Why did David hate the blind & lame?,,,,

[1life]

I am reading the bible and came across this yesterday:

2 Samuel 5 verse 8 "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."

[ShannonWallace]

That womps.

There has to be an explanation.

Jesus didn't hate sick people, He had compassion for them.

[Hootmon]

Here is the CJB (Complete Jewish Bible) rendering...

The king and his men went to Yerushalayim to attack the Y'vusi, the inhabitants of that region. They taunted David, "You won't get in here! Even the blind and the lame could fend you off!"- in other words, they were thinking, "David will never get in here." Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Tziyon, also known [now] as the City of David.

What David said on that day was, "In order to attack the Y'vusi, you have to climb up [from the spring outside the city] through the water tunnel. Then you can do away with those [so-called] 'lame and blind'" (whom David despises - hence the expression, "The 'blind and lame' keep him from entering the house").
(2Sa 5:6-8)

[fracturedInfinity]

The key is in 2 Samuel 5:6. The Jebusites were saying that David was stupid for coming up to try to take the city because even the lame and blind Jebusites were stronger than David and his army. They were placing their confidence in their wall. At least I'm presuming they have a wall to protect them becuase of where David says that if they want to attack them, they need to go up the water shaft.

So, when he's saying to attack the lame and the blind in verse 8, what he's saying is, "Ok. Those Jebusites think they're so hot! We'll just come up there and fight your lame and your blind!"

In essence he was calling their bluff. When it mentions "the blind and the lame" in this passage, it is referring to those fictional people (or maybe not so fictional) the Jebusites made up to try to insult David and his army. So, he's not really hating blind and lame people, but actually the Jebusites themselves.

Does that make sense?

[1life]

Well, I guess everyone has a different view on it. I am really enjoying reading the bible all the way through. I used to just hunt around in the bible and never commited myself to reading cover to cover! I am about a third of the way through the old testament. I find many times I have questions! This will be a good forum for those questions, thanks all.
God Bless!

[Hootmon]

Well, I guess everyone has a different view on it.Id say that the CJB rendering pretty much matched fracturedInfinity's take on it.

David 'dispised' the Jebusite taunt by calling their bluff. No actual 'lame and blind' were injured in reality.

[BelovedChild]

Well, I guess everyone has a different view on it. I am really enjoying reading the bible all the way through. I used to just hunt around in the bible and never commited myself to reading cover to cover! I am about a third of the way through the old testament. I find many times I have questions! This will be a good forum for those questions, thanks all.
God Bless!

Congratulations on committing to read all the way through. You will find out so much that is of value in understanding the whole Bible. I , too used to hunt and peck using prepared Bible reading guides. Now I start at Genesis and end with Revelation. As God unfolds the story, I gain so much. I have now been doing this for 10 years. It is fresh everytime. It takes me about a year to do the readings. Someo years it is quicker, some years it is slower. At times, I need to go a bit more slowly.

[Buzzardhut]

No lame or blind people were injured in this thread :preach

[1life]

I am using my mornings to read it. I find that I look forward to getting my first cup of coffee and reading the bible. I wish I had done this years ago (I'm 53) It always seemed so overwhelming!
You've done this for 10 years? I hope each time I start over that I will understand it better!

[faithandgrace]

Well, I guess everyone has a different view on it. I am really enjoying reading the bible all the way through. I used to just hunt around in the bible and never commited myself to reading cover to cover! I am about a third of the way through the old testament. I find many times I have questions! This will be a good forum for those questions, thanks all.
God Bless!

Same here! I had a pretty good grasp of scripture, but not good enough because I'd never read the Bible from cover to cover. I'm enjoying doing that now. :thumb