Translations
Original
Notes
my house … everlasting covenant: David is referring to the prophecy Nathan made about David and his descendants (2 Samuel 7:12–16). Jesus is the everlasting king who is the "son of David" (Matthew 1:1).
This passage comes from the end of David’s career and reflects on his experience as king, even as 2 Samuel 22 reflects on his experience before becoming king.
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.
Events
- Reign of Davidc. 1055 BC
People
LORD: Names or title used to refer to God
Glossary
Topics
Covenant with David and his House David: Desires to Build a Temple, is Forbidden, but Receives God's Promise That his Seed should Reign Forever David: King of Israel: David As Prophet David: King of Israel: Last Words of Faith: Exemplified God: Faithfulness of Psalms of David: At the Close of his Reign The Covenant: Made With: David Trust of Saints Is: Grounded on the Covenant