David Takes Jerusalem

Now the Jebusites, who lived in Jerusalem and were Canaanites by descent, shut their gates and set the blind, the lame and all their maimed people on the wall to mock the king, saying that the very lame would keep him from getting in. They did this out of contempt for his power, relying on the strength of their walls. David was enraged at this and began the siege of Jerusalem, and put all his energy and eagerness into it, since he meant by taking this place to show his power and to frighten all others who might be disposed toward him in the same way. So he took the lower city by force, but the citadel still held out. So the king, knowing that the offer of honors and rewards would spur the soldiers on to greater deeds, promised that whoever first went up through the ravines below the citadel, climbed up to the citadel itself and took it, would be given the command of the entire people. They were all eager to climb, and thought no effort too great to get up there, out of their desire for the chief command. But Joab, the son of Zeruiah, got ahead of the rest, and as soon as he had reached the citadel he shouted to the king and claimed the chief command. [a]

When David had driven the Jebusites out of the citadel, he also rebuilt Jerusalem and named it the City of David, and lived there for the rest of his reign. The time he had reigned over the tribe of Judah alone, in Hebron, was seven years and six months. Now when he had chosen Jerusalem as his royal city, his affairs prospered more and more by the providence of God, who took care that they should improve and increase. Hiram, the king of Tyre, also sent ambassadors to him and made a league of mutual friendship and help with him. He also sent him presents, cedar trees, and craftsmen and men skilled in building and architecture, to build him a royal palace at Jerusalem. David took in the upper city, joined the citadel to it and made the two one, and when he had enclosed it all with walls, he put Joab in charge of them. It was David, then, who first drove the Jebusites out of Jerusalem and called it by his own name, the City of David. For under our forefather Abraham it was called Solyma; and after that time some say that Homer too mentions it by that name, for he named the temple Solyma, according to the Hebrew language, which means security. Now the whole time from the war that Joshua our general waged against the Canaanites, the war in which he overcame them and divided the land among the Hebrews, down to this time (for the Israelites could never drive the Canaanites out of Jerusalem until now, when David took it by siege), was five hundred and fifteen years. [d]

I shall now mention Araunah, who was a wealthy man among the Jebusites, but was not killed by David in the siege of Jerusalem because of the goodwill he bore the Hebrews, and a particular kindness and affection he had for the king himself. I shall take a more fitting opportunity to speak of this a little later. Now David married other wives besides those he had before, and he also had concubines. The sons he had were eleven in number, and their names were Amnon, Emnos, Eban, Nathan, Solomon, Jeban, Elien, Phalna, Ennaphen, Jenae and Eliphale; and he had a daughter, Tamar. Nine of these were born of lawful wives, but the last two named of concubines; and Tamar had the same mother as Absalom. [h]