ESV Reformation Study Bible – 2 Sam 5:6
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2 Sam 5:6

5:6 Jerusalem. A city of great antiquity (occupied as early as the third millennium b.c.), Jerusalem was in Benjamin, near the northern border of Judah. The city had earlier been conquered by Judah (Judg. 1:8), but neither Judah nor Benjamin had been successful in permanently dislodging its Jebusite inhabitants (Josh. 15:63; Judg. 1:21). David may well have thought that Jerusalem’s strategic location and relatively independent status made the city well suited to the establishment of a national capital that would not imply favoritism to any particular region.

Jebusites . . . said to David. The Jebusites’ taunt, whether suggestive of overconfidence or simply of a determination to fight to the last man (even be he blind or lame), reflects the hostility between the Jebusites and David (see v. 8; 1 Sam. 17:54 note).