5:1 all the tribes of Israel. That is, their leaders; cf. “all the elders” in v. 3. It has been suggested that the Hebrew word here translated “tribes” may also mean ‘‘rulers.”

your bone and flesh. This is an expression of kinship (19:12–13; Gen. 29:14; Judg. 9:2) and the first of three reasons given by the Israelites in vv. 1, 2 for wanting to make David king.