Tyndale Open Study Notes2 Samuel 23

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.

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.

• David's last words were not necessarily his final spoken words (see 1 Kings 1:16, 29–30, 33–35; 2:1–9). They were his last public act of worship to God as king (compare 1 Samuel 12:1–25).

• The oracle of David: The language shows he was about to deliver an oracle, a message from God (2 Samuel 23:2).

• the sweet psalmist of Israel: For other mentions of David as a musician and poet, see 1 Chronicles 23:5; 2 Chronicles 29:26, 27; Nehemiah 12:36; Amos 6:5.

The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me: David spoke of God, and in the process, God spoke through David.

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).

Compare Psalm 1:4–5.

• This section lists David's top warriors by name, highlighting their notable achievements. These warriors were like "iron tools" that God used to defeat the godless (2 Samuel 23:7).

• The list is divided into the Three and the Thirty. Some Hebrew scholars suggest that the Thirty could mean "Officers." If true, the Three might have originally referred to a specific military role.

to plunder: Compare 1 Samuel 30:9–10, 21–25.

• The cave of Adullam was where David hid from Saul (see 1 Samuel 22:1).

• The valley of Rephaim was located between Bethlehem and Jerusalem (see 2 Samuel 5:17–25).

• longed … and said: This Hebrew verb often means strong desire (see Numbers 11:4, had a strong craving; Psalm 106:14, craved intensely). It is unclear whether David’s craving for water was excessive, but it did lead to risky actions.

• well near the gate: David had memories from his younger days of growing up in Bethlehem. The location of the well is unknown.

Is this not the blood of the men: When David poured the water onto the ground, this action did not show ingratitude. Instead, the water had been brought back at the risk of the warriors’ lives. David treated the water as equal to their blood. In this way, the water represented life itself, which belongs to God alone and must not be consumed by humans (Leviticus 17:10–13; Deuteronomy 12:23–24).

• Here are examples of the skills of Abishai and Benaiah. Abishai was very aggressive toward David’s enemies, especially Saul (1 Samuel 26:6–9) and Saul’s relative Shimei (2 Samuel 16:9–11). Abishai saved David’s life during a Philistine war (2 Samuel 21:16–17).

• Benaiah first appeared as the commander of the mercenaries who were David’s bodyguards. These men were separate from the regular army (2 Samuel 8:18; 20:23). He also led a 24,000-man division of the regular army that served the king every third month (1 Chronicles 27:5–6). He played a key role in Solomon’s rise to the throne (1 Kings 1:32–49) and became the commander of Solomon’s army, like Joab was for David.

• Asahel was David’s nephew. Abner killed him during the war between David and Ish-bosheth (2 Samuel 2:18–32). Asahel’s inclusion suggests that some of these lists date from the early years of David’s rule.

• Elhanan son of Dodo should not be confused with Elhanan son of Jair (2 Samuel 21:19; 1 Chronicles 20:5).

• The very last name mentioned is Uriah the Hittite. There is an earlier reference to his father-in-law, Eliam, father of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 23:34; see 11:3). The writer of Chronicles never mentioned David’s sins against Bathsheba and Uriah. The author of 2 Samuel not only described the sins but also emphasized Uriah’s name by placing it at the end of the list (1 Chronicles 11:10–47). Uriah was not an ordinary soldier. He was a loyal member of David’s elite guard. This makes David’s betrayal of him even more serious.

• There were thirty-seven in all: Only thirty-six names appear, assuming:

  • "Shammah … from Harar" (2 Samuel 23:11) is different from "Shammah from Harod" (2 Samuel 23:25), and

  • "Benaiah son of Jehoiada" (2 Samuel 23:20) is different from "Benaiah from Pirathon" (2 Samuel 23:30)

  The thirty-seventh warrior might be Joab. He is mentioned only briefly (2 Samuel 23:18, 37) and is missing from the list of names. Many believe he is excluded because he was David’s chief military leader and did not need to be added. The omission might also reflect David’s complicated relationship with Joab, who was executed when Solomon followed David’s last wishes (1 Kings 2:5–6, 28–34).