2 Samuel 5:8

King James Version (KJV)

And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.

Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

i. e. “Whosoever will smite the Jebusites, let him reach both the lame and the blind, who are the hated of David‘s soul, by the gutter or water-course, and he shall be chief.” The only access to the citadel was where the water had worn a channel (some understand a subterranean channel), and where there was, in consequence, some vegetation in the rock. Joab (see the marginal reference) took the hint, and with all the activity that had distinguished his brother Anabel 2 Samuel 2:18, climbed up first. The blind and the lame are either literally such, placed there in derision by the Jebusites who thought the stronghold impregnable, or they are the Jebusite garrison, so called in derision by David.

Wherefore they said … - i. e. it became a proverb (as in 1 Samuel 19:24). The proverb seems merely to have arisen from the blind and the lame being the hated of David‘s soul, and hence, to have been used proverbially of any that were hated, or unwelcome, or disagreeable.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

The enemies of God's people are often very confident of their own strength, and most secure when their day to fall draws nigh. But the pride and insolence of the Jebusites animated David, and the Lord God of hosts was with him. Thus in the day of God's power, Satan's strong-hold, the human heart, is changed into a habitation of God through the Spirit, and into a throne on which the Son of David rules, and brings every thought into obedience to himself. May He thus come, and claim, and cleanse, each of our hearts; and, destroying every idol, may he reign there for ever!

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

8. The gutter. The word thus translated occurs elsewhere only in Ps. 42:7, where it is rendered “waterspout.” The term is now thought to apply to the water shaft of the ancient city. To bring water into the city from the spring Gihon, which was without the city gates, the Jebusites had cut a conduit some 50 ft. (15.2 m.) through the rock to a place where the water was collected in a reservoir. This, in turn, was connected by a 40-ft. (12.2-m.) vertical shaft with the foot of a stairway or ramp that led into the city. Women in the city would descend to the top of the shaft, drop their buckets into the cistern, and thus secure water without the necessity of venturing outside the city. By making one’s way through the watercourse and up the shaft, it might be possible to enter the Jebusite capital.

The verse presents some difficulties of translation. It would seem, from a comparison with 1 Chron. 11:6, that David made a proposal to his men promising that the man who accomplished the feat of entering the city should be “chief and captain.” According to 1 Chron. 11:6, “Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief.” It thus appears that Joab secured his position as commander of the armies of David from his successful capture of the Jebusite stronghold (see PP 703).

The lame and the blind. After an entrance into the city had been gained, it would probably be a comparatively easy task to open the gates to the main body of David’s forces, since, perhaps, only a small force of defenders would be on the city walls. The Jebusites had hurled at David the taunt that the lame and the blind would be sufficient to hold the city against him (see on v. 6); hence David now appears to use that term for the city’s defenders.

That are hated of David’s soul. This is a translation of the marginal reading of the Hebrew text. The text itself reads, “They hate the soul of David.”

The blind and the lame. The meaning of the proverbial expression thus introduced is not clear. To “house,” the LXX adds, “of the Lord.”

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Ellen G. White
Patriarchs and Prophets, 703-4

This chapter is based on 2 Samuel 5:6-25; 6; 7; 9; 10.

As soon as David was established on the throne of Israel he began to seek a more appropriate location for the capital of his realm. Twenty miles from Hebron a place was selected as the future metropolis of the kingdom. Before Joshua had led the armies of Israel over Jordan it had been called Salem. Near this place Abraham had proved his loyalty to God. Eight hundred years before the coronation of David it had been the home of Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God. It held a central and elevated position in the country and was protected by an environment of hills. Being on the border between Benjamin and Judah, it was in close proximity to Ephraim and was easy of access to the other tribes. PP 703.1

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Cross References

Whosoever

he shall be