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2 Samuel 5:25

in 2 Samuel 5

So David did as the LORD had commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And David did so, as Jehovah commanded him, and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gezer.

KJV

And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.

This verse in 2 Samuel 5

Commentary

9 notes on this verse
Geba - Better, as in marginal reference “Gibeon.” Gazer should be “Gezer” (Jos 10:33, etc.); it lay between the nether Bethhoron and the sea; on the direct route therefore which the Philistines, fleeing from Gibeon, would take. The exact site has now been identified (1Ki 9:16).

This site's exposition

came up yet again

on 2 Samuel 5:22-25

The Philistines come up a second time to the same valley, and David enquires again, but the Lord gives a different plan for a second victory, not a straight advance but a flanking march, fetch a compass behind them, and wait for a sign, the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees. Older writers read that sound as the marching of an unseen host sent ahead of David, a signal rather than a weapon, and the point either way is the same: he waits for the sound rather than acting on his own timing. Two victories in one chapter come from two different battle plans, and what carries across both is not the tactic but the enquiry that precedes it.

This site's exposition

David did as the LORD had commanded him

Clarke notes that David did exactly as the LORD commanded, and the victory followed. Barnes places Gezer between Lower Beth-horon and the sea, on the direct road home for Philistines fleeing from Gibeon. Pharaoh later gave Gezer to Solomon's wife, at 1 Kings 9:16.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Here we have only the heads of their address, containing the grounds they went upon in making David king. Their relation to him was some inducement: " We are thy bone and thy flesh (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

When the kingdom of the Messiah was to be set up, the apostles that were to beat down the devil's kingdom must not attempt any thing till they received the promise of the Spirit, who came with a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind ( Acts ii.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And David did so as the Lord commanded him,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

In anticipation of an Evangelistic Mission to be conducted by Messrs. Fullerton and Smith. DAVID'S life was a life of war. The Christian life wears other aspects, but still, in very deed and in truth, spiritually, it, also, is a life of war. Our Lord spoke the Truth when He said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."
In anticipation of an Evangelistic Mission to be conducted by Messrs. Fullerton and Smith. DAVID'S life was a life of war. The Christian life wears other aspects, but still, in very deed and in truth, spiritually, it, also, is a life of war. Our Lord spoke the Truth when He said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." The end of all His great work will be universal peace and the lion shall lie down with the lamb, but, for the present, men fight against the principles which Christ brought into the world and all who become the followers of Christ must expect to be soldiers of One whose life was one great conflict and who died upon the battlefield, yes, and was crowned upon the battlefield, too! Expect, then, to war a good warfare as long as you are here. David had won one great victory over the Philistines, but he was not permitted to sit down and congratulate himself upon his triumph. The Philistines were upon him again. Those Philistines took a great deal of beating, but the powers of evil are not content anywhere with being defeated once or twice. They are up and at us again—they challenge us afresh, they hope to overthrow us sooner or later! And again and again we must be ready to resist them with this as our warcry, "They compassed me about; yes, they compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them." There must be war even after victory—and we must stand prepared for it. Note well, however, that before David went to war, in each case, he waited upon God—"David enquired of the Lord." Whenever we have any enterprise on hand, it is wise to wait upon God for direction and for help. David had received Divine Guidance before, but counsel in one dilemma is not guidance for another.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

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 ποιμενες λαου, 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 words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיַּ֤עַשׂand he did

    vaiyaasH62132628 times

  • דָּוִד֙David

    davidH1732999 times

  • כֵּ֔ןso

    kenH3651771 times

  • כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as

    kaasherH8345497 times

  • צִוָּ֖הוּhe had commanded him

    tzivahuH6680494 times

  • יְהוָ֑הYahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

  • וַיַּךְ֙and he struck down

    vaiyakhH5221499 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים[the] Philistines

    pelishtimH6430287 times

  • מִגֶּ֖בַעfrom Geba

    migeva'H1387

  • עַד־until

    ʾad-H57041261 times

  • בֹּאֲךָ֥coming you

    boakhaH9352568 times

  • גָֽזֶר׃ פGezer

    gazerH1507

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Isaiah 28:21

    For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim. He will rouse Himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing…

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 14:11

      So David and his men went up to Baal-perazim, where he defeated the Philistines and said, “Like a bursting flood, God has burst out against my enemies by my hand.” So they called that…

    • Joshua 10:12

      On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley…

    • 2 Samuel 5:20

      So David went to Baal-perazim, where he defeated the Philistines and said, “Like a bursting flood, the LORD has burst out against my enemies before me.” So he called that place Baal-perazim.

    • Joshua 10:10

      And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and…

  • Through

    Joshua 16:10

    But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.

    it leads to

    • Judges 1:29

      Ephraim also failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer; so the Canaanites continued to dwell among them in Gezer.

    • Deuteronomy 7:1–2

      When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations…

    • 1 Kings 9:16

      Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

    • Joshua 17:13

      However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they failed to drive them out completely.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2348: “The Lord Leading—David Following” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.