David slept with his fathers, and was buried in David’s city.
Parallel Translations
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David slept with his fathers, and was buried in David’s city.
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So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
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And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to 1 Kings 2:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 2:29 “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
- Acts 13:36 For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, was laid with his fathers, and saw decay.
- 1 Kings 1:21 Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered criminals.”
- 1 Kings 11:43 Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in his father David’s city; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
- 1 Chronicles 29:28 He died at a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place.
- 2 Samuel 5:7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion. This is David’s city.
- 1 Kings 3:1 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into David’s city, until he had finished building his own house, Yahweh’s house, and the wall around Jerusalem.
- 1 Chronicles 11:7 David lived in the stronghold; therefore they called it David’s city.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ki 2:10 So David slept with his fathers, and…
1Ki 2:10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
Ver. 10. So David slept with his fathers.] When he had served out his time, {Act 13:25} when he had done his work, God sent him to bed. {Isa 57:2} In 1Ch 29:28, it is said that "he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour." He was regum omnium idea et exemplar, a notable pattern for princes, and in very many things a type of Christ.
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And was buried in the city of David.] Not in Bethlehem, but in Zion, {2Sa 5:7} the usual royal burying place. Josephus {a} writeth that his son Solomon buried him magnificently; and that into his sepulchre were put very great riches, &c. It was to be seen till the apostles’ times. {Act 2:29}
{a} Lib. vii.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Slept with his fathers;
Slept with his fathers;
See Poole "1Ki 1:21", See Poole "Deu 31:16".
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In the city of David, i.e. in that part of Jerusalem which was called by his name, because he took it from the Jebusites. See 2Sa 5:7; 1Ch 11:5; 2Ch 5:2.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain So David slept with his fathers,.... Died as his…
So David slept with his fathers,.... Died as his ancestors before him did; for, buried with them he was not; and therefore cannot be understood of his lying with them in the grave, but in the state of the dead; he died according as the Jews say (q) on the day of Pentecost, and according to Bishop Usher (r) A. M. 2990, and before Christ 1014;
and was buried in the city of David; not at Bethlehem, in the sepulchre of Jesse, who was a private man; but being a king, in his own city, the hold of Zion he took from the Jebusite, and which afterwards was called by his name, Sa2 5:7; and his sepulchre remained unto the times of the apostles, upwards of a thousand years; see Gill on Act 2:29.
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(q) T. Hieros. Chagigah, fol. 78. 1. (r) Anuals, &c. p. 56.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 10. David slept with his fathers] His life…
Verse 10. David slept with his fathers] His life was a life of remarkable providences, of much piety, and of great public usefulness. In general he lived well, and it is most evident that he died well; and as a king, a general, a poet, a father, and a friend, he has had few equals, and no superior, from his own time to the present day. But I shall reserve a more particular consideration of his character till I come to the book of Psalms, in which that character, with all its lights and shades, is exhibited by his own masterly hand. And it is from this composition alone that we can know David, and the maxims by which he was governed in public and private life.
Was buried in the city of David.] And Solomon, says Josephus, deposited immense treasures with him, in the grave, where they continued unmolested for thirteen hundred years, till Hyrcanus, the high priest, being besieged by Antiochus, opened the sepulchre, and took thence three thousand talents, part of which he gave to Antiochus, to raise the siege. It is added that, many years afterwards, Herod the Great ransacked this tomb and got considerable riches. Little credit is due to this account, though we know that was customary in ancient times to deposit with the more illustrious dead, gold, silver, and precious stones. That the tomb of David existed in the days of the apostles, we learn from Ac 2:29, where St. Peter, addressing the Jews, says, Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David; that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. St. Jerome speaks of it as existing in his time, and modern travellers pretend that it is still in existence. But both monks and Mohammedans have long united to impose on Christian pilgrims; and there is scarcely any dependence to be placed on any of their relations; absurdity and self-contradiction are their principal characteristics.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Ki 2:10-11. So David slept with his fathers —…
1Ki 2:10-11. So David slept with his fathers — He died with the satisfaction of seeing his own son his successor, the wisest and the hopefulest prince of the whole earth, and with the assurance of God’s peculiar favour to his posterity, from whence he had already, in the clearest light of prophetic vision, seen the Messiah, the Lord of life, to arise; of whose dominion, and the increase of his government and glory, he well knew, by the Spirit of God upon him, there would be no end. And was buried in the city of David — In that part of Jerusalem which was called by his name, because he took it from the Jebusites. Seven years reigned he in Hebron — More precisely, seven years and six months; (2Sa 5:5;) but smaller numbers are often omitted in Scripture computations, and only the larger noticed.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain David. Thus died this perfect model of princes, and…
David. Thus died this perfect model of princes, and this great saint, whose only fault, of consequence, was occasioned by Bethsabee: (2 Kings xi. 4.) and this served to display his repentance. (St. Chrysostom, hom lxxvii.) --- He prefigured Jesus Christ in a wonderful manner; in his birth, at the same city; his election, in preference to his brethren; his persecutions, and subsequent glory. Jesus was, in like manner, betrayed by a false friend, and obliged to go out of Jerusalem, laden with his cross. But he acquired fresh splendour by his sufferings, and purchased a more faithful people. The tomb of David remained for many ages, Acts ii. 29. Josephus says that it contained vast riches: but this seems to be fabulous. St. Jerome often went to pray at this tomb. (Ep. ad Marcel.) --- If it be now unknown, the Holy Ghost has left us a more illustrious monument to the honour of this great man, in the Psalms, and Ecclesiasticus xlvii. 2., &c. (Calmet) --- We have now only an abridgment of his history, 1 Paralipomenon xxix. 29.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain So David slept with his fathers--about six months after…
So David slept with his fathers--about six months after the coronation of Solomon (compare Sa2 5:5 with Ch1 29:27). The interval was spent in developing his ideas and plans for the future glory of the kingdom and providing for the permanent worship of God (see on Ch1 22:1, and following).
was buried in the city of David--Sepulchres were not allowed within the precincts of cities. Jerusalem, however, formed an exception; and yet, even there, the privilege was reserved chiefly for the royal family (Act 2:29). Tradition says that the bones of David repose on Mount Zion, and the minaret of a small mosque points out the spot which tradition has fixed. His was a noble, a wondrous, and a humbling history. He was a good man, yet his life was deformed by various crimes of a very gross character. But there were many bright and noble traits in his character; he was an earnest lover of the divine law; his reign was signalized by many important services that contributed to the glory of God and the exaltation of His kingdom; and his name, as the sweet Psalmist of Israel, will be held in honor to the latest age of the Church.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. David slept with his fathers — These words…
10. David slept with his fathers — These words are properly supposed by many to teach the separate conscious existence of the soul after death. They may, indeed, denote that common sleep which all the dead are sleeping; but beyond this they seem to point to that spiritual and blissful association in Paradise which the New Testament revelation brings more clearly to light, and are equivalent to being gathered to one’s people. Compare Gen_25:8. It cannot be urged, however, that these words at all determine the actual state of the dead.
Was buried in the city of David — That is, in Jerusalem, “the city which he had made his own, and which could only be honoured, not polluted, by containing his grave. It was, no doubt, hewn in the rocky sides of the hill, and became the centre of the catacomb in which his descendants, the kings of Judah, were interred after him. It remained one of the landmarks of the ruined city after the return from the captivity, (Neh_3:16,) and was pointed out down to the latest times of the Jewish people. ‘His sepulchre is with us unto this day,’ says Peter at Pentecost, (Act_2:29;) and Josephus states that Solomon, having buried a vast treasure in the tomb, one of its chambers was broken open by Hyrcanus, and another by Herod the Great. It is said to have fallen into ruin in the time of Hadrian. The vast cavern, with its many tombs, no doubt exists under the ruins of Jerusalem, and its discovery will close many a controversy on the topography of the Holy City. But down to this time its situation is unknown.” — Stanley. Among the Orientals, in ancient as in modern times, it was not customary to bury within the gates of a city; but here, says Wordsworth, “was a glimpse of a better time, when death would no longer be regarded as an unclean thing, and when the grave would be hallowed and beautified by the burial of Christ, the Son of David, the King of the true Zion.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. in the city of David] The place is…
10. in the city of David] The place is defined (2Sa_5:7) as ‘the stronghold of Zion.’ We are told (Aboth de-Rabbi Nathan i. 35) that ‘no graves are made in Jerusalem, except the tombs of the house of David, and of Huldah the prophetess, which have been there from the days of the first prophets.’ Josephus (Ant. vii. 15. 3) gives an account of the wealth that Solomon deposited in his father’s grave, and states that the tomb was afterwards opened and some of this wealth carried away, first by Hyrcanus the high priest, when he was besieged by Antiochus, and a second time by Herod the Great. But the chambers in which the treasure was buried could be reached without disturbing the royal burying-place.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) Buried in the city of David—that is, evidently…
(10) Buried in the city of David—that is, evidently in Mount Sion. In Neh_3:16 the “sepulchres of David” are noticed, and they are plainly alluded to in Eze_43:7; Eze_43:9. They became the regular tombs of the kings, with some exceptions particularly noticed. It was in token of special honour that the high priest Jehoiada, the preserver of the royal dynasty, was buried therein (See 2Ch_24:16).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain So Heb. and David slept Heb. lay down. The…
So Heb. and David slept Heb. lay down. The idea of bk" is not that of sleep so much as of the recumbent posture of the dead. It points to the grave rather than to Sheol (Gesen.), though the latter idea is not excluded. Wordsworth (after a Lapide) finds here "an assertion of the doctrine of the existence of the soul after death, and of the resurrection of the body," but it is not in the text with his fathers cf. the Latin expression abiit ad plures, and the Greek ejv pleonwn iJkesqai, and was buried in the city of David i.e. the hill of Zion, which he had fortified, His citadel became his sepulchre, and thenceforward bore his name. Intramural interment was permitted only to prophets and kings. Jerusalem is completely under. mined by caves and caverns, and Zion is no exception to the rule. One of these, possibly enlarged, probably became the burying place of the kings. It was known, not only in Nehemiah"s day, (Neh_3:15, Neh_3:16) but down to the age of the apostles. (Act_2:29) Probably owing to a misunderstanding of St. Peter"s words, "his sepulchre is with us, etc., the Coenaculum is now shown as David"s tomb. Josephus says Solomon placed a vast quantity of treasure with the body, three thousand talents of which were taken out by Hyrcanus (Ant. 13:8. 4). He has also a curious story of an attempted plunder of the tombby Herod (Ant. 16:7. 1) Ver. 11. And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem as elsewhere, (1Ch_29:27) the historian has disregarded the fraction of a year in giving the length of David"s reign. He reigned at Hebron, according to 2Sa_5:5, "seven years and six months."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain So David slept with his fathers
1Ki_2:10-12
So David slept with his fathers
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Views of life and death
The view which is presented in the Scripture of the death of saints is the exact opposite of that which is popular to-day.
You nearly, without exception, find death painted as a reaper coming with his sickle. That is merely a human idea. What is Gods idea in the Word? Death is not the reaper; death is the sower. That is a very different thing. It is not death that comes and gathers in the harvest: it is death that sows the seed. The agriculturist goes out with his basket of bare grain, and that is cast into the earth and it is covered up and lost to sight; but it germinates because it dies. It dies to live under the soil, and by and by there comes the rich golden harvest. Death will lose half of its gloom if you view death, not as the reaper, but as the sower. It is because we limit our idea of life to the brief period we spend in this world, that we make death the terminator of life. It is not so, but the true beginning of life. Death may take the beautiful form of your loved one, and cast it in the ground; but it is all that death can do: Death sows the seed, but God reaps the harvest in the dawn of His coming. (R. Venting.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain 1Ki_2:10. Buried in the city of David—A tomb probably…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
1Ki_2:10. Buried in the city of David—A tomb probably prepared by the king before he died, and afterwards marked with great veneration, even in the time of Christ.
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HOMILETICS OF 1Ki_2:10-12
THE NIGHT OF AN OLD DYNASTY, AND THE MORNING OF THE NEW
The reign of David began in the midst of storm and conflict. His was a long and eventful life, teeming with romance, ever menaced with danger, and ever escaping it, and yet continually advancing to a higher pitch of greatness and power. The trumpet of rebellion had roused him from his dying couch. As one accustomed to such scenes, and well knowing how to act, he crushed the incipient attempt before it had gathered strength enough to injure his throne. It was his last struggle. From that period an era of peace was inaugurated that lasted for years. At the beginning of this season of tranquillity the dynasty of the Warrior-King closes, and is followed by the rule of the Man of Peace. This change of government suggests a few reflections.
I. That death is no respecter of person or rank. “So David slept with his fathers” (1Ki_2:10). The unpitying destroyer ravages alike the cottage and the palace. Even David, who had borne a charmed life in the fiercest battles, is at length overtaken by the enemy whose power he had seemed to defy. All the resources of a kingdom are utterly incompetent to arrest the inevitable and desolating stroke of Death. No amount of wealth can bribe him to betray his ghastly mission; no skill, however subtle, can baffle his designs; no pleadings, however pathetic, can move him to pity; no rank, however exalted, can escape his fatal visit. Silently, steadily, irresistibly, unweariedly he prosecutes his work. Like the gigantic vampire bat of Java, whose perfumed wings fan its victims into a profound sleep while it sucks the life-blood, so Death often throws a stupor over the worn-out body while knawing away its vitality: the senses are numbed, the breath rifled, the pulse stilled, and all is over—the prince and the beggar are reduced to the same level. One event happeneth to all.
II. That the greatness of the son is often built on the wise provisions of the sire. “Then sat Solomon on the throne of David his father” (1Ki_2:12). The exertions of David had made the kingdom of Israel what it was. By his conquests he greatly enlarged its territory and increased its wealth. As the crowning work of his life he set his heart upon building a temple for Jehovah; but this he was not permitted to do, though he had made extensive preparations for the undertaking. When, therefore, Solomon came to the throne, he found a kingdom thickly populated, and growing in wealth, prestige, and influence. A substantial basis was thus laid down on which the empire was raised to the height of affluence, splendour, and renown it afterwards attained. Whatever reputation Solomon might have won by his wisdom, he would never have been known to posterity as a mighty prince had he not inherited the substantial fortunes of his victorious father. The son of a great man and heir to vast possessions occupies no enviable position. He accepts a solemn responsibility—he has the prospect of a brilliant career. If he fails, his humiliation is most abject. He needs Divine help. The best guarantee of success is to possess heavenly wisdom.
III. That the progress of a nation advances notwithstanding the loss of its greatest men. “And his kingdom was established greatly” (1Ki_2:12). There is an immense power in an individual life; it impresses itself upon the nation; it moulds its policy and guides its destiny, and becomes interwoven with the texture of its character; it seems indispensable to its existence. Yet it is humbling to discover how little one is missed and how soon forgotten. Great men die; but the nations they helped to create survive and flourish. How often are we made to feel:—
The individual is less and less,
The world is more and more.
Individuals perish—principles never: men depart, but humanity remains. The work of one generation is a preparation for the work of another; and thus, under the controlling hand of God, nations accomplish their respective destinies:
“There is a Power
Unseen, that rules the illimitable world—
That guides its motions, from the brightest star
To the least dust of this sin-tainted world;
While man, who madly deems himself the lord
Of all, is nought but weakness and dependence.”—Thomson.
LESSONS:—
1. All earthly governments are subject to change.
2. It is matter for gratitude to the nation when the end of one good reign is the beginning of another.
3. Amid the rise and fall of dynasties the Divine purpose concerning the race steadily advances.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ki_2:10-11. The death and burial of David.
1. His death was a rest from a long and toilsome life—as a storm having spent its force sinks gently into a peaceful and prolonged slumber. Rest is sweet after bearing the burden and heat of the day for forty years.
2. He was buried among the monuments of his energy and greatness. His own city was his tomb. Kings who build palaces should not forget their tombs; a small space must shortly contain all their greatness. David’s grave is a pledge that the memory of the just is blessed (Pro_10:7; Act_2:29).
And now, when David hath set all things in a desired order and forwardness, he shuts up with a zealous blessing of his son Solomon and his people, and sleeps with his fathers. O, blessed soul, how quiet a possession hast thou now taken, after so many tumults, of a better crown! Thou that hast prepared all things for the house of thy God, how happily art thou now welcomed to that house of His, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens!—Hall.
David, a type of Christ.
1. Appointed by God to his high office, and consecrated to it with the holy oil.
2. Was long opposed by violent enemies.
3. Was sustained in his heaviest trials by a large measure of Divine consolation.
4. Was supreme governor of his people.
5. Ruled in righteousness.
6. Pardoned enemies and punished the obstinately rebellious.
7. Was confirmed in the kingdom by covenant (Psa_89:3-4; Psa_89:28-29).—Robinson.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
David dies and Solomon takes his place as the new king of Israel.
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slept with his ancestors
David dying is spoken of as if he had fallen asleep. AT: "died" (See: Euphemism)
David ... and was buried
This can be translated in active form. AT: "David ... and they buried him" (See: Active or Passive)
The days that David reigned over Israel were
"The time that David reigned over Israel was" or "David reigned over Israel for"
sat on the throne of his father David
The throne represents the authority of the king. AT: "became king, as his father David had been" (See: Metonymy)
his rule was firmly established
This can be translated in active form. AT: "Yahweh firmly established Solomon's rule" or "Yahweh caused Solomon to take complete control of the kingdom" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
asleep
bury
city of David
reign
Hebron
Jerusalem
ancestor
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:10-12 David died peacefully after a forty-year reign, knowing…
2:10-12 David died peacefully after a forty-year reign, knowing that the kingdom was firmly established in Solomon, his designated heir. Various locations have been proposed for David’s tomb, but none has been confirmed (cp. Acts 2:29). Royal tombs were used at least until Hezekiah’s days (2 Kgs 20:21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.