Seven years and six months. — The six months is also mentioned in 2 Samuel 2:11; 1 Chronicles 3:4, but, as being only the fraction of a year, is generally omitted in the summary of the length of his reign, as in 2 Samuel 5:4; 1 Chronicles 29:27. It was the habit of the sacred historians either to omit such fractions or else to count them as whole years, thus introducing a certain element of indefiniteness into the chronology, which is very marked in the parallel narratives of the kings of Israel and of Judah.
Related Commentaries of 2 Samuel 5:5
2 Samuel 5:5
5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.