King James Version
2 Samuel
2 Samuel in the King James Version (1769), public domain in the United States.
Background and History
The chapters above are the King James text. This essay is the setting of 2 Samuel: who is said to have written it, when and where, what happens in it, and how the text has been copied.
At a Glance
| Author | Gad and Nathan completing Samuel’s work, in the Talmud. The book is anonymous. Critical scholars treat it as part of the Deuteronomistic History. |
|---|---|
| Date | 930–722 BC in one survey. Critical scholars commonly date the compilation to about 640–560 BC. |
| Place written | Not stated. The setting is Hebron and Jerusalem, in the West Bank and Israel. |
| Genre | Narrative history of David’s reign. |
| Chapters | 24 |
| Verses | 695 in the King James Version |
| Key verse | 2 Samuel 7:162 Samuel 7:16 · King James VersionAnd thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.2 Samuel 7:16 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
Who Wrote It
2 Samuel continues 1 Samuel as one book in the Hebrew Bible. The Talmud says Gad and Nathan completed what Samuel began. (2) (3) Nathan appears in 2 Samuel 7 and 2 Samuel 12:72 Samuel 12:7 · King James VersionAnd Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
2 Samuel 12:7 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1). Critical scholars identify a succession narrative in 2 Samuel 9–20 and 1 Kings 1–2 that many consider an early, possibly eyewitness source.
Who It Is Not
David wrote psalms and laments quoted in the book, such as 2 Samuel 1:17–272 Samuel 1:17–27 · King James Version1:17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:
1:18 (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
1:19 The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!
1:20 Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
1:21 Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.
1:22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.
1:23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
1:24 Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
1:25 How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.
1:26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
1:27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
2 Samuel 1:17–27 · King James VersionOpen the Source, but is not its author.
When and Where
Bible Gateway gives 930–722 BC and notes it may have been compiled under Josiah. (5) 2 Samuel 5:4–52 Samuel 5:4–5 · King James Version5:4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
5:5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.
2 Samuel 5:4–5 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1) says David reigned forty years.
Audience and Setting
Israel under the monarchy. The purpose is to show David’s reign, God’s covenant with him, and the cost of his sin.
Rulers at the Time
David reigns over Judah at Hebron and over all Israel at Jerusalem, per 2 Samuel 5:52 Samuel 5:5 · King James VersionIn Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.
2 Samuel 5:5 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Hiram king of Tyre appears in 2 Samuel 5:112 Samuel 5:11 · King James VersionAnd Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house.
2 Samuel 5:11 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Reign dates were not checked for this essay and are omitted.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| David king of Judah | 2 Samuel 1–4 |
| King of all Israel | Jerusalem captured, ark brought. 2 Samuel 5–6 |
| The covenant | 2 Samuel 7 |
| Sin and its consequences | Bathsheba, Absalom. 2 Samuel 11–20 |
| Appendices | 2 Samuel 21–24 |
| Composition | 930–722 BC in one survey. (5) |
Places in This Book
| Ancient name | Modern-day location | References |
|---|---|---|
| Hebron | Hebron, West Bank. | 2 Samuel 2:12 Samuel 2:1 · King James VersionAnd it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.2 Samuel 2:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| Jerusalem | The City of David, south of the Old City of Jerusalem. | 2 Samuel 5:72 Samuel 5:7 · King James VersionNevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.2 Samuel 5:7 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
What Is Happening
2 Samuel 1–4 are David’s reign in Hebron. 2 Samuel 5–10 are the capture of Jerusalem, the ark, the covenant, and victories. 2 Samuel 11–12 are the sin with Bathsheba and Nathan’s rebuke. 2 Samuel 13–20 are family turmoil and Absalom’s revolt. 2 Samuel 21–24 are appendices.
Key Themes
The Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel 7:12–162 Samuel 7:12–16 · King James Version7:12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
7:14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
7:15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
2 Samuel 7:12–16 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Repentance in 2 Samuel 12:132 Samuel 12:13 · King James VersionAnd David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
2 Samuel 12:13 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Sin’s consequences in 2 Samuel 12:102 Samuel 12:10 · King James VersionNow therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
2 Samuel 12:10 · King James VersionOpen the Source.
Apologetics Questions
David’s sins are told without excuse, which many readers take as a sign of honest history rather than royal propaganda. 2 Samuel 24:12 Samuel 24:1 · King James VersionAnd again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
2 Samuel 24:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source and 1 Chronicles 21:11 Chronicles 21:1 · King James VersionAnd Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
1 Chronicles 21:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source differ on who moved David to number Israel, and interpreters explain the difference by God’s permission and Satan’s agency.
How the Book Points to Christ
The promise of an everlasting throne in 2 Samuel 7:162 Samuel 7:16 · King James VersionAnd thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
2 Samuel 7:16 · King James VersionOpen the Source is applied to Jesus in Luke 1:32–33Luke 1:32–33 · King James Version1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Luke 1:32–33 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Hebrews 1:5Hebrews 1:5 · King James VersionFor unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
Hebrews 1:5 · King James VersionOpen the Source applies 2 Samuel 7:142 Samuel 7:14 · King James VersionI will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
2 Samuel 7:14 · King James VersionOpen the Source to the Son. Jesus is God.
Text and Manuscripts
Samuel is among the books found at Qumran. (6) The differences between Qumran Samuel and the Masoretic text are discussed on the 1 Samuel page.
Canon Reception
Never disputed. (4)
Further Reading
References
- Second Book of Samuel, 1:1; 5:4–5; 12:7
- Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b, 14b (The English on Sefaria is the William Davidson edition, which is copyrighted. This page paraphrases it and does not reprint it. The baraita gives the order of the Prophets and the Writings and asks who wrote each book.)
- Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 15a, 15a (The William Davidson English on Sefaria is copyrighted. This page paraphrases it and does not reprint it. The page continues the list of writers and the debate about it.)
- Against Apion, 1.8Josephus, Against Apion 1.8 · William Whiston
For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from, and contradicting one another: [as the Greeks have:] but only twenty two books: which contain the records of all the past times: which are justly believed to be divine. And of them five belong to Moses: which contain his laws, and the traditions of the origin of mankind, till his death.
Josephus, Against Apion 1.8 · William WhistonOpen the Source (Flavius Josephus, Against Apion 1.8, translated by William Whiston. Josephus counts twenty-two books: five of Moses, thirteen of the prophets from Moses to Artaxerxes, and four of hymns and precepts.) - When Was Each Book of the Bible Written?, 2 Samuel (Jacob Edson, Bible Gateway, 16 September 2024. The survey gives 2 Samuel as 930–722 BC (1 and 2 Samuel), and says the books may have been mostly oral tradition compiled during the reign of Josiah (late 600s BC). It is one editor’s approximation, not a manuscript date.)
- Dead Sea Scrolls, introduction, Biblical manuscriptsDead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts · Israel Antiquities Authority
Among the Scrolls are partial or complete copies of every book in the Hebrew Bible (except the book of Esther).
Dead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts · Israel Antiquities AuthorityOpen the Source (Israel Antiquities Authority. Biblical manuscripts from the Qumran caves date from the third century BC into the first century AD, and every book of the Hebrew Bible except Esther is represented.)
The King James Version (1769) is in the public domain in the United States.