2 Samuel 19:41-43

Half the people of Israel. In v. 11 “all Israel” is said to have been interested in David’s return, but now only “half the people” turn out to greet him. A small attendance was to be expected, for Israel, as distinguished from Judah, was farther away, and thus it would not have been feasible for so many to come out to welcome David. Further, the word concerning David’s return seems not to have been circulated as widely in the north as in Judah (see v. 41).

All the men of Israel. Long before the disruption at the time of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12) there had existed a degree of division between the people of Israel in the north and Judah in the south (see 1 Sam. 11:8; 17:52; 18:16; 2 Sam. 2:4, 8-10; 3:10, 12,21; 5:5). Jealousies between the tribes frequently manifested themselves, even in the earliest period (Judges 8:1; 12:1). When David became king he did not at first rule over all the nation but only over “the house of Judah” (2 Sam. 2:4). Later the endeavor was made to set up his throne “over Israel and over Judah” (ch. 3:10). Only after David had reigned seven years in Hebron did “the tribes of Israel” come to him to acknowledge him as their bone and flesh and to make him their king (ch. 5:1-5). Now David had returned from his exile, and the old jealousies again became evident.