hebron had been famous, Jos 14:15. It was a priest's city. But Jerusalem was to be more so, and to be the holy city. Great kings affected to raise cities of their own, Gen 10:11, 36, 32-35. David did so, and Jerusalem was the city of David. It is a name famous to the end of the Bible (Rev. 21), where we read of a new Jerusalem.”

“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, Deu 16:18; and from whom they might expect clemency and tenderness, being so near akin to them.”

“Then came all the tribes of Israel - Ish-bosheth the king, and Abner the general, being dead, they had no hope of maintaining a separate kingdom, and therefore thought it better to submit to David's authority. And they founded their resolution on three good arguments: 1. David was their own countryman; We are thy bone and thy flesh. 2. Even in Saul's time David had been their general, and had always led them to victory; Thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel. 3. God had appointed him to the kingdom, to govern and protect the people; The Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people and be a captain over Israel.”

“Tribes. Thus were God’s promises sweetly fulfilled, and David obtained the quiet dominion over all Israel, excepting perhaps a few of the tribe of Benjamin, according to the Vulgate, 1 Paralipomenon xii. 29. an army of 340,822 was collected on this occasion; and David signalized the commencement of his reign, by the taking of Jerusalem. (Calmet) — The tribe is Issachar is not specified in the text; but Josephus asserts, that 20,000 of them assembled; so that the army would amount to 359 (Salien) or 60[360?] thousand, besides the 822. (Calmet) — These might be considered as deputies of all the rest of their brethren, 1 Paralipomenon xii. 38. They were abundantly supplied with all necessities. (Salien) — Flesh, of the same nation, as Moses had specified, Deuteronomy xvii. 15. (Calmet) — They now relinquish all the seeds of division, which had before hindered them from joining with their brethren of Juda. Kennicott discovers several important alterations, by comparing this history with 1 Chronicles xi. (Dissert. i.) (Haydock)”

“Sa2 5:1-2 David Anointed King over all Israel. - Sa2 5:1-3 (compare with this the parallel passages in Ch1 11:1-3). After the death of Ishbosheth, all the tribes of Israel (except Judah) came to Hebron in the persons of their representatives the elders (vid., Sa2 5:3), in response to the summons of Abner (Sa2 3:17-19), to do homage to David as their king. They assigned three reasons for their coming: (1.) "Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh," i.e., thy blood-relations, inasmuch as all the tribes of Israel were lineal descendants of Jacob (vid., Gen 29:14; Jdg 9:2). (2.) "In time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast the leader of Israel (thou leddest out and broughtest in Israel)," i.e., thou didst superintend the affairs of Israel (see at Num 27:17; and for the fact itself, Sa1 18:5). מוציא הייתה is an error in writing for המּוציא היית, and מבי for מביא, with the א dropped, as in Kg1 21:21, etc. (vid., Olshausen, Gr. p. 69). (3.) They ended by asserting that Jehovah had called him to be the shepherd and prince over His people. The remarks which we have already made at Sa2 3:18 respecting Abner's appeal to a similar utterance on the part of Jehovah, are equally applicable to the words of Jehovah to David which are quoted here: "Thou shalt feed my people Israel," etc. On the Piska, see the note to Jos 4:1. Sa2 5:3 "All the elders of Israel came" is a repetition of Sa2 5:1, except that the expression "all the tribes of Israel" is more distinctly defined as meaning "all the elders of Israel." "So all the elders came; ... and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord (see at Sa2 3:21): and they anointed David king over (all) Israel." The writer of the Chronicles adds, "according to the word of the Lord through Samuel," i.e., so that the command of the Lord to Samuel, to anoint David king over Israel (Sa1 16:1, Sa1 16:12), found its complete fulfilment in this. Sa2 5:4-5 The age of David when he began to reign is given here, viz., thirty years old; also the length of his reign, viz., seven years and a half at Hebron over Judah, and thirty-three years at Jerusalem over Israel and Judah. In the books of Chronicles these statements occur at the close of David's reign (Ch1 29:27).”