Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and spoke, saying, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
- KJV Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
- NKJV Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh.
- NASB Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
- NLT Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, “We are your own flesh and blood.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
All the tribes of Israel come to David at Hebron, acknowledging him as their kinsman. The nation finally moves to unite under him.
Overview
With Saul's house fallen, the tribes gather to David and confess, We are your bone and your flesh, affirming their shared kinship and rightful loyalty. This marks the long-awaited turning point when David is recognized by all Israel, not just Judah. The whole people coming to their shepherd-king prefigures the gathering of God's people to Christ, the true King from David's line.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Chr 11:1–3Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.
- Gen 29:14Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,
- 2 Sam 19:13And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
- Eph 5:30For we are members of His body.
- 1 Chr 12:23–40Now these are the numbers of men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, in accordance with the word of the LORD:
- Judg 9:2“Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”
- Heb 2:14Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,
- Deut 17:15you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers.
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 5:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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