2 Samuel 3:6-5:16 – David Becomes King of Israel

BIBLE TEXT

2 Samuel 3:6-5:16

SUMMARY

David’s accession to the throne of Israel follows the same pattern as his accession to Judah’s throne.

ANALYSIS

David’s accession to Israel’s throne follows the pattern established in 1:1-3:5:

Activity Judah Israel
(1:1-3:5) (3:6-5:16)
A warrior meets with David 1:1-13 3:6-21
The warrior is executed 1:14-16 3:22-32
David laments 1:17-27 3:33-34
Rivals eliminated (lacking) 4:1-12
David anointed king 2:1-7 5:1-5
David consolidates through war2:8-3:1 5:6-12
List of children born to David 3:2-5 5:13-16

Only the elimination of David’s rivals in Israel–Ishbaal the son of Saul and Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son–breaks the pattern. Ishbaal is executed (4:5-8) and Mephibosheth is shown to be unfit as king due to his physical limitations (4:4). All these texts are at pains to show that David was not responsible for the deaths of his rivals.