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 JudahJudah was the name of Jacob's fourth son and one of the 12 tribes. More Israel
(1:1-3:5) (3:6-5:16)
A warrior meets with DavidSecond king of Israel, David united the northern and southern kingdoms. More 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 SaulThe first king of Israel More 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.
