2 Samuel 5:16
Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.
Elishama
The name "Elishama" means "God has heard" in Hebrew. This name reflects a deep-seated belief in the responsiveness of God to the prayers and needs of His people. In the context of King David's life, naming a son Elishama could signify David's acknowledgment of God's faithfulness and attentiveness to his cries, especially considering the tumultuous journey David had experienced from shepherd boy to king. This name serves as a reminder of the personal relationship believers can have with God, who hears and responds to their petitions.

Eliada
"Eliada" translates to "God knows" or "God has known." This name underscores the omniscience of God, a central tenet in conservative Christian theology. It suggests that God is aware of all things, past, present, and future. For David, naming his son Eliada might have been an expression of trust in God's perfect knowledge and divine plan. It is a comforting reminder to believers that nothing escapes God's notice, and He is intimately acquainted with all aspects of their lives.

Eliphelet
The name "Eliphelet" means "God is deliverance" or "God is my deliverance." This name is a powerful testament to the deliverance and salvation that God provides. In the historical context of David's reign, it reflects the numerous times God delivered David from his enemies and established him as king over Israel. For Christians, this name is a foreshadowing of the ultimate deliverance through Jesus Christ, who provides salvation from sin and eternal death. It encourages believers to trust in God's power to save and deliver them from any situation.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Elishama
One of the sons of King David, whose name means "God has heard." His inclusion in the list of David's sons signifies the blessings and legacy of David's lineage.

2. Eliada
Another son of David, whose name means "God knows." This name reflects the divine knowledge and presence in David's family.

3. Eliphelet
Also a son of David, with a name meaning "God is deliverance." This name underscores the theme of God's deliverance and protection over David's house.

4. Jerusalem
The city where David reigned as king and where these sons were born. It represents the center of David's kingdom and God's chosen city for His people.

5. David's Reign
The period during which David established his rule over Israel, marked by military victories, political consolidation, and the expansion of his family.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Legacy
David's sons represent the continuation of his legacy and God's promises. As believers, we are called to consider the legacy we leave behind, both spiritually and relationally.

Names with Meaning
The names of David's sons reflect attributes of God, reminding us to recognize and celebrate God's character in our lives and families.

God's Faithfulness in Family
The birth of David's sons in Jerusalem signifies God's faithfulness to His promises. We can trust God to be faithful in our own family situations and life circumstances.

The Role of Family in God's Plan
David's family played a crucial role in the unfolding of God's redemptive plan. Our families, too, can be instruments of God's purposes when we dedicate them to Him.
Bible Study Questions
1. What significance do the names of David's sons hold, and how can we apply this understanding to naming or praying for our own children?

2. How does the listing of David's sons in 2 Samuel 5:16 reflect God's promises to David, and what does this teach us about God's faithfulness?

3. In what ways can we ensure that our legacy aligns with God's purposes, as seen in the legacy of David's family?

4. How does the concept of family in 2 Samuel 5:16 connect with the broader biblical account of God's covenant with David?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's faithfulness in your family. How can this passage encourage you to trust God with your family's future?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Chronicles 3:6-8
This passage provides a parallel genealogy of David's sons, offering additional context and confirmation of the names listed in 2 Samuel 5:16.

2 Samuel 7:12-16
God's covenant with David, promising that his offspring will establish a kingdom, connects to the significance of David's sons and their role in God's plan.

Psalm 127:3-5
This Psalm speaks of children as a heritage from the Lord, emphasizing the blessing of offspring, which is reflected in the listing of David's sons.
The Kingdom EstablishedW. G. Blaikie, D. D.2 Samuel 5:11-22
People
David, Eliada, Eliphalet, Eliphelet, Elishama, Elishua, Gibeon, Hiram, Ibhar, Japhia, Jebusites, Nathan, Nepheg, Saul, Shammua, Shammuah, Shobab, Solomon
Places
Baal-perazim, Geba, Gezer, Hebron, Jerusalem, Millo, Tyre, Valley of Rephaim, Zion
Topics
Eliada, Eli'ada, Eliphalet, Eliphelet, Eliph'elet, Elishama, Eli'shama
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Samuel 5:13

     5672   concubines
     5732   polygamy

Library
One Fold and one Shepherd
'Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. 2. Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed My people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. 3. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel. 4. David was
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Sound in the Mulberry Trees
My brethren, let us learn from David to take no steps without God. The last time you moved, or went into another business, or changed your situation in life, you asked God's help, and then did it, and you were blessed in the doing of it. You have been up to this time a successful man, you have always sought God, but do not think that the stream of providence necessarily runs in a continuous current; remember, you may to-morrow without seeking God's advice venture upon a step which you will regret
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Early Days
The life of David is naturally divided into epochs, of which we may avail ourselves for the more ready arrangement of our material. These are--his early years up to his escape from the court of Saul, his exile, the prosperous beginning of his reign, his sin and penitence, his flight before Absalom's rebellion, and the darkened end. We have but faint incidental traces of his life up to his anointing by Samuel, with which the narrative in the historical books opens. But perhaps the fact that the story
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

God's Strange Work
'That He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act.'--ISAIAH xxviii. 21. How the great events of one generation fall dead to another! There is something very pathetic in the oblivion that swallows up world- resounding deeds. Here the prophet selects two instances which to him are solemn and singular examples of divine judgment, and we have difficulty in finding out to what he refers. To him they seemed the most luminous illustrations he could find of the principle
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The King.
We have now to turn and see the sudden change of fortune which lifted the exile to a throne. The heavy cloud which had brooded so long over the doomed king broke in lightning crash on the disastrous field of Gilboa. Where is there a sadder and more solemn story of the fate of a soul which makes shipwreck "of faith and of a good conscience," than that awful page which tells how, godless, wretched, mad with despair and measureless pride, he flung himself on his bloody sword, and died a suicide's death,
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers.
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

A Cloud of Witnesses.
"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a-dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.... By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient,
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate,
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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