David Anointed King over Israel
1Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood. 2Even in times past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And to you YHVH said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”
3So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, where King David made with them a covenant before YHVH. And they anointed him king over Israel.
4David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. 5In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
David Conquers Jerusalem
6Now the king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites said to David: “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you.” For they thought, “David cannot get in here.”
7Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion* (that is, the City of David). 8On that day he said, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites must use the water shaft to reach the lame and blind who are despised by David.a” That is why it is said, “The blind and the lame will never enter the palace.”
9So David took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built it up all the way around, from the supporting terraces b inward. 10And David became greater and greater, for YHVH God of Hosts was with him.
11King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
2 Samuel 5:1-12
* Zion (Heb. Tsiyon) = Tsian[-nal] = Tian[-na] the city mentioned in Amarna Letters EA 284, 298, 306
11The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.