2 Samuel 22
2 Samuel 22 | |
---|---|
Book | Books of Samuel |
Hebrew Bible part | Nevi'im |
Order in the Hebrew part | 3 |
Category | Former Prophets |
Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 10 |
2 Samuel 22 is the twenty-second
Text
The original text of this chapter was written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 51 verses.
Textual versions
Some ancient witnesses for the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008).[6] Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q51 (4QSama; 100–50 BCE) with extant verses 17, 19, 21, 24, 26–28, 30–31, 33–51.[7][8][9][10]
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).[11][a]
Analysis
The song celebrates King David's achievements as God's marvellous works, which is very similar to Psalm 18, with only minor differences, attributed to possible scribal errors or to the transmission process.
This chapter has the following structure:[17]
The incipit: God delivered David (22:1)
- A. Introduction: David invokes God, his savior (22:2–4)
- B. David recalls that God heard his cry (22:5–7)
- C. Weather theophanies: God won David's battles (22:8–16)
- D. David sings of his deliverance by God (22:17–20)
- E. David's legacy: his righteousness (22:21–25)
- E'. God delivers all the righteous (22:26–28)
- D'. David sings of the victories God gave him (22:29–31)
- D. David sings of his deliverance by God (22:17–20)
- C'. David was victorious with God's help (22:32–43)
- C. Weather theophanies: God won David's battles (22:8–16)
- B'. What God did for David (22:44–46)
- B. David recalls that God heard his cry (22:5–7)
- A. Conclusion: David praises God for his steadfast love (22:47–51)
The inclusion to this song or "psalm" (A/A' sections) is marked by the appellation for God such as "my rock" (22:3 and 22:47). The next bracket, B/B' sections, balances David's plea with God's response: David called out (22:7) and God rescued (22:44). The C/C' sections contain divine theophanies (22:11: "he was seen upon the wings of the wind") and what David accomplished with that divine support (22:38: "I pursued my enemies and I destroyed them"). The D/D' sections parallel how God rescued David (22:18: "He delivered me from my strong enemy") with how God prepared David as his warrior (22:35: "he trains my hands for war"). The center of this song (E/E sections) contains the main themes that define David for future generations.[17]
Incipit (22:1)
- Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.[18]
This verse contains the song title which generally relates to the protection of David from Saul and his enemies, not focusing on any particular event.[4]
Verses 2–20
The prominent theme of first poem, comprising verses 2–20, is the rescue of David from his enemies, with the help of God, in the imagery of a rock as a place of refuge (verses 2–4), and as a theophany (verses 8–20) that God responded to his cry of help (verse 7) when he was in distress at the hands of the enemies (verses 5–6).[4]
Verses 21–28
The transitional verses 21–28 contain traces of Deuteronomistic language, the most obvious clichés being: 'the ways of the LORD' (cf. Deuteronomy 8:6; 10:11, etc.), 'judgements and statutes' (Deuteronomy 4:5; 5:1, etc.).[4] Verses 21–25 proclaim David's innocence, pointing (according to biblical commentator Alexander Kirkpatrick) "to the earlier years of David's reign rather than the later, overclouded as these were by the fatal consequences of his sin" (his adultery with Bathsheba),[19] with its fateful consequences which hung over David for the remainder of his life.[20] Kirkpatrick associates this song with the period of peace described in 2 Samuel 7:1, but after the visit of Nathan when he proclaims God's covenant with David "and his descendants for ever".[21] Verses 26-27 assert again the theme of 'Yahweh's help to the blameless and pure' in a fourfold statement, which 'have been described as an ancient quatrain'[22]
Verses 29–51
The second poetic section (verses 29–51) focuses more on 'David's victories over his enemies', so this part has been called a 'royal victory song'.[4] The mention of David and his descendants only in the last phrase of the song is a 'feature paralleled in other victory songs',[23] so it is to be regarded not as an addition,[24] but as original.[25]
Verse 50
- Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles,
- And sing praises to Your name.[26]
Verse 51
- "He is the tower of salvation to His king,
- And shows mercy to His anointed,
- To David and his descendants forevermore."[28]
- "Tower": from
- "Mercy" (Hebrew: חסד; khesed[29]): "steadfast love" (NRSV) or "loyalty".[30]
- "Anointed" (from Hebrew word: מָשִׁיחַ; mashiach[29]): "Messiah".[30]
- "His descendants": supporting a forward-looking statement that God would also keep the covenant with David's descendants.[31]
See also
- Related Habakkuk 3.
Notes
- ^ The whole book of 1 Samuel is missing from the extant Codex Sinaiticus.[12]
References
- ^ Hirsch, Emil G. "SAMUEL, BOOKS OF". www.jewishencyclopedia.com.
- ^ Knight 1995, p. 62.
- ^ Jones 2007, p. 197.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Jones 2007, p. 228.
- ^ Jones 2007, p. 227.
- ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
- ^ Ulrich 2010, pp. 319–320.
- ^ Dead sea scrolls - 2 Samuel
- ^ Fitzmyer 2008, p. 35.
- ^ 4Q51 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
- ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
- ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Codex Sinaiticus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Charles Augustus Briggs; Emilie Grace Briggs (1960) [1906]. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms. International Critical Commentary. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: T & T Clark. pp. 137–141.
- ^ Pulpit Commentary on 2 Samuel 22, accessed 20 August 2017
- ^ Cross, F. M. (1953) 'A Royal Song of Thanksgiving: 2 Sam 22 = Psalm 18', JBL 72:15–34; apud Jones 2007, p. 228
- ^ McCarter, P. K. (1984), 2 Samuel, AB 9 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday); apud Jones 2007, p. 228
- ^ a b Morrison 2013, p. 289.
- ^ 2 Samuel 22:1 NKJV
- ^ Kirkpatrick, A., Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on 2 Samuel 22, accessed 20 August 2017
- ^ 2 Samuel 12:10
- ^ 2 Samuel 7:16 cf. 2 Samuel 22:51
- ^ Cross, F. M. (1953) 'A New Qumran Biblical Fragment Related to the Original Hebrew Underlying the Septuagint', BASOR 132: 15-26; apud Jones 2007, p. 228.
- ^ Hertzberg, H. W. (1964), 1 and 2 Samuel: A Commentary, tr. J. S. Bowden, OTL (London: SCM); apud Jones 2007, p. 229.
- ^ Jones 2007, p. 229.
- ^ See: McCarter, P. K. (1984), 2 Samuel, AB 9 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday); apud Jones 2007, p. 229.
- ^ 2 Samuel 22:50 NKJV
- ^ Note on 2 Samuel 22:50 in Berean Study Bible
- ^ 2 Samuel 22:51 NKJV
- ^ a b c Greek text analysis: 2 Samuel 22:51. Biblehub.com
- ^ a b Coogan 2007, p. 482 Hebrew Bible.
- ^ Payne 1994, p. 332.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0195288810.
- ISBN 9780802862419.
- Jones, Gwilym H. (2007). "12. 1 and 2 Samuel". In ISBN 978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- Knight, Douglas A (1995). "Chapter 4 Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomists". In James Luther Mays, David L. Petersen and Kent Harold Richards (ed.). Old Testament Interpretation. T&T Clark. ISBN 9780567292896.
- Morrison, Craig E. (2013). Berit Olam: 2 Samuel. Liturgical Press. ISBN 978-0814682913.
- Payne, D. F. (1994). "1 and 2 Samuel". In ISBN 9780851106489.
- Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill.
- ISBN 0-8028-0788-7. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
Further reading
Commentaries on Samuel
- Auld, Graeme (2003). "1 & 2 Samuel". In James D. G. Dunn and John William Rogerson (ed.). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837110.
- Bergen, David T. (1996). 1, 2 Samuel. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 9780805401073.
- Chapman, Stephen B. (2016). 1 Samuel as Christian Scripture: A Theological Commentary. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1467445160.
- Collins, John J. (2014). "Chapter 14: 1 Samuel 12 – 2 Samuel 25". Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Fortress Press. pp. 277–296. ISBN 978-1451469233.
- Evans, Paul (2018). Longman, Tremper (ed.). 1-2 Samuel. The Story of God Bible Commentary. Zondervan Academic. ISBN 978-0310490944.
- Gordon, Robert (1986). I & II Samuel, A Commentary. Paternoster Press. ISBN 9780310230229.
- Hertzberg, Hans Wilhelm (1964). I & II Samuel, A Commentary (trans. from German 2nd edition 1960 ed.). Westminster John Knox Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0664223182.
- Steinmann, Andrew (2017). 2 Samuel. Concordia Commentary: a theological exposition of sacred scripture. Concordia Publishing House. ISBN 9780758650061.
General
- Breytenbach, Andries (2000). "Who Is Behind The Samuel Narrative?". In Johannes Cornelis de Moor and H.F. Van Rooy (ed.). Past, Present, Future: the Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets. Brill. ISBN 9789004118713.
- ISBN 0-310-25720-4.
- Hayes, Christine (2015). Introduction to the Bible. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300188271.
- Klein, R.W. (2003). "Samuel, books of". In Bromiley, Geoffrey W (ed.). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837844.
- McKane, William (1993). "Samuel, Book of". In ISBN 978-0195046458.
External links
- Jewish translations:
- Samuel II - II Samuel - Chapter 22 (Judaica Press). Hebrew text and English translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org
- Christian translations:
- Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
- 2 Samuel chapter 22 Bible Gateway
- 2 Samuel 22 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate