Old Testament Bible Links

History:
2 Samuel

The Bare Facts -- Overviews and Outlines --
Bible Studies: Whole Book -- Part of Book --
Sermons -- Bibliographies

  

Opening in the wake of the death of Saul, this book covers the illustrious and sometimes infamous reign of David as King of a united nation of Israel.  Some critics assign this book and the entire arc of the Davidic narrative to a sort of national myth-building effort.  In their view, David's life is supposed to stand like that of George Washington--"I cannot tell a lie"--in the American self-image. Such a reduction, however, neglects the important failings of David as a man and as a king.  If this narrative is intended simply to create a national self-image, then that self-image is a peculiar one.  And if it is intended as Steven McKenzie has suggested, as propaganda on behalf of the Davidic house, then one wonders why such uneven propaganda would be allowed.

In the end, it seems, David's story is intended to illustrate two points.  The first is the sort of man who strives after God's own heart.  The second is that even the best of men are incapable of delivering even themselves, much less the nation.  As great as David is, a greater one must come after him.

Left: "Nathan Reproaches David" by James Tissot.

 

The Bare Facts

Who:  The Talmud holds that Samuel wrote the book bearing his name, yet he dies in chapter 25.  The placement of the book among the "Former Prophets" in the Tanakh suggests a prophetic author.  Some have suggested a combined effort by Samuel, Gad, and Nathan.

Where:  Although no geographical clues dictate a place, the author's knowledge of matters among the powerful suggest him as one with access at court.

When:  Although adherents to the Deuteronomistic History school would date the book far later, evangelical scholars would tend to place it at some point from the late reign of David to the early days of the divided kingdom.

What:  After the bleak years of the Judges, God gives the people a king.  This book, however, warns them not to trust in their own strength or that of their king.  The exploits of Saul (and later David) are constantly paralleled with the men's failings.

 

Memorable Passages

Overviews and Outlines

An Introduction to the Book of Second Samuel
An outlined overview by David Malick
An Argument of the Book of Second Samuel
Another of David Malick's rhetorical outlines.
Bible Basics
A very brief list of facts, but it includes a wav file pronouncing the book's title.
Luther Productions
A very brief overview including key verses.
First and Second Book of Samuel
A brief overview by Arend Remmers.
Easton Bible Dictionary: Books of Samuel
The article from M.G. Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.
Catholic Encyclopedia: First and Second Books of Kings (Samuel)
The appropriate entry from the public domain edition of this venerable reference work. The Catholic Bible names the Samuels and Kings as 1st through 4th Kings.
Columbia Encyclopedia: Samuel
A brief article from the 2001 edition of this reference work.
The Blue Letter Bible
An excellent source for text, cross-references, concordance, language helps, commentaries, and more.
JPS Bible
The JPS 1917 Bible text and another Jewish version.  There are links that supposedly go to two Hebrew and one Aramaic text but they don't seem to work.

Bible Studies: Whole Book

1 & 2 Samuel: First and Second Books of Monarchy
A lengthy, verse-level commentary and set of notes by David Griffiths, a native of Wales who has ministered for many years in the United States through the Assemblies of God.
Love the Lord Bible Studies: 2 Samuel
A 25-lesson study with questions from an Arkansas-based ministry.  They seem orthodox enough, although the statement of faith makes me wonder if they're not into prosperity gospel teachings.
Series on 2nd Samuel
A 22-lesson study by Bob Deffinbaugh.
Bible Explained
This is a commentary by an energetic fellow named Ted Wade.  He provides brief notes on each chapter and most verses for the entire Bible.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
The chapter-by-chapter 1712 commentary by the great English Puritan writer..
Geneva Notes
In 1599, English Puritans, working in Geneva, published the first study Bible.  These are the notes from that edition.
Coffman's Commentary
A verse-by-verse commentary by Dr. James Burton Coffman, a leading Church of Christ scholar.
John Wesley Notes
Over his career, the founder of Methodism maintained notes on the entire Bible.
JFB Commentary
The comments of Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown from Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871).
Clarke's Commentary
The first chapter for this book from Adam Clarke's nineteenth-century commentary.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
The commentary of the 17th century Baptist theologian and preacher.
Class Notes on Sacred History
An 1893 commentary by J.W. McGarvey.
Scofield Reference Notes
The notes from the 1917 edition of the great study Bible.  From a dispensationalist viewpoint.
Old Testament Life and Literature
Gerald Larue's 1968 overview of the Old Testament is, oddly enough, hosted at an atheist website.  Larue's approach is decidedly liberal.
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A combination brief commentary and thorough cross-reference.  Developed by R.A. Torrey.
David Guzik's Commentaries on the Bible
David Guzik, a former senior pastor at Clavary Chapel Simi Valley in California, provides a verse-by-verse commentary. Currently Guzik directs the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Siegen, Germany.
Foundational Study: The Two Books of Samuel
A short article by Chuck Missler.
Comments on the Second Book of Samuel
A lengthy commentary by L.M. Grant from Family Hour.
The Jerome Bible Commentary
A commentary by a Catholic doctor, Jerome Dominguez, M.D.  Is English isn't perfect, but you have to admire his energy.  Although Catholic in orientation, this source has some good material for study.
From Faith to Faith
An online book, originally published in print in 1955, by B. Davie Napier.  The third chapter deals with 2 Samuel and other kingly texts.
Exploring the Word of God: Samuel
A 9-part study from the Worldwide Church of God, a denomination with a checkered past but an exciting present.

Bible Studies: Part of Book

David Becomes Israel's King (1 Sam. 16-2 Sam. 10)
A lesson from Bob Deffinbaugh's 28-lesson series From Creation to the Cross.
A Crown, Some Oil, and a Throne (1:1-27)
A study of OT coronation from JHOM.
Morning and Evening (1:26)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (2:26)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
A King and a Cripple (4:4;9:1-11;19:16,17,24-30)
A study of David's treatment of Mephibosheth by James T. Dennison.
Morning and Evening (5:23)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (5:24)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Dancing Lessons from King David (ch. 6)
An article by Bruce Guenther.
Society and Promise to David: Reading 2 Samuel 7
An article in Biblical Interpretation presented to a 1999 conference in Oxford by William Schniedewind.
The Character(ization) of God in 2 Samuel 7:1-17
An article from Semeia by Kenneth M. Craig.
Morning and Evening (7:25)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (9:8)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (9:13)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
For Our People and for the Cities of our God (10:11,12)
A 1981 sermon by John Piper.
Abuse of Command (ch. 11)
An article from Sojourners by Walter Brueggemann.
David, Bathsheba, Nathan, and War (ch. 11)
An article from the Jewish magazine Tikkun.
A Peculiarly Christian Account of Sin
An article by William Willimon from Theology Today.
The Seven Convention-al Sins (11:1-15)
An article from Homiletics Online.
Morning and Evening (11:2)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
David's Downfall (ch. 11-24)
A lesson from Bob Deffinbaugh's 28-part series From Creation to the Cross.
On Mourning for the Dead (12:23)
A sermon by John Wesley.
The Rape of Tamar (ch. 13)
A study by James T. Dennison from Kerux.
Morning and Evening (15:23)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (18:23)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (21:10)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (23:1)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (23:5)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Texts, More Texts, a Textual Reader and a Textual Writer (23:13-17)
An article from Semeia by Peter D. Miscall.
National Sins and Miseries (24:17)
A sermon by John Wesley.
Regal/Messianic Hope in 2 Samuel
A thematic study by Greg Herrick.
Hero and Heroine Narratives in the Old Testament
A character study by Larry R. Helyer from the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology.  Part of the article covers the career of David.
Necromancy and Cleromancy in 1 and 2 Samuel
An article by Bill T. Arnold from The Catholic Biblical Quarterly.
Honor and Shame in the David Narratives
An article from Semeia by Gary Stansell.
David the Man: The Construction of Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible
A paper by David J.A. Clines.  This appears to have been optically read and has many difficult spots for reading.

Sermons

2 Samuel: The Story of David
The appropriate sermon from Ray C. Stedman's Adventuring through the Bible series.
C.H. Spurgeon
A listing of sermons, some of which are available online, by the great British Baptist.
David: Up Close and Personal
A sermon series by Larry Osborne.  Eight sermons, 3 from 2 Samuel.
Robert Rayburn
Links to 25 sermons on 2 Samuel from a Tacoma church.
Lessons from a Warrior's Heart--Ken Horton
Four sermons from 2 Samuel 2-9.
Sermon Outlines
Links to sermon outlines from SermonLinks.

Bibliographies

Listening to the Text
A Walter Brueggemann review of Robert Alter's book, The David Story.
Selected Bibliography of the Books of Samuel
A list of sources, without annotations, by David Malick.
Two-Age Bibliography
A list of recommended sources, mostly scholarly in nature, provided by a website devoted to the "Redemptive Historical" school of theology.
Oxford Bibliography
A brief list of sources from the Theology School at Oxford University.
Anonymity and Character in the Books of Samuel
An article by Adele Reinhartz from Semeia.