A Survey of Second Samuel

This is an overview introductory lesson on the Book of Second Samuel. Lessons will follow each week to study the content in further detail. This lesson includes background and discussion questions.

Helpful Background

Second Samuel is a simple book, but contains some complex issues. The narratives are easy to read, but spawn considerable debate. Most of it centers upon David. David is much more fully developed in this book - flaws and virgtues.

A few things to note as we study:

The book does not apologize for David or explain away his failures. Some Bible study approaches to David spend considerable energy defending him or minimizing what he did. Second Samuel does neither. It narrates the Bathsheba incident and the murder of Uriah with remarkable moral directness, and it traces the consequences across the remainder of the book with equal directness. We should "be real" too.

The description "a man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14) invites thoughtful engagement. This phrase, which we may not know, was spoken about David before the worst things he did. The question of what it means in light of his later conduct is one of the most interesting theological questions the book raises.

The book has a clear structure that helps readers navigate it. Chapters 1-10 narrate David's rise and the high point of his reign. Chapter 11 is the pivot. Chapters 12-24 narrate the long arc of consequence. Once we see this mapping, the individual narratives fall better into place.

The Davidic Covenant in chapter 7 may be fairly thouight of as the theological essence of the book. God's promise to establish David's dynasty "forever" is foundational. But, just what does that mean? What does "forever" mean? I can't promise that we will fully resolve this. I confess, it's somewhat puzzling.

Ok. Let's Get Started

Who Is David? When you hear the name David, what comes to mind?

Section One: The Book and Its Place Second Samuel was originally one book with First Samuel. The division was introduced by Greek translators for practical reasons - scroll length - not because the content required it. The book covers David's reign over a united Israel, from his accession after Saul's death through the last years of his rule. It is part of a larger theological history that runs from Deuteronomy through Kings, shaped by editors asking a single question: why did Israel end up in exile? The answer they keep giving is covenant unfaithfulness. However, as we will later see, despite David's flaws he becomes the "gold standard" against which all others are compared and despite his flaws, seems to remain covenantally faithful. This, as we will later is quite different from the kings to follow.

Section Two: The Structure and the Pivot Chapters 1-10: David's rise. He mourns Saul and Jonathan, becomes king first in Judah then over all Israel, captures Jerusalem, brings the Ark there, receives the covenant promise in chapter 7, and extends his kingdom through military victories. It is an account of a man who succeeds at nearly everything he attempts. Chapter 11, verse 1: "In the spring, when kings go off to war, David sent Joab... but David remained in Jerusalem." One sentence. Everything that follows flows from it. Chapters 12-24: consequences. Read 12:10-11: "Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house... I will raise up evil against you out of your own house." The rest of the book seems to be working-out of that announcement.

Section Three: The Davidic Covenant Chapter 7: David wants to build God a permanent house - a temple. God declines and reverses the language: God will build David a house - a dynasty. The promise is unconditional: even when David's descendants sin and are disciplined, God's loyalty to the dynasty will not be withdrawn the way it was from Saul. Note that this promise became the theological foundation of Jewish messianic expectation and that the New Testament's presentation of Jesus as the son of David is a direct heir of this passage.

Discussion Questions with Teaching Notes

Question 1: What do you already know about David, and where did that picture come from? NOW, what do you know?

Question 2: The narrator of Second Samuel says at the end of chapter 11 that "the thing that David had done was evil in the Lord's sight." Why do you think the narrator waited until the end of the chapter to say this, rather than commenting along the way?

Question 3: Nathan tells David a story about a rich man and a poor man before telling him directly what he has done. Why do you think Nathan approaches David this way rather than confronting him directly?

Question 4: David is described elsewhere as "a man after God's own heart." Can that description still hold after chapters 11 and 12? What is redemption? Does it have limits? Is anybody in any circumstance unreacheable by God's grace and mercy?

Question 5: Is there anything that surprises you most about this study?

Closing Challenge

Before our next session, read 2 Samuel chapter 7 - the Davidic Covenant - and 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12 - the Bathsheba incident and Nathan's confrontation. Read them slowly, as you would read a serious piece of literature, not as a devotional exercise. Pay attention to what the narrator chooses to say and what the narrator chooses not to say. Notice where you feel something - discomfort, recognition, surprise, grief, admiration. Bring one of those moments to our next session.

For those who want to go further: read the Learning Center pages on David: A Theological Portrait and Notable Features before the next session.

Suggested Reading for Deeper Study

Walter Brueggemann's commentary on First and Second Samuel in the Interpretation series remains one of the most theologically rich and pastorally useful treatments available. Robert Alter's translation and literary commentary, published as The David Story, is exceptional for its attention to narrative technique and the Hebrew text. For the historical questions, John Bright's A History of Israel and the relevant sections of the Oxford History of the Biblical World provide good scholarly grounding. None of these require specialized training to read with profit.