Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 5:2
Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.
2. thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel ] David had won the good-will of the people as their leader in war. Cp. 1Sa 18:5 ; 1Sa 18:13; 1Sa 18:16.
the Lord said to thee ] See note on ch. 2Sa 3:9.
Thou shalt feed ] Lit. “thou shalt shepherd ” (LXX. ): a natural metaphor to express the ruler’s care for his people. It is used by Greek poets, e.g. Homer, whose regular title for Agamemnon is , “shepherd of the peoples.” But it was especially appropriate in the case of David, who was taken from the sheepfolds of Bethlehem to be the shepherd of Israel (Psa 78:70-72), as the fishers of the Galilean lake were called to become “fishers of men” (Mat 4:19), and (except perhaps in Gen 49:24) it does not appear to be used in the O. T. before his time.
captain ] The title given to Saul in 1Sa 9:16, &c., and to David in 1Sa 25:30 (E. V. ruler).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
2Sa 5:2
Thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel.
Divine appointment and mans doing
There are both sides of the great division in evangelical theology–Arminianism and Calvinism: mans doing, and Gods planning. The Lord said that David should lead Israel; and David did lead Israel. And the people of Israel gave a fair prominence to both sides of the question. They saw that David could do what the Lord had said he should do; and they knew that the Lord had said that David should do what they saw he could do. As a practical matter, these two sides of the truth have to be considered by all of the Lords people, in all their doing and in all their judging. If a man is called of God to a special work, the man must show by his doing that he is the very man whom God has called, and who was the man to be called of God. And in judging of anothers fitness for his work, it is right for us to consider the call of God to that man, as well as that mans apparent success in his work. If the man is clearly out of the place to which he was called of God, all his ability and apparent fitness for this other place must be counted insufficient to inspire confidence in him for permanent success here. It has been well said, as to a Christians personal duty in Gods service, that he ought to work in his appointed sphere as if everything, depended on his own exertions, while he ought to trust as if everything depended on Gods strength as given to him in that sphere. (H. Clay Trumbull.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Thou wast our chief commander in our expeditions against the Philistines, and therefore art most fit to be king over us.
The Lord said to thee, to wit, by Samuel, 1Sa 16:11-13; for though the words vary, yet the sense is the same.
Thou shalt feed my people Israel i.e. rule them, and take care of them, as a shepherd doth of his sheep, Psa 78:70,71. This expression he useth to admonish David, that he was not made a king to advance his own glory and interest, but for the good and benefit of his people; and that he ought to rule them with all tenderness, and to watch over them with all diligence.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Also in time past, when Saul was king over us,…. Even over all the tribes of Israel:
thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel; that led out the armies of Israel against their enemies, fought their battles for them, obtained victories, and brought the troops under his command home in safety; and the remembrance of these valiant acts of his, which then endeared him to the people, was now another reason for their choosing him king: and another follows, the chiefest of them all:
and the Lord said to thee; when anointed by Samuel; for though what follows is not recorded in so many words, yet the sense of it is expressed in the anointing him to be king, whose office, as such, lay in doing the following things:
thou shalt feed my people Israel; as a shepherd feeds his flock; hence kings were frequently called shepherds, and David particularly, in which he was an eminent type of Christ, see Ps 78:71;
and thou shalt be a captain over Israel; the Targum is,
“and thou shalt be king over Israel;”
which gives the true sense of the tribes, and which was the chief and prevailing reason with them to make him their king; and which they, at least many of them, would have done before, even immediately upon the death of Saul, but that they were persuaded by Abner to yield obedience to Ishbosheth he set up.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2. Thou leddest As general of Saul’s forces. See 1Sa 18:5.
Thou shalt feed my people This prophecy, like that of 2Sa 3:18, is nowhere else recorded, but had probably been uttered by one of the prophets of that age. A keeper of sheep is made the shepherd of the nation, as the fishermen of Galilee were made fishers of men.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Sa 5:2. Thou shalt feed my people Bishop Patrick observes, that this is the first time we meet with any ruler or governor of a people characterised under the idea of a shepherd, though it was afterwards very familiar both with the Greeks and Romans; and I cannot but think it remarkable, that the first man so characterised, was at first, in fact, a shepherd: and when we find him, after his advancement to the throne, still characterised by God himself under the same idea; what can be a clearer inference, than that God’s raising him to be a king was but exalting him to a nobler office of the same nature with his first? How fine a document is this to princes, that they are not, in the intention of Providence, the tyrants, but the guardians of their people; that their business is the preservation and well-being of the flock, from the duty they owe to the great Lord and owner of both! And how fully is this document confirmed to us, when we find bad princes set forth in the prophetic style, under the character of roaring lions, hungry bears, and devouring wolves! It was a noble maxim of Cyrus, that every man, aspiring to the government of others, should take care to be a better man than those whom he ruled.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Sa 5:2 Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.
Ver. 2. That leddest out and broughtest in. ] Educebas et reducebas.
And the Lord said to thee,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
feed = feed as a shepherd.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
leddest out: Num 27:17, 1Sa 18:13, 1Sa 18:16, 1Sa 25:28, Isa 55:4
feed: 2Sa 7:7, 1Sa 16:1, 1Sa 16:12, 1Sa 16:13, 1Sa 25:30, Psa 78:70-72, Isa 40:11, Eze 34:23, Eze 37:24, Eze 37:25, Mic 5:4, Mat 2:6, Joh 10:3, Joh 10:4, Joh 10:11
a captain: 1Sa 9:16, 1Sa 13:14, 2Ki 20:5, Isa 55:4, Heb 2:10
Reciprocal: Deu 17:15 – whom 1Sa 10:1 – captain 1Sa 22:2 – a captain 2Sa 3:8 – do show 1Ki 3:7 – to go 1Ch 11:2 – ruler 1Ch 12:18 – thy God 2Ch 1:10 – go out 2Ch 18:16 – master Job 29:25 – chose out Psa 60:6 – God Psa 75:3 – I bear Psa 75:7 – he putteth Psa 78:71 – feed Psa 119:49 – upon which Psa 121:8 – thy going out Act 1:21 – went Act 5:39 – if Act 9:28 – coming
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Sa 5:2. The Lord said, Thou shalt feed my people Israel The learned Bishop Patrick very justly observes here, that this is the first time we meet with any ruler, or governor of a people, characterized under the idea of a shepherd; and it cannot but be thought remarkable that the first man so characterized was at first in fact a shepherd; and when we find him, after his advancement to the throne, still characterized by God himself under the same idea, what can be a clearer inference, than that Gods raising him to be a king was but exalting him to a nobler office of the same nature with his first? How fine a document is this to princes, that they are not, in the intention of Providence, the tyrants, but the guardians of their people! that their business is the preservation and well-being of the flock, from the duty they owe to the great Lord and owner thereof! And how fully is this document confirmed to us, when we find bad princes set forth, in the prophetic style, under the characters of roaring lions, hungry bears, and devouring wolves. It was a truly noble and princely maxim of Cyrus, that every man that aspired to the government of others should take care to be a better man than those he ruled. Delaney.