“And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.”
"Then David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David." — The *death formula* (*va-yishkav David 'im-avotav*, David slept with his fathers) uses the ancient Near Eastern euphemism for death. The phrase *ir David* (city of David) is Jerusalem, the place David captured and made his capital; his burial there establishes Jerusalem's centrality to Davidic kingship and legitimacy. The simplicity of the verse—no extended death-lament, no detailed funeral—contrasts with the lengthy deathbed charges and underscores that David's legacy resides not in his burial but in his final commands to Solomon.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a note on this verse