Old Testament · History · book 10 of 66 · 2 min read
The book of 2 Samuel
David's reign told in two halves that the book refuses to reconcile: the rise, and then everything that follows from one evening on a roof.
“Your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you. Your throne will be established forever.”
At a glance
- Chapters
- 24
- Author
- Anonymous; part of the Deuteronomistic history
- Written
- Final form likely sixth century BC
- Written for
- A people whose national story is built on David
- Themes
- kingship, promise, adultery and consequence, a house divided
What it is about
The first ten chapters are ascent. David unites the kingdom, takes Jerusalem, brings the ark in dancing, and receives the promise that his house will be established forever — a promise the rest of the Bible keeps returning to.
Chapter 11 changes the book. David sees Bathsheba, sends for her, and has her husband killed to cover it. What follows is not a moral appended to the story; it is the story. The rest of 2 Samuel is a family and a kingdom coming apart — a rape, a murder, a rebellion led by his own son, and David fleeing the city he took.
The book's remarkable feature is that it is Israel's national epic and it includes all of this. No other ancient near-eastern royal document treats its founding king this way.
Where to start
Chapter 7 for the promise, then chapter 11, which is where the second half of the book begins.
The chapters worth knowing
- 2 Samuel 7 — The promise of an everlasting house, which the rest of the Bible keeps returning to.
- 2 Samuel 11 — Bathsheba and Uriah, the chapter the second half of the book is a consequence of.
- 2 Samuel 18 — Absalom's death and David's grief, the most affecting scene in the Old Testament.
What people get wrong about it
That David's sin is an episode. The narrative treats it as the hinge of his reign, and every disaster in the remaining thirteen chapters is presented as consequence rather than coincidence.
Questions
What happens in 2 Samuel?
David becomes king over all Israel, takes Jerusalem, receives the promise of an everlasting house — and then commits adultery and murder, after which the book documents his family and kingdom fracturing.
Why is David called a man after God's own heart?
The phrase is from 1 Samuel 13 and describes his selection rather than his conduct. 2 Samuel is unsparing about the conduct, which is part of why the description has been argued about ever since.