David inquired of the LORD and was directed to go up to Hebron. He moved there with his household and his men settled in the towns around Hebron. See 2 Samuel 2:1–3.
After Saul’s death, David does not rush to seize control. He asks Yahweh whether he should move into Judah and, if so, where. The answer is specific: go to Hebron. David then relocates with his immediate family—named here as his two wives—and with the men who have been loyal to him, each bringing their households. This scene follows David’s mourning over Saul and Jonathan and marks a transition from loss to political movement in the story. The narrative shifts from David as a fugitive living outside Judah to David taking steps toward a stable base within Judah’s territory.
These verses present David as deliberately seeking Yahweh’s direction before making a major political and geographic move. The text’s explicit claims are simple: David asks whether to go into Judah, Yahweh answers “Go up,” David asks where, and Yahweh specifies Hebron.
A common mistake is to treat this as trivia. Names, places, numbers, and sequence details often carry memory, covenant identity, or narrative movement in the biblical story.
Start with 2 Samuel 2:1-3, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
1It happened after this, that David inquired of Yahweh, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? Yahweh said to him, Go up. David said, Where shall I go up? He said, To Hebron.
2So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
3His men who were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they lived in the cities of Hebron.