Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 3:4
These six sons were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months. And David reigned in Jerusalem thirty-three years,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The chronicler records David’s family history immediately after listing his sixth son born in Hebron. The passage functions as a historical bridge between David’s regional rule and his national capital period.
The words — The text uses וַיִּמְלֶךְ (vayyimlekh), literally "and he reigned," to state the duration of David’s rule. It pairs this with שָ֔ם (sham), meaning "there," to locate the seven-and-a-half-year period specifically in Hebron.
The thread — The seven-and-a-half-year Hebron reign is recorded in 2 Samuel 2:11. The combined forty-year total reign appears in 2 Samuel 5:4 and 1 Kings 2:11, with the latter explicitly dividing the period into seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to track the chronological division of David’s kingship across two cities. It demands precise attention to how biblical genealogies anchor royal timelines to specific locations and durations.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
These six were born unto him in Hebron; and there he reigned seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 2:11 And the length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
- 2 Samuel 5:4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.
- 1 Kings 2:11 The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
- 2 Samuel 5:14 These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,
- 1 Chronicles 29:27 The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.