II Samuel 5:7 · Bible study
2 Samuel 5:7 Commentary: Zion Captured, the City of David
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
David captures the Jebusite stronghold of Zion and renames it the City of David, establishing Jerusalem as Israel's political and spiritual center.
Research Summary
- Meaning: David conquers the Jebusite fortress on Mount Zion and renames it the City of David, securing a unified capital for Israel.
- Key words: Lakad (capture), metsudah (stronghold), tsiyyon (Zion, “parched place”), ir David (city of David).
- Main debate: The location of ancient Zion (north of the temple mount vs. the southwestern hill).
- Theological theme: God's faithfulness to His anointed; transformation of a pagan stronghold into the center of worship.
- Best use: A hinge passage to teach God's sovereignty in establishing His kingdom, with echoes in the New Testament's depiction of Jesus as David's heir.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the City of David).
WEB World English Bible 2000
Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion. This is David’s city.
KJV King James Version 1769
Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And David captureth the fortress of Zion, it is the city of David.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
But David took the stronghold of Zion, which is the city of David.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
But David took the castle of Sion, the same is the city of David.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Empero David tomó la fortaleza de Sión, la cual es la ciudad de David.
Porém Davi tomou a fortaleza de Sião, a qual é a cidade de Davi.
Mais David s’ empara de la forteresse de Sion: c’ est la cité de David.
David aber gewann die Burg Zion, das ist Davids Stadt.
Maar David nam den burg Sion in; dezelve is de stad Davids.
Ma Davide prese la fortezza di Sion, che è la città di Davide.
Wszakże wziął Dawid zamek Syoński, a toć jest miasto Dawidowe.
Но Давид взял крепость Сион: это — город Давидов.
然而大衛 攻取 錫安 的保障，就是 大衛 的城。
But David took the strong place of Zion, which is the town of David.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · II Samuel 5:7
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this compact verse records a pivotal moment: David's conquest of the Jebusite fortress on Mount Zion and its immediate identification as the City of David. Keil and Delitzsch note that the naming “anticipates the course of events,” since David only gave that name after making it his residence (2 Sam 5:9). Barnes clarifies that the ancient Zion was the hill where the temple later stood, distinct from the modern southwest location. The Hebrew conjunction waw (translated “Nevertheless” in many English versions) signals a sharp contrast with the Jebusites' boast that “the blind and the lame” would keep David out (v.6). Gill points out that the stronghold's capture facilitated the taking of the city itself, underscoring the Lord's presence with David (v.10).
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: David captured the Jebusite stronghold on Zion and established Jerusalem as his capital, a city that becomes the central place of worship and the symbol of God's covenant with David.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Location of ancient Zion | Zion was a distinct hill or ridge within Jerusalem, the site of the Jebusite fortress. | Some scholars (e.g., Barnes) place it north of the temple mount; others (e.g., Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) favor the southwestern hill. The precise identification remains unresolved. |
| Meaning of the Hebrew conjunction | The Hebrew text begins with <em>waw</em> (“and”). | Most English versions render it “Nevertheless” to highlight the contrast with the Jebusites' taunt; some (e.g., YLT) keep the simple “And.” The interpretive emphasis varies. |
| When the name 'City of David' applied | The name was coined by David and used consistently afterward. | Keil and Delitzsch argue that verse 7 anticipates the later naming (v.9); other commentators see the naming as immediate. The difference is one of narrative sequence. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jerusalem had long resisted full Israelite control. Though Judah captured the city earlier (Judg 1:8), the Jebusites retained the fortress on Mount Zion (Judg 1:21). For David, newly anointed king over all Israel (2 Sam 5:3), a neutral capital was essential to unify the northern and southern tribes. The Jebusites' taunt, “The blind and the lame will keep you out” (v.6), reflected their confidence in the natural defenses: a hill surrounded by deep valleys on three sides. Keil and Delitzsch describe this as “haughty self-security.” David's response involved a water shaft (the “gutter” of v.8), likely the vertical shaft from the Gihon Spring used to access the fortress. After the victory, David renamed the stronghold “David’s city” (v.9) and began building Millo and inward.
The name “Zion” itself (from tsiyyon, “parched place”) later became a powerful symbol. It appears in the Psalms as God's holy hill (Ps 2:6) and the place where the ark found rest (2 Sam 6:12, 16). David's burial in the City of David (1 Kgs 2:10) and Solomon's eventual translation of the ark to the temple (1 Kgs 8:1) cemented Zion as the spiritual heart of Israel. The capture thus transformed a pagan stronghold into the center of God's covenant community.
Textual Notes
The Hebrew text of 2 Samuel 5:7 is stable across major manuscripts. The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The sole variation is in English translation of the opening conjunction (see “agreed_debated” above).
Reception History
Throughout church history, Zion has been interpreted as a type of God's dwelling place. Early Christian writers (e.g., Cyril of Jerusalem) connected the physical hill to the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb 12:22). In medieval exegesis, David's capture of Zion prefigured Christ's conquest of the spiritual stronghold of sin. Protestant reformers saw in it a pattern of God choosing the weak to shame the strong (1 Cor 1:27). The name “City of David” recurs in Psalms and prophets as a symbol of messianic hope; Christians later applied it to Bethlehem (Luke 2:4) and to the New Jerusalem. The verse is sung in hymns such as “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken,” which celebrate Zion as the city of God.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Lord fights for His anointed. David's victory over the impregnable fortress shows that God's presence, not human strength, secures His purposes (v.10).
- The taunt of the enemy becomes the stage for triumph. The Jebusites' boast about the blind and lame is overturned by David's capture, a pattern of divine reversal.
- The renaming of Zion points to a greater King. The City of David anticipates a kingdom where another Son of David will establish an eternal rule (Luke 1:32, 33).
Five-point outline
- Context: David's anointing over all Israel (vv.1, 5).
- Obstacle: The Jebusite fortress, seemingly invincible (v.6).
- Conflict: The taunt and the Lord's answer through David's strategy (vv.6, 8).
- Conquest: “Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion” (v.7).
- Consequence: Jerusalem becomes the City of David, the dwelling of God (vv.9, 10; 2 Sam 6:1, 17).
Illustration hooks
- A leaky roof on moving day. A family must relocate but the only available house has a damaged roof. The seller thinks no one would buy it. Yet a buyer sees potential and transforms it into a home, just as David saw Zion's strategic value and turned a fortress into a capital.
- An underdog sports team. Before a championship, the opponents make bold predictions. The underdog wins anyway, and the victory is remembered for years. The Jebusites' arrogance made David's victory even more memorable.
- Renaming after a significant event. When a couple adopts a child and gives that child a new family name, it signals belonging. David's renaming of Zion as his city declared ownership and identity.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why did David choose Jerusalem, a Jebusite city, instead of Hebron or another Israelite town?
- What does the capture of Zion teach us about God's faithfulness in the face of seemingly impossible obstacles?
- How does this Old Testament event point forward to Jesus as the greater David?
Leading a Discussion
This short verse stands at a turning point in Israel's history. David has just been anointed king over all tribes. The capture of Zion and its renaming as the City of David establishes Jerusalem as both the political capital and the future site of the temple. As you discuss, notice how the Jebusites' taunt frames the victory as a divine act.
Discussion questions
- Read 2 Samuel 5:6, 10. What do the Jebusites' words reveal about their attitude (v.6)? How does David's response differ?
- The Hebrew of verse 7 begins with “And” rather than “Nevertheless.” Why do many English translations add a contrastive word? What is the implied contrast?
- Why was it important for David to capture a neutral city, one not associated with Judah or Benjamin? (Consider the tensions between tribes after Saul's death.)
- How does the renaming of Zion as “David's city” connect to the later designation of Jerusalem as the “city of God” (Ps 46:4)?
- What does this passage suggest about God's ability to use human strategy and courage (David's plan with the water shaft, v.8) alongside His own power?
- In what ways does the capture of a stronghold speak to spiritual strongholds in your own life? How does David's confidence in the Lord (v.10) inform your approach?
- How does the trajectory from Zion to the City of David to the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb 12:22) shape your hope as a Christian?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| II Samuel 5:9 | David lived in the stronghold, and called it David’s city. David built around from Millo and inward. |
| II Samuel 6:10 | So David would not move Yahweh’s ark to be with him in David’s city; but David carried it aside into Obed-Edom the Gittite’s house. |
| II Samuel 6:12 | King David was told, “Yahweh has blessed the house of Obed-Edom, and all that belongs to him, because of God’s ark.” So David went and brought up God’s ark from the house of Obed-Edom into David’s city with joy. |
| II Samuel 6:16 | As Yahweh’s ark came into David’s city, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out through the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before Yahweh; and she despised him in her heart. |
| I Kings 2:10 | David slept with his fathers, and was buried in David’s city. |
| I Kings 3:1 | Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into David’s city until he had finished building his own house, Yahweh’s house, and the wall around Jerusalem. |
| I Kings 8:1 | Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel with all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Yahweh’s covenant out of David’s city, which is Zion. |
| I Chronicles 11:7 | David lived in the stronghold; therefore they called it David’s city. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes clarifies that the "stronghold of Zion" was the castle on the hill where the temple stood, not the area later called Zion southwest of the temple. He notes that "the city of David" was a name given afterward, showing how the site was known by a different name in the writer's time.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible Schools point out that the Hebrew original reads simply "And" where the English translation says "Nevertheless." This choice softens the contrast present in the original. They also reference an additional note for the phrase "the strong hold of Zion."
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Bible note marks Zion as the stronghold David captured, then immediately identifies it as the city of David. The commentator draws a direct link: the fortress David took became his own royal city.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that the stronghold David captured was a fortress separate from the city, not part of it, and its strength made its capture strategic for the difficult task of taking the city itself. He adds that this stronghold later became known as the city of David, where David built his house and lived.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB identifies Zion as the towering height that dominates Jerusalem's skyline, whether the southwestern hill or the peak north of the temple mount. He emphasizes that the name means "the hill fort" or "the rocky hold"—a natural stronghold that catches the eye from every direction.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch reads David's command as a sarcastic turn on the Jebusites' taunt: every defender, whom David labels "lame and blind," is to be hurled down the precipice (zinnor). The proverb "blind
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees David's capture of Zion as
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry highlights the Jebusites' mocking boast that their blind and lame could keep David out, showing their contempt for God's anointed king. He also traces Jerusalem's long history from Melchizedek through the tribal allotments, presenting David's capture as a long-overdue restoration of this central city under unified Israel.