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 war (2:8-3:1) (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.
