all Israel went to Jerusalem (the same is Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. 5And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come in hither. Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion; the same is the city of David. 6And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was made chief. 7And David dwelt in the strong hold; therefore they called
exploit recorded in Sam. is invested by the Chronicler with the grandeur of a state campaign.
the same is Jebus] Jerusalem (or Jebus) consisted, it seems (cp. ver. 8; Judg. i. 21), of a citadel inhabited by Jebusites and of a lower city inhabited by a mixed population of Jebusites and Benjamites. It was the citadel only which David stormed. Jerusalem is called Jebus only here and in Judg. xix. 10 f. The notion that Jebus was an ancient name for the city may be only a late fancy, but it is possible that it was sometimes so called in the days of the Jebusite rule. What is certain is that the name Jerusalem is ancient, for it occurs frequently (as Urusalim) in the Amarna tablets, c. 1400 B.C. See G. A. Smith, Jerusalem.
the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land] i.e. masters of that territory before the Israelite invasion. The Jebusites have been thought to be of Hittite origin, but they were probably Semites, like the Israelites (see G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, II. 16—18).
5. Thou shalt not come in hither]. Undoubtedly the Chronicler understood the resistance offered by the Jebusites to be of a military character, and the text of Sam. as translated in A.V. and R. V. follows the same notion. See, however, the reinterpretation of the Sam. text by Barnes in the Expositor, Jan. 1914, where it is urged that the word (metsudah) rendered "strong hold" means not a well-fortified citadel but simply a natural hiding place, such as a thicket or a cavern (which in this case probably was used as a shrine by the Jebusites).
the strong hold of Zion] See the previous note. The site of this "hold" or cavern (afterwards "the city of David") is on the S.E. of the present city, on the S. of the Haram (the Temple area), and on a level lower than that of the Haram (see Smith, Jerusalem, II. 39 ff.).
6. Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites] The reference here is no doubt to military violence. See, however, the article by Barnes cited above. The text in Sam. is very difficult and corrupt, and has been simplified by the Chronicler.
Joab the son of Zeruiah] Zeruiah was David's sister (ii. 16). It is not said in Sam. that Joab first became commander-in-chief on this occasion; on the contrary he appears in command (2 Sam. ii. 13) during the civil war against the house of Saul. Perhaps he was first formally acknowledged as commander at the seizure of Jerusalem.
