Abner and Ish-Bosheth had established their capital at Mahanaim (2:8), over the Jordan River on the boundary of Gad and Manasseh, while David’s capital was at Hebron in the tribe of Judah. But neither city was suitable for a new ruler who was seeking to unify the nation and make a new beginning. David wisely chose as his capital the Jebusite city of Jerusalem on the border of Benjamin (Saul’s tribe) and Judah (David’s tribe). Jerusalem had never belonged to any of the tribes, so nobody could accuse David of playing favorites in setting up his new capital.
Political considerations were important, but so was security, and the topography of Jerusalem made it an ideal capital city. Built on a rocky hill and surrounded on three sides by valleys and hills, the city was vulnerable only on the north side. The Valley of Hinnom lay on the south, the Kidron Valley on the east, and the Tyropean Valley on the west. “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King” (Ps. 48:2). “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined” (Ps. 50:2). The Jewish people have always loved the city of Jerusalem, and today it is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. To be born in Jerusalem was a high honor indeed (Ps. 87:4–6).
The Lord must have guided David in a special way when he chose Jerusalem to be his capital, because Jerusalem would play a strategic role in the working out of His great plan of salvation. God had promised the Jews that He would appoint a place where they could come to worship Him (Deut. 12:1–7), and He must have revealed to David that Jerusalem was that place. Later, David would purchase property on Zion which would become the site for the temple that his son Solomon would build (2 Sam. 24). The church sees the earthly Jerusalem as a city of legalistic bondage, but the heavenly Jerusalem as a symbol of the covenant of grace in Christ Jesus (Gal. 4:21–31) and the eternal home of Christ’s people (Heb. 12:18–24; Rev. 21–22). God has set His King on the throne (Ps. 2:6), and one day He will speak in His wrath and judge those who oppose Him and His truth.
The Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem thought that their citadel was impregnable and that even the blind and the lame could defend it, a boast that made David angry. He knew that the Lord had promised Moses that Israel would conquer all the nations living in Canaan, including the Jebusites (Ex. 23:23–24; Deut. 7:1–2; 20:17), so by faith he planned his attack. He promised that the man who entered the city and subdued it would be the commander of his army, and he even told him how to do it: go up through the water shaft. David’s nephew Joab accepted the challenge, captured the city, and became captain of David’s troops. Excavations on Mount Zion have revealed a water shaft that would have been difficult but not impossible to climb. David occupied the mount and called the southern part “the City of David.” In years following, David and his successors strengthened the fortress by building walls.
The word “millo” (v. 9) means “fullness” and refers to a stone embankment that was built on the southeastern side of the mount to support additional buildings and a wall. Archaeologists have uncovered what they call “a stepped-stone structure,” about 1,500 feet long and 900 feet wide, that was a supporting terrace for other structures, and they assume this was the “millo.” Both Solomon and King Hezekiah strengthened this part of Mount Zion (1 Kings 9:15, 24; 11:27; 2 Chron. 32:5). God’s blessing was on David and gave him prosperity in everything he undertook for his people.
It was probably at this time that David brought the head of Goliath to Jerusalem as a reminder of God’s faithfulness to His people (1 Sam. 17:54).