David's reign as king unfolded in two distinct chapters, separated by both location and duration. During the first phase of his leadership, while living in Hebron, six sons were born to him [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The historical timeline of his rule is highly specific: he led from Hebron for seven years and six months, and later from Jerusalem for thirty-three years. Together, this amounts to forty years and six months. However, a discrepancy arises, as other biblical accounts state his reign lasted exactly forty years.
Commentators offer different ways to resolve this missing half-year. One approach suggests it is simply a matter of standard counting practices, where the larger number absorbs the smaller fraction, leaving the six months out of the final total [מלבי״ם]. Another perspective ties the missing time to a specific personal crisis. According to tradition, David suffered from leprosy for six months. Because he was unable to actively function as king during his illness, this period was subtracted from his official years of leadership [מלבי״ם, חומת אנך].
Yet, this explanation raises a new question. The illness came as a consequence of the incident with Bathsheba, an event that took place long after David had moved to Jerusalem. If the lost six months occurred in Jerusalem, why is the extra half-year recorded during his time in Hebron? The answer lies in a balance between historical precision and respect for Jerusalem. In reality, David ruled in Hebron for exactly seven and a half years, and his active reign in Jerusalem lasted thirty-two and a half years, factoring in the time he was ill. To honor Jerusalem and present its era of leadership as a whole, complete number, the extra six months from Hebron were conceptually shifted to the Jerusalem total in other accounts. This created the familiar breakdown of seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. The current account, however, preserves the precise historical reality of his actual time spent ruling in each city [חומת אנך].