Bible Strands
2 Samuel 2:10
Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the immediate aftermath of Saul’s death, documenting Ish-bosheth’s coronation over the northern tribes while David holds Hebron as king over Judah.
The words — The text pairs אַרְבָּעִ֨ים ('ar.ba.'Im) meaning "forty" with שָׁנָ֜ה (sha.Nah) meaning "year" to fix Ish-bosheth’s age at accession, while בְּ/מָלְכ/וֹ֙ (be./ma.le.Kh/o) marks the formal transition of his royal authority.
The thread — This overlapping succession and tribal division reappear in 1 Chronicles 11:1–3 and 2 Samuel 5:5, which contrast David’s seven-and-a-half-year rule over Judah with his later reign over the united nation.
Why it lands — The passage first states the historical fact of a divided monarchy before establishing the structural contrast that frames David’s eventual unification, requiring the reader to track the political reality before recognizing the narrative’s covenantal trajectory.
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
Ish–bosheth Saul’s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.