2 Samuel 23:1-7

Please consider your sponsorship or support of The Text This Week.

• Reading the Text:
  • NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
  • The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
  • The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries.
  • The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
• Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
  • "Leadership by Example and Honest Government," Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit.
  • Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org.
  • From the Geneva Notes.
    • "But that my kingdom may continue for ever according to his promise."
  • From Matthew Henry's Commentary.
    • "Let those who have had long experience of God's goodness, and the pleasantness of heavenly wisdom, when they come to finish their course, bear their testimony to the truth of the promise."
  • From Wesley's Notes.
    • "When we find death approaching, we should endeavour both to honour God, and to profit others with our last words. Let those who have had experience of God's goodness, and the pleasantness of the ways of wisdom, when they come to finish their course, leave a record of those experiences, and bear their testimony to the truth of the promise."
  • "David's Dying Song: 2 Samuel 23:5," Charles H. Spurgeon, 1855.
  • From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
    • "Although David's house had not flourished in an uninterrupted course of worldly prosperity and greatness, according to his hopes; although great crimes and calamities had beclouded his family history; some of the most promising branches of the royal tree had been cut down in his lifetime and many of his successors should suffer in like manner for their personal sins; although many reverses and revolutions may overtake his race and his kingdom, yet it was to him a subject of the highest joy and thankfulness that God will inviolably maintain His covenant with his family, until the advent of his greatest Son, the Messiah, who was the special object of his desire, and the author of his salvation."
• Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
  • Commentary, 2 Samuel 23:1-7, Ted A. Smith, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2009.
    • "It can be tempting for preachers to cast ourselves as prophets who call up all those old, bold claims and turn them into demands for righteousness. That work is necessary, and preachers must take it up. But we should also remember ourselves as people like David."
  • 2 Samuel 23:1-7, Pentecost 25, Commentary, Background, Insights from Literary Structure, Theological Message, Ways to Present the Text. Anna Grant-Henderson, Uniting Church in Australia.
    • "The song is a reminder to the people that David is King by God's decree only and has divine legitimacy for all he does. On the other hand, it reminds David, that all he is and has, is from God, he is not an autonomous being (Brueggemman, 346). A King is to rule with justice and righteousness at all times and he makes vows to this effect on his enthronement."
  • 2 Samuel 23:1-7, Pentecost 25, 2009, The Old Testament Readings: Weekly Comments on the Revised Common Lectionary, Theological Hall of the Uniting Church, Melbourne, Australia.
    • "The image of King David as light and life giving rain can be seen as an indicator of the nature of the reign of Christ."
  • "The Last Words of David," Ralph W. Klein, Currents in Theology and Mission, 2004.
    • "While we may regret and even deplore David's sinister advice to Solomon to get rid of his enemies (last word 3), we can rejoice in last word 1, in which David articulates a view of the human condition and of human government that is centered on justice and that acknowledges that such virtue is only possible--for king or people--because of divine aid. What better last word would any of us want to leave to our family and to God's people?"
  • "Profiles in Courage (2 Samuel 23)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
    • "God’s king is one who should rule over men righteously. This righteous rule is the outgrowth of a healthy and appropriate fear of God (verse 3). Heathen kings think primarily in terms of being over others; God’s king thinks in terms of being under God. This is something which is clearly evident in the ultimate king, our Lord Jesus Christ:"
• Articles & Background:
• Recommended articles from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are linked below. ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
  • Bosworth, David A., "Evaluating King David: Old Problems and New Scholarship," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2006.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Brueggemann, Walter, "2 Samuel 21-24: An Appendix of Deconstruction?" Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1988.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Firth, David G., "Shining the Lamp: The Rhetoric of 2 Samuel 5-24," Tyndale Bulletin, 2001.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Freedman, David Noel, "Critical Note: 2 Samuel 23:4," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1971.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Grant, J. Jeremy M., "Between Text and Sermon: 2 Samuel 23:1-7," Interpretation, 1997.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Klein, Ralph W., "The Last Words of David," Currents in Theology and Mission, 2004.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Korzenik, Emily Faust, "The Child in Judaism and in Jewish Life," The Living Pulpit, 2003.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Lete, G. Del Olmo, "David's Farewell Oracle (2 Samuel XXII 1-7): A Literary Analysis," Vetus Testamentum, 1984.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Naeh, Shlomo, "A New Suggestions Regarding 2 Samuel XXIII 7," Vetus Testamentum, 1996.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Olmo Lete, Gregorio del, "David's Farewell Oracle (2 Samuel 23:1-7): A Literary Analysis, Vetus Testamentum, 1984.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Patterson, Richard D., "The Imagery of Clouds in the Scriptures," Bibliotheca Sacra, 2008.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Richardson, H. Neil, "The Last Words of David: Some Notes on II Samuel 23:1-7," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1971.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Smith, Carol, "Biblical Perspectives on Power," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2001.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Wevers, John Wm., "A Study in the Exegetical Principles Underlying the Greek Text of 2 Sm 11:2 - 1 Kings 2:11," Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1953.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
• Reviews:
  • Review: Stanley Isser, The Sword of Goliath: David in Heroic Literature. Scholars Press, 2003. Review by Peter D. Micall in The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2004.
• Sermons:
• With Children:
  • "King David," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons), coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
• Drama:
• Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
  • Images for this week's readings, Pitts Theology Library Digital Image Archive.
• Hymns and Music:
• Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
  • David
  • Death
• Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
  • Faith
  • Covenant
  • Death/Grief
• Study Links and Resources for the Book of 2 Samuel