4. David and all Israel] In Samuel (more accurately) “The king and his men,” i.e. his household and body-guard; compare x. 6, note. The exploit recorded in Samuel is invested by the Chronicler with the grandeur of a state campaign.
the same is Jebus] Jerusalem (or Jebus) consisted, it seems (compare verse 8; Judges 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 Judges 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, circa 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).
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.
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 Samuel as translated in Authorized Version and Revised Version follows the same notion. See, however, the reinterpretation of the Samuel text by Barnes in the Expositor, January, 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 south-east of the present city, on the south of the Haram (the Temple area), and on a level lower than that of the Haram (see Smith, Jerusalem, II. 39 ff.).
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 it the city of David.
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 Samuel 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 Samuel that Joab first became commander-in-chief on this occasion; on the contrary he appears in command (2 Samuel ii. 13) during the civil war against the house of Saul. Perhaps he was first formally acknowledged as commander at the seizure of Jerusalem.
⁸And he built the city round about, from Millo even round about: and Joab repaired[¹] the rest of the city. ⁹And David waxed greater and greater; for the Lord of hosts was with him.