2 Samuel 22:34

David likely saw deer while he hid in the hills and caves for many days (1 Samuel 19:11–27:12).

David praises God for saving him in the past and for promising blessings to his family in the future (see 2 Samuel 7:8–16).

This prayer of thanksgiving (also recorded in Psalm 18) appears near the end of David's story. But David likely prayed it much earlier in his life. This prayer and Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1–10 together enclose the book of Samuel with an inclusio (literary bookends). Hannah was saved from being unable to have children, and David was saved from his enemies.

The hymn's placement also provides a parallel to Moses. Both Moses and David's stories end with a song praising God (see also Deuteronomy 31:30–32:43). Both emphasize God as a “Rock” (Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31; 2 Samuel 22:2, 3, 32, 47). Both are followed by second and shorter poetic pieces:

• the final blessing of Moses to the Israelite tribes (Deuteronomy 33), and

• David’s last words (2 Samuel 23:1–7).

The final chapters of 2 Samuel form a coda (a concluding section). This section brings together and summarizes the main themes from earlier chapters.

These chapters are thematic, not chronological (arranged by topic, not by time). Because of this, not all the events happened at the end of David’s reign (for example, 2 Samuel 22:1).

The material is arranged using a common Hebrew literary pattern called a chiasm (a mirror-like structure). In a chiasm, the first and last sections match, and the middle section is the focus.

The structure of this chiasm is as follows:

• A: Saul’s sin against the Gibeonites and the punishment that affected the whole community (2 Samuel 21:1–14)

  • B: David’s warriors and their heroic deeds (2 Samuel 21:15–22)

    • C: David’s Psalm (2 Samuel 22:1–51)

    • C′: David’s Psalm (2 Samuel 23:1–7)

  • B′: David’s warriors and their heroic deeds (2 Samuel 23:8–39)

• A′: David’s sin involving the census and the punishment that affected the whole community (2 Samuel 24:1–25)

A chiasm draws attention to the center section. Here, the center is David’s hymns. These hymns do not focus on David himself. Instead, they focus on David’s God.