2 Samuel 5:25

And David did so as the Lord commanded him,.... In all things he was obedient to the command of God; Saul was not: he got behind the army of the Philistines, as he was directed; and when he heard the

And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer. Geba until thou come to Gazer. For Geba, see the notes at 1 Samuel 14:1-52 :; Gazer (cf.

They followed their victory, and pursued them to their own borders, in which Gazer was, as Josephus relates.

2 Samuel 5:25 And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.Ver. 25. To Gazer.] Which was a city of the Philistines, saith Josephus.

(25) From Geba . . . to Gazer.—In the parallel passage (1 Chronicles 14:16) it is “from Gibeon to Gazer.” One or the other is a slip of the scribe, and there can be little question that Gibeon is the true reading, since it lies about five and a half miles northwest of Jerusalem, while Geba (Gibeah) is about seven and a half miles north-east. The site of Gazer (or Gezer) has not been exactly identified, but it was certainly just on the edge of the Philistine plain. The distance of the pursuit from Gibeon was about twelve miles, and six miles more must already have been passed over before reaching Gibeon from the valley of Rephaim. The flight of the Philistines was determined in this north-westerly direction at first, from the fact that David had “fetched a compass,” and attacked them from the south. In 1 Chronicles 14:8-17, these battles are placed between the unsuccessful (2 Samuel 13:5-14) and the successful (2 Samuel 15) attempts to bring up the ark to Jerusalem. It is impossible now to determine the exact details of the chronology.

Verse 25. And David did so] He punctually obeyed the directions of the Lord, and then every thing succeeded to his wish. How is it that such supernatural directions and assistances are not communicated now? Because they are not asked for; and they are not asked for because they are not expected; and they are not expected because men have not faith; and they have not faith because they are under a refined spirit of atheism, and have no spiritual intercourse with their Maker. Who believes that God sees all things and is everywhere? Who supposes that he concerns himself with the affairs of his creatures? Who acknowledges him in all his ways? Who puts not his own wisdom, prudence, and strength, in the place of God Almighty? Reader, hast thou faith in God? Then exercise it, cultivate it, and thou mayest remove mountains. It is worthy of remark that David was, by the appointment of God, to feed the people. As he had formerly the care of a flock of sheep, which he was to watch over, defend, lead in and out, and for which he was to find pasture; now he is to watch over, defend, lead in and out, feed, and protect, the Israelites. He is to be the shepherd of the people, not the tyrant or oppressor. In ancient times, among the Greeks, kings were denominated ποιμενεςλαου, shepherds of the people; and all good kings were really such: but, in process of time, this pleasing title was changed for βασιλευς and τυραννος, sovereign and tyrant; in neither of which names does any thing of the original title exist. And such are the different political constitutions of the kingdoms of the earth, that it is impossible that in any of them, the British excepted, the king can be the shepherd and father of his people. All the other regal constitutions under the sun permit the sovereign to be despotic, and consequently oppressive and tyrannical if he please. The British alone gives no power of this kind to the prince; by the constitution he is a patriotic king, and by the influence of those maxims of state which are continually presented to his view, and according to which all acts of government are formed, he becomes habitually the father of his people, and in this light alone do the British people behold the British king. David, by his own authority, without any form of law, could slay the Amalekite who said he had killed Saul; and could cut off the heads of Rechab and Baanah, who murdered Ish-bosheth; but, in the government of Britain, the culprit is to be heard in his vindication, witnesses are to be examined, the facts viewed by an upright judge in the light of the law; and then the alleged criminality is left to the decision of twelve honest men, the equals of the accused, who are bound by a solemn oath to decide according to the evidence brought before them.

25. from Geba] The Sept. and Chron., as well as Isaiah 28:21, which almost certainly refers to this miraculous defeat of the Philistines, all read Gibeon. This seems to be the true reading. Geba (see note on 1 Samuel 10:5) was too far to the east: Gibeon (see note on ch. 2 Samuel 2:12) was on the natural line of retreat northwards from the valley of Rephaim to Gezer. Gazer] Rather, Gezer, a royal city of the Canaanites (Joshua 12:12), belonging to the tribe of Ephraim, and assigned to the Kohathite Levites (Joshua 21:21). Its Canaanite inhabitants retained possession of it until the time of Solomon, when Pharaoh took it and presented it to his daughter, Solomon’s queen (1 Kings 9:16). It lay between the lower Beth-horon and the sea (Joshua 16:3), and the name appears to survive in Tell Jezar, a hill about 10 miles W.S.W. of Beth-horon, and six miles E. of Akir (Ekron). M. Clermont Ganneau found there two inscriptions in Hebrew character, which he reads “Boundary of Gezer.” Conder’s Tent Work, I. 13. The Philistines were thus driven right back into their own lowland plain. The Chronicler concludes the account of these victories with the words: “And the fame of David went out into all lands; and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations.”

Geba - Better, as in marginal reference “Gibeon.” Gazer should be “Gezer” (Joshua 10:33, etc.); it lay between the nether Bethhoron and the sea; on the direct route therefore which the Philistines,

25. From Geba — Rather, from Gibeon, as in 1 Chronicles 14:16, for Geba (see note on 1 Samuel 13:3) lay to the northeast of Jerusalem, and it is not supposable that the Philistines would have passed near it in their flight.