The theme of second samuel is the great reign of king david 2 samuel 5. It must be admitted that with the current evidence one cannot. Introduction to 2 samuel for more see the introduction to 1 samuel. The book of 2samuel begins by narrating davids rise and reign as king of israel, illustrating the lords generosity and kindness to those who are faithful to him. Intro to 2 samuel biblica the international bible society. Within this book occur the inspiring story of hannah, the battle of david and goliath, the friendship of david and jonathan, and. Introduction to book of 1 samuel, israels first king. The translators of the septuagint divided the books due to their length when the vowels were added and. By the end of his reign, david controlled all of israel, edom, moab, ammon, syria, and zobah. We had in the foregoing book an account of his designation to the government. While jewish rabbis today reject the septuagint, they are unaware or in blind denial that with out the lxx the jews would not have a book of samuel. Hcsbs introduction adds, many bible students think samuel along with nathan and gad had major input, pointing to 1 ch 29.
See the introduction to samuel in the notes on first samuel. First and second samuel were originally one book in the hebrew canon but were divided by the translators of the septuagint. The book of samuel, or 1 samuel and 2 samuel, form part of the narrative history of israel in. It is preferable, however, to see the book as presenting a balanced perspective of the human kingship. David was initially acclaimed king at hebron by the tribe of judah, and subsequently was accepted by the remaining tribes after the murder of ishbosheth, one of sauls surviving sons. The book of samuel, or 1 samuel and 2 samuel, form part of the narrative history of israel in the neviim or prophets section of the hebrew bibleold testament, called the deuteronomistic history, a series of books joshua, judges, samuel and kings that constitute a theological history of the israelites and aim to explain gods law for israel under the guidance of the prophets. Introduction to the pentateuch and historical books by robert jamieson. The pentateuch, the name by which the first five books of thebible. Many moons ago, in a time of great darkness, madonna said that she was a material girl in a material worldand, many moons before that, king david was a deuteronomistic guy in a deutoronomistic world. If david is the best king who ever ruled over israel, then god will have to provide, himself, a better king. However, because these scrolls were so massive and cumbersome, the books were later separated into two books.
Hittite document called apology of hattusili has many similarities with samuel. In any event, samuel could not have written all or even most of these two books, as the book of 1 samuel begins before his birth and his death. The masoretic postscript is at the end of 2 samuel. Therefore, it seems best to place the writing of samuel sometime after the divided monarchy 9 b.
It explains the narrative and unpacks some of the issues surrounding the establishment of the monarchy and the beginning of the empire. The explanation of the deuteronomistic history was very useful. There is more written in the scriptures about david than about any other bible character except jesus christ. Pictured above is 4q51 samuel a, 4qsamuel a, 4qsam a. The stories of samuel, saul and david are among the most memorable in the old testament. This fragment contains most of the text from 2 samuel 12. Introduction to second samuel, theme, david, outline, summary. Introduction to the book of 2 samuel why study this book. The second book of samuel, the sequel to 1 samuel, is the history of davids reign as king, first over judah in the south chapters 14, and then over the whole nation, including israel in the north chapters 524. The book of 1 samuel recounts the ministry of the prophet samuel, who restored law and order and regular religious worship in the land bible dictionary, samuel after the israelites had forgotten the lord and worshipped idols many times throughout the reign of the judges. Book of second samuel overview insight for living ministries.
The closing chapter of 1 samuel is the account of his death, at the hands of the. We had in the foregoing book an account of his designation to the government, and his struggles with saul, which ended at length in the death of his persecutor. The books of 1 and 2 samuel were originally one book of scripture. This summary of the book of 2 samuel provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 2 samuel. The introduction sets the samuel books nicely into the broader history of the biblical history of israel. Introduction to book of 1 samuel themes, characters, verses, and summary. According to the babylonian talmud, samuel wrote the book that bears his name baba.
The original hebrew bible contained 1 and 2 samuel as one booknot two. This is not because man demonstrates love toward god. Introduction to the book of 1 samuel why study this book. The central theme of the books of samuel is how the lord 1 established a dynasty house in israel for david rather than saul and 2 how he chose jerusalem. The book of 2 samuel begins by narrating davids rise and reign as king of israel, illustrating the lords generosity and kindness to those who are faithful to him. Introduction united states conference of catholic bishops. David was initially acclaimed king at hebron by the tribe of judah chs. In despair, we realize we cannot save ourselves through our futile attempts at perfect obedience.
This book is the history of the reign of king david. The old testament book of 1 samuel is a record of triumph and tragedy. Samuel could have written parts of 1 samuel, but he could not have written any part of 2 samuel, as his death is recorded in 1 samuel 25. If there is to be a king who will dwell forever on the throne of david 2 samuel 7.
In the companion book, 2 samuel, we see a further unfolding of this theme. Watch our overview video on the book of 2 samuel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Matthew henry introduction to 2 samuel introduction to the book of 2 samuel why study this book. Recipient of a 1990 christianity today critics choice award. It must be admitted that with the current evidence one cannot affirm without reservation who wrote the book. Esdras and josephus refer to samuel as a single work. The two books that are now joined in i and ii samuel were originally only one book called the book of samuel. As david conquers the land and unites the jewish people, we see his courage, honesty, compassion, and faithfulness to god. Yet the lives of these individuals are wound up in the larger story of gods purpose for his people. This book contains the history of davids reign, arranged according to its leading features. It is a vivid account of how david, in order to extend his kingdom and consolidate his position, had to struggle with enemies within the nation as well as with foreign powers. He turns against david, his loyal servant and friend. The contents of the books of samuel may be divided as follows. The wealth of near eastern literature now available to scholars through modern archaeology has provided a possible insight into the genre of samuel, particularly 1 samuel 15 2 samuel 8.
Introduction to 2 samuel by matthew henry blue letter bible. Moreover, the book of kings appears to pick up the history of israels throne where samuel left off see 2 sam. Now it came to pass after the death of saul, when david had returned from the slaughter of the amalekites, and david had stayed two days in ziklag, on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from sauls camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. Its three main characters, samuel the prophet, saul, and david are among the most powerful people in the bible, yet their lives were scarred by farreaching mistakes. We all desire to love god and obey his commandments, but we fall into sin, over and over. However, in recounting the sins of david and his sons amnon and absalom, this book also shows the sorrow and tragedy that accompany violations of the lords commandments. As we noted in the previous chapter, 1 and 2 samuel form one book in the hebrew bible. Samuels role as gods representative in this period of israels history is close to that of moses see ps 99. This, like guziks commentary on 1 samuel, is an informative overview of the book of samuel part 2. An exposition, with practical observations, of the second book of samuel. The date and authorship of this book are not preciselyknown. It records the rise of david from lowly shepherd boy to king over all israel.
David was great because he had such deep faith in god 2. During his time on the run from sauls pursuing troops, david had built up strong support among the southern clans and cities in judah. The book of 2 samuel begins by narrating davids rise and reign as king of israel, illustrating the lords generosity and kindness to. The hebrew bible regarded 1 and 2 samuel as two volumes of a single book. David expanded israels borders from sauls smaller territory.