2 Samuel 2:9

2:9 He appointed him king over Gilead, the Geshurites, ¹  Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel.

2 Samuel 6:1

David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem

6:1 David again assembled ²  all the best ³  men in Israel, thirty thousand in number.

2 Samuel 6:14-15

6:14 Now David, wearing a linen ephod, was dancing with all his strength before the Lord. ⁴  6:15 David and all Israel ⁵  were bringing up the ark of the Lord, shouting and blowing trumpets. ⁶ 

2 Samuel 7:17

7:17 Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him. ⁷ 

2 Samuel 7:24

7:24 You made Israel your very own people for all time. ⁸  You, O Lord, became their God.

2 Samuel 13:21

13:21 Now King David heard about all these things and was very angry. ⁹ 

2 Samuel 16:15

The Advice of Ahithophel

16:15 Now when Absalom and all the men ¹⁰  of Israel arrived in Jerusalem, ¹¹  Ahithophel was with him.

2 Samuel 17:4

17:4 This seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all the leaders ¹²  of Israel.

2 Samuel 22:23

22:23 For I am aware of all his regulations, ¹³ 

and I do not reject his rules. ¹⁴ 

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¹ tc The MT here reads “the Ashurite,” but this is problematic if it is taken to mean “the Assyrian.” Ish-bosheth’s kingdom obviously was not of such proportions as to extend to Assyria. The Syriac Peshitta renders the word as “the Geshurite,” while the Targum has “of the house of Ashur.” We should probably emend the Hebrew text to read “the Geshurite.” The Geshurites lived in the northeastern part of the land of Palestine.

² tn The translation understands the verb to be a defective spelling of וַיְּאֱסֹף (vayyÿ’esof) due to quiescence of the letter א (alef). The root therefore is אסף (’sf, “to gather”). The Masoretes, however, pointed the verb as וַיֹּסֶף (vayyosef), understanding it to be a form of יָסַף (yasaf, “to add”). This does not fit the context, which calls for a verb of gathering.

³ tn Or “chosen.”

⁴ tn Heb “and David was dancing with all his strength before the Lord, and David was girded with a linen ephod.”

⁵ tc Heb “all the house of Israel.” A few medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta lack the words “the house.”

⁶ tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet).

⁷ tn Heb “according to all these words and according to all this revelation, so Nathan said to David.”

⁸ tn Heb “and you established for yourself your people Israel for yourself for a people permanently.”

⁹ tc The LXX and part of the Old Latin tradition include the following addition to v. 21, also included in some English versions (e.g., NAB, NRSV, CEV): “But he did not grieve the spirit of Amnon his son, because he loved him, since he was his firstborn.” Note David’s attitude toward his son Adonijah in 1 Kgs 1:6.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and all the people, the men of Israel.”

¹¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹² tn Heb “elders.”

¹³ tn Heb “for all his regulations are before me.” The term מִשְׁפָּטָו (mishpatav, “his regulations”) refers to God’s covenantal requirements, especially those which the king is responsible to follow (cf Deut 17:18-20). See also Pss 19:9 (cf vv. 7-8); 89:30; 147:20 (cf v. 19), as well as the numerous uses of the term in Ps 119.

¹⁴ tn Heb “and his rules, I do not turn aside from it.” Ps 18:22 reads, “and his rules I do not turn aside from me.” The prefixed verbal form is probably an imperfect; David here generalizes about his loyalty to God’s commands. The Lord’s “rules” are the stipulations of the covenant which the king was responsible to obey (see Ps 89:31; cf v. 30 and Deut 17:18-20).