It was the translators of the septuagint greek translation of the ot at about 200 bc who separated the book into two parts. The book of 2 samuel is one of the books of history in the bible. Henceforward the first book ended with sauls death and the second book started with davids reign. When the people ask for a king, the lord instructs samuel to anoint saul as israels first king. The books of samuel are preceded by joshua, judges. There are several accounts of events in 2 samuel that are also in 1 chronicles.
Chronicles tells the same history as kings, but with a focus on the priestly or worship aspects of hebrew. Esdras and josephus refer to samuel as a single work. In fact, the entire book is centered around him n the story of david begins in 1 samuel 16 and ends in 2 kings 2. Josephus recognized the hebrew canon to have 22 books 6 thus seeing 1 and 2 samuel as one book. We can learn many lessons for our own lives from the events in this book. First samuel introduces the monarchy of israel, and 2 samuel chronicles the establishment of the davidic dynasty and the expansion of israel under gods chosen leader. May 21, 2011 the book of 2 samuel is a history of the reign of king david.
The original ancient hebrew manuscripts recorded the books of samuel as only one book. We all desire to love god and obey his commandments, but we fall into sin, over and over. The scrolls of samuel and kings form an integrated political history of the israelite monarchies. The poignancy of the book of 2 samuel is that davids story is our own story. So 2 samuel is a history book in roughly the same sort of sense that johnny tremain is a historical novelthough its quite possible that parts of 2 samuels story couldve been written by people who lived in davids time and who even met and observed him directly. Intro to 2 samuel biblica the international bible society. The belief that the book is entirely true and divinely inspired is, of course. Book of first samuel overview insight for living ministries. Jan, 2016 the opening chapters of 1 samuel are set in the same period of israel. By the end of his reign, david controlled all of israel, edom, moab, ammon, syria, and zobah. David was initially acclaimed king at hebron by the tribe of judah, and subsequently was accepted by the remaining tribes after the murder of ishbosheth, one of sauls surviving sons. David expanded israels borders from sauls smaller territory. The hebrew bible regarded 1 and 2 samuel as two volumes of a single book.
It opens with samuels birth and then describes his role as judge over israel. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of first samuel in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. Intro to 1 samuel biblica the international bible society. The historical background of samuel, kings, and chronicles.
David began his reign as king only over the tribe of judah and it was not until seven years later. Second samuel is really a continuation of 1 samuel in the hebrew bible they are not divided and this is the first book of kings and it all centers on one man david. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of second samuel in his audio message from the. Introduction to book of 1 samuel, israels first king. Books of samuel, two old testament books that, along with deuteronomy, joshua, judges, and 1 and 2 kings, belong to the tradition of deuteronomic history. Sep 10, 2014 the first book of samuel niv audio holy bible high quality and best speed book 9 duration. The contents may be divided into five main sections. But of course, this clears the way for him to ascend to the kingship of all israel almost. Davids down in the dumps over the deaths of saul and jonathan, lamenting and writing a pretty catchy if sad song about it.
Deacons, pastors and prayer band members are available to pray with you before the prayer meeting. There are many theories about the authorship of first samuel including the deuteronomic history held by many scholars today. The final chapters of 2 samuel are set in the reign of king david. The book of 1 samuel is set in israel during the transition between the period of the judges and the period of the monarchy. The two books, which were originally one, are principally concerned with the origin and early history of the monarchy of ancient israel. Ancient tradition identifies samuel as the author of the first twentyfour chapters of 1 samuel and asserts that the rest of 1 samuel and 2 samuel were completed by nathan and gad. Those enemies included the ammonites with whom david was at war when he committed adultery with bathsheba and had her husband uriah murdered ch11. They obtained the city of jerusalem in a successful battle 2. Originally the two books of samuel formed o n e historical book.
The book of samuel reports israels history from the birth of samuel through the reign of king david. Together, 1 and 2 samuel form one book in the hebrew bible. The greek translation of the bible, the septuagint, was the first version to divide the material into two parts. These books recount the stories of samuel, saul, and david. It was when god had subdued all of davids enemies that he gave this covenant to him 2 samuel 7. As 2 samuel begins, the dust is settling after the big battle between saul and the philistines. After the death of saul, david unifies the twelve tribes as their king. The translators of the septuagint divided the books due to their length when the vowels were added and renamed them 1 and 2 kingdoms. David tastes triumph and trial in the book of 2 samuel. The book of 1 samuel begins with a lengthy account of samuels birth, calling, and life in wartorn israel. The translators of the septuagint separated them, and we have retained that separation ever since. There is nothing else covered in the book besides the kingdom under david. It covers from the death of saul until solomon prepares to take the throne. The books of samuel therefore record a period of transition between the temporary leadership.
Moreover, the book of kings appears to pick up the history of israels throne where samuel left off see 2 sam. The book of 2 samuel continues to show us the virtue of humility, the destructiveness of pride, and the faithfulness of gods promise. The first book contains the history of samuel and of the reign of saul. Samuels role as gods representative in this period of israels history is close to that of moses see ps 99. The book of the prophet samuel was originally one of the former prophets in hebrew scripture. Its author is samuel the prophet who wrote it at about 930 b. Jun 11, 2006 prayer times tuesday noon hour of prayer. Therefore, samuel was probably written before kings, which is dated between 561 and 538 b. In english bibles, the book is usually divided into first and second samuel, but in jewish tradition, samuel is one book. The opening chapters of 1 samuel are set in the same period of israel. God and history part 5 book of 2 samuel the brooklyn. The events of 1 samuel span approximately 100 years, from c. This summary of the book of 2 samuel provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 2 samuel.
Originally, the books of 1 and 2 samuel were one book. The book of 2 nd samuel is a narration of david as he becomes the king of israel and the time during his reign, yet it also includes two psalms in hymns of praise in the final chapters. Book of second samuel overview insight for living ministries. This summary of the book of 1 samuel provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 1 samuel. Books of samuel, two old testament books that, along with deuteronomy, joshua, judges, and 1 and 2 kings, belong to the tradition of deuteronomic history first committed to writing about 550 bc, during the babylonian exile.
The book of samuel, or 1 samuel and 2 samuel, form part of the narrative history of israel in the neviim or prophets section of the hebrew bibleold testament, called the deuteronomistic history, a series of books joshua, judges, samuel and kings that constitute a theological history of the israelites and aim to explain gods law for israel under the guidance of the prophets. Its three main characters, samuel the prophet, saul, and david are among the most powerful people in the bible, yet their lives were scarred by farreaching mistakes. What an amalekite is dying to tell david 2 samuel 1. Samuel is the third book in the neviim prophets, the second section in the hebrew bible. Second samuel looks like a history of the new institution of kingship in israel. The first book of samuel niv audio holy bible high quality and best speed book 9 duration.
This book places the davidic covenant in its historical context. The two books, which were originally one, are principally concerned with the origin and early history of the monarchy of. The masoretic postscript is at the end of 2 samuel. While important historical information is presented, some of it is at odds with the. The book of 2 samuel records the life of david as king. The old testament book of 1 samuel is a record of triumph and tragedy. When the prophet samuel was born, israel was in disarray under the failing leadership of the judges and levites. Though named after its main character, the prophet. The men who translated the septuagint from hebrew to greek separated the book into two parts. Today, many scholars believe that 1 and 2 samuel are part of the deuteronomistic history dtrh and that various older traditions have been gathered together and. In the new testament, the author of the gospel of luke incorporates portions of hannahs prayer in 1 samuel 2 into both the songs of mary and zechariah, who, like hannah, also rejoiced over the miraculous birth of their respective sons.
The book was divided into the two books of first samuel and second samuel in the historical books of the greek septuagint old testament, and continues as such in the latin vulgate and our christian old testament of the bible. The authors wrote these accounts for different reasons. Read the books of samuel in hebrew and english on sefaria. The content of 2 samuel deals with the life and reign of king david and could have been entitled the book of david. Overview of the book of 2 samuel reformed answers to. First and second samuel deal with a transitional period in the history of ancient israel.
The book of samuel, or 1 samuel and 2 samuel, form part of the narrative history of israel in the neviim or prophets section of the hebrew bibleold testament. The first time these books were divided was in the septuagint, the greek version of the hebrew scriptures, and they were referred to as the first and second books of kingdoms. The book discusses the events while david was king. Summary of the book of 2 samuel originally the books of 1 and 2 samuel were one book.
The key personalities are david, joab, bathsheba, nathan, and absalom. We see david succeed and fail, and we see gods promise for a future king at the beginning and end of the story. His lament over the deaths of saul and of jonathan 2 samuel 1. In despair, we realize we cannot save ourselves through our futile attempts at perfect obedience. It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of this century in the development of gods kingdom.