Why were the blind and lame not allowed to “enter the house” (2 Samuel 5:8)?

The narrative of David’s conquest of Jerusalem contains a curious mention of “the blind and lame” (2 Samuel 5:8). In 2 Samuel 5, David is made king over all of Israel. But the city of Jerusalem is still under the control of the pagan Jebusites, some of the original inhabitants of the land. David and his men march to Jerusalem to take the city (verse 1). The Jebusites, who were confident that David would never be able to drive them out, taunt David, saying, “You’ll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” (NLT).

Obviously, the Jebusites had great trust in the strength of their fortifications, which they considered impregnable. In their minds, even if they set the blind, lame, and crippled upon the walls to defend the city, David’s army would be repelled. The weakest among the Jebusites would be sufficient to defend against David and his men. The statement was boastful, provoking, and meant to demoralize David and his men.

David picked up on the scoffing boast of the Jebusites and turned it into a derisive statement of his own. On the day David captured the fortress of Zion (because he indeed captured the city), he told his troops, “I hate those ‘lame’ and ‘blind’ Jebusites. Whoever attacks them should strike by going into the city through the water tunnel” (2 Samuel 5:8a, NLT). The Jebusites had mockingly threatened to fight David with the blind and lame, and David refers to all the Jebusites as “blind and lame.”

The biblical historian informs us that this barbed exchange gave rise to a new proverb in Israel: “That is the origin of the saying, ‘The blind and the lame may not enter the house’” (2 Samuel 5:8b, NLT). The “house” mentioned in the saying is most likely the royal palace.

Essentially, David transformed the Jebusites’ initial taunt into a scornful epithet. From this point forward, “The blind and the lame may not enter the house” became a proverbial saying against one’s enemies or any person or group that was hated, unwelcome, or disagreeable (like the Jebusites were to David). The gist of the proverb was “we will never allow the enemy to get their way.”

David’s declaration, “The blind and lame will not enter the palace,” was never intended to be applied literally to suggest that anyone with a disability or weakness should be excluded from the king’s citadel or the Lord’s tabernacle. If that were the case, then David would not have invited Mephibosheth, a man who was lame in both feet, into his house to dine at his table daily (2 Samuel 9:1–13). The statement is best understood in its original context to mean that any remaining enemy Jebusites would be barred from entering the royal fortress or Zion. It was later applied proverbially as a contemptuous statement against foes of any kind.