Antiquities Book 7, Chapter 3
How David Laid Siege To Jerusalem; And When He Had Taken The City, He Cast The Canaanites Out Of It, And Brought In The Jews To Inhabit Therein.
1. Now the Jebusites, who were the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and were by
extraction Canaanites, shut their gates, and placed the blind, and the
lame, and all their maimed persons, upon the wall, in way of derision of
the king, and said that the very lame themselves would hinder his
entrance into it. This they did out of contempt of his power, and as
depending on the strength of their walls. David was hereby enraged, and
began the siege of Jerusalem, and employed his utmost diligence and
alacrity therein, as intending by the taking of this place to
demonstrate his power, and to intimidate all others that might be of the
like [evil] disposition towards him. So he took the lower city by force,
but the citadel held out still; 4 whence it was that the king, knowing
that the proposal of dignities and rewards would encourage the soldiers
to greater actions, promised that he who should first go over the
ditches that were beneath the citadel, and should ascend to the citadel
itself and take it, should have the command of the entire people
conferred upon him. So they all were ambitious to ascend, and thought no
pains too great in order to ascend thither, out of their desire of the
chief command. However, Joab, the son of Zeruiah, prevented the rest;
and as soon as he was got up to the citadel, cried out to the king, and
claimed the chief command.
2. When David had cast the Jebusites out of the citadel, he also rebuilt
Jerusalem, and named it The City of David, and abode there all the time
of his reign; but for the time that he reigned over the tribe of Judah
only in Hebron, it was seven years and six months. Now when he had
chosen Jerusalem to be his royal city, his affairs did more and more
prosper, by the providence of God, who took care that they should
improve and be augmented. Hiram also, the king of the Tyrians, sent
ambassadors to him, and made a league of mutual friendship and
assistance with him. He also sent him presents, cedar-trees, and
mechanics, and men skillful in building and architecture, that they
might build him a royal palace at Jerusalem. Now David made buildings
round about the lower city: he also joined the citadel to it, and made
it one body; and when he had encompassed all with walls, he appointed
Joab to take care of them. It was David, therefore, who first cast the
Jebusites out of Jerusalem, and called it by his own name, The City of
David: for under our forefather Abraham it was called [Salem, or]
Solyma; 5 but after that time, some say that Homer mentions it by that
name of Solyma, [for he named the temple Solyma, according to the Hebrew
language, which denotes security.] Now the whole time from the warfare
under Joshua our general against the Canaanites, and from that war in
which he overcame them, and distributed the land among the Hebrews, [nor
could the Israelites ever cast the Canaanites out of Jerusalem until
this time, when David took it by siege,] this whole time was five
hundred and fifteen years.
3. I shall now make mention of Araunah, who was a wealthy man among the
Jebusites, but was not slain by David in the siege of Jerusalem, because
of the good-will he bore to the Hebrews, and a particular benignity and
affection which he had to the king himself; which I shall take a more
seasonable opportunity to speak of a little afterwards. Now David
married other wives over and above those which he had before: he had
also concubines. The sons whom he had were in number eleven, whose names
were Amnon, Emnos, Eban, Nathan, Solomon, Jeban, Elien, Phalna,
Ennaphen, Jenae, Eliphale; and a daughter, Tamar. Nine of these were
born of legitimate wives, but the two last-named of concubines; and
Tamar had the same mother with Absalom.
extraction Canaanites, shut their gates, and placed the blind, and the
lame, and all their maimed persons, upon the wall, in way of derision of
the king, and said that the very lame themselves would hinder his
entrance into it. This they did out of contempt of his power, and as
depending on the strength of their walls. David was hereby enraged, and
began the siege of Jerusalem, and employed his utmost diligence and
alacrity therein, as intending by the taking of this place to
demonstrate his power, and to intimidate all others that might be of the
like [evil] disposition towards him. So he took the lower city by force,
but the citadel held out still; 4 whence it was that the king, knowing
that the proposal of dignities and rewards would encourage the soldiers
to greater actions, promised that he who should first go over the
ditches that were beneath the citadel, and should ascend to the citadel
itself and take it, should have the command of the entire people
conferred upon him. So they all were ambitious to ascend, and thought no
pains too great in order to ascend thither, out of their desire of the
chief command. However, Joab, the son of Zeruiah, prevented the rest;
and as soon as he was got up to the citadel, cried out to the king, and
claimed the chief command.
2. When David had cast the Jebusites out of the citadel, he also rebuilt
Jerusalem, and named it The City of David, and abode there all the time
of his reign; but for the time that he reigned over the tribe of Judah
only in Hebron, it was seven years and six months. Now when he had
chosen Jerusalem to be his royal city, his affairs did more and more
prosper, by the providence of God, who took care that they should
improve and be augmented. Hiram also, the king of the Tyrians, sent
ambassadors to him, and made a league of mutual friendship and
assistance with him. He also sent him presents, cedar-trees, and
mechanics, and men skillful in building and architecture, that they
might build him a royal palace at Jerusalem. Now David made buildings
round about the lower city: he also joined the citadel to it, and made
it one body; and when he had encompassed all with walls, he appointed
Joab to take care of them. It was David, therefore, who first cast the
Jebusites out of Jerusalem, and called it by his own name, The City of
David: for under our forefather Abraham it was called [Salem, or]
Solyma; 5 but after that time, some say that Homer mentions it by that
name of Solyma, [for he named the temple Solyma, according to the Hebrew
language, which denotes security.] Now the whole time from the warfare
under Joshua our general against the Canaanites, and from that war in
which he overcame them, and distributed the land among the Hebrews, [nor
could the Israelites ever cast the Canaanites out of Jerusalem until
this time, when David took it by siege,] this whole time was five
hundred and fifteen years.
3. I shall now make mention of Araunah, who was a wealthy man among the
Jebusites, but was not slain by David in the siege of Jerusalem, because
of the good-will he bore to the Hebrews, and a particular benignity and
affection which he had to the king himself; which I shall take a more
seasonable opportunity to speak of a little afterwards. Now David
married other wives over and above those which he had before: he had
also concubines. The sons whom he had were in number eleven, whose names
were Amnon, Emnos, Eban, Nathan, Solomon, Jeban, Elien, Phalna,
Ennaphen, Jenae, Eliphale; and a daughter, Tamar. Nine of these were
born of legitimate wives, but the two last-named of concubines; and
Tamar had the same mother with Absalom.