2 Samuel 1:1

David Learns of the Deaths of Saul and Jonathan

1:1 After the death of Saul, ¹  when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, ²  he stayed at Ziklag ³  for two days.

2 Samuel 3:16

3:16 Her husband went along behind her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Finally Abner said to him, “Go back!” ⁴  So he returned home.

2 Samuel 5:9

5:9 So David lived in the fortress and called it the City of David. David built all around it, from the terrace inwards.

2 Samuel 6:11

6:11 The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months. The Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his family. ⁵ 

2 Samuel 7:18

David Offers a Prayer to God

7:18 King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, ⁶  that you should have brought me to this point?

2 Samuel 10:14

10:14 When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before his brother Abishai and went into the city. Joab withdrew from fighting the Ammonites and returned to ⁷  Jerusalem. ⁸ 

2 Samuel 11:12

11:12 So David said to Uriah, “Stay here another day. Tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem both that day and the following one. ⁹ 

2 Samuel 18:16

18:16 Then Joab blew the trumpet ¹⁰  and the army turned back from chasing Israel, for Joab had called for the army to halt.

2 Samuel 19:15

19:15 So the king returned and came to the Jordan River. ¹¹ 

Now the people of Judah ¹²  had come to Gilgal to meet the king and to help him ¹³  cross the Jordan.

2 Samuel 19:39

19:39 So all the people crossed the Jordan, as did the king. After the king had kissed him and blessed him, Barzillai returned to his home. ¹⁴ 

[1:1]  ¹ sn This chapter is closely linked to 1 Sam 31. It should be kept in mind that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally a single book, not separate volumes. Whereas in English Bible tradition the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah are each regarded as two separate books, this was not the practice in ancient Hebrew tradition. Early canonical records, for example, counted them as single books respectively. The division into two books goes back to the Greek translation of the OT and was probably initiated because of the cumbersome length of copies due to the Greek practice (unlike that of Hebrew) of writing vowels. The present division into two books can be a little misleading in terms of perceiving the progression of the argument of the book; in some ways it is preferable to treat the books of 1-2 Samuel in a unified fashion.

[1:1]  ² sn The Amalekites were a nomadic people who inhabited Judah and the Transjordan. They are mentioned in Gen 36:15-16 as descendants of Amalek who in turn descended from Esau. In Exod 17:8-16 they are described as having acted in a hostile fashion toward Israel as the Israelites traveled to Canaan from Egypt. In David’s time the Amalekites were viewed as dangerous enemies who raided, looted, and burned Israelite cities (see 1 Sam 30).

[1:1]  ³ sn Ziklag was a city in the Negev which had been given to David by Achish king of Gath. For more than a year David used it as a base from which he conducted military expeditions (see 1 Sam 27:5-12). According to 1 Sam 30:1-19, Ziklag was destroyed by the Amalekites while Saul fought the Philistines.

[3:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “Go, return.”

[6:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “house,” both here and in v. 12.

[7:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[10:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “and Joab returned from against the sons of Ammon and entered.”

[10:14]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:12]  ¹⁶ tn On the chronology involved here see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 287.

[18:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet).

[19:15]  ²² tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:15]  ²³ tn The Hebrew text has simply “Judah.”

[19:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the king.” The pronoun (“him”) has been used in the translation to avoid redundancy.

[19:39]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to his place.”