David Becomes King of Judah

2 Later, David asked the Lord, “Should I go back to one of the towns of Judah?”

The Lord answered, “Yes.”

David asked, “Which town should I go to?”

“Go to Hebron,” the Lord replied.

^2 (A) David went to Hebron with his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail. Ahinoam was from Jezreel, and Abigail was the widow of Nabal from Carmel. ³ David also told his men and their families to come and live in the villages near Hebron.

^4 (B) The people of Judah met with David at Hebron and poured olive oil on his head to show that he was their new king. Then they told David, “The people from Jabesh in Gilead buried Saul.”

⁵ David sent messengers to tell them:

The Lord bless you! You were kind enough to bury Saul your ruler, ⁶ and I pray that the Lord will be kind and faithful to you. I will be your friend because of what you have done. ⁷ Saul is dead, but the tribe of Judah has made me their king. So be strong and have courage.

Ishbosheth Becomes King of Israel

⁸ Abner the son of Ner^[a] had been the general of Saul's army. He took Saul's son Ishbosheth^[b] across the Jordan River to Mahanaim ⁹ and made him king of Israel,^[c] including the areas of Gilead, Asher,^[d] Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin. ¹⁰ Ishbosheth was 40 years old at the time, and he ruled for two years. But the tribe of Judah made David their king, ¹¹ and he ruled from Hebron for seven and a half years.

3 This battle was the beginning of a long war between the followers of Saul and the followers of David. Saul's power grew weaker, but David's grew stronger.