The first 20 chapters of 2 Samuel are divisible into four units each of which ends with a list of names that is four verses long (1:1-3:5; 3:6-5:16; 5:17-8:18; 9:1-20:26).2The first two units conclude with lists of David's sons that were born to him first in Hebron and then in Jerusalem. The second two units end with lists of David's officials. This structural division is helpful to observe because it clarifies the writer's intent in 2 Samuel: to provide a record of the consolidation of Israel's monarchy. The first three units are generally positive and describe David's triumphs whereas the last unit is generally negative and relates David's troubles.
In chapters 1-8 the writer's fertility motif reaches a climax in his description of David's reign. 1:1 and 8:13 form an inclusiothat surrounds this section.3
"The thesis of the author--that Israel is blessed with fertility when the nation (and the epitome of the nation, the king) is following the [Mosaic] covenant--is demonstrated in these chapters."4
Chapters 9-20 contrast with chapters 2-8 in that this later section is negative whereas the earlier one was positive. It records failure; the former records success. Compare the similar narrative of Saul's triumphs (1 Sam. 7-12) and his troubles (1 Sam. 13-31).
"The crumbling of the empire in these chapters is far from anticlimactic. It is an outworking of the fertility principle which the author has been presenting throughout the entire book. Even David, the successful king, is not above this principle. When he disobeyed the covenant he was judged, and since he was the king the whole nation was judged with him. Sexual sin (related to the fertility motif) was the cause of David's downfall, and his fall was followed by sexual sins in his family."149
David got into trouble when he stopped being humble before God and became arrogant. He was not as bad as Eli and his sons or Saul in this respect. Had he been, God would have cut him off too instead of giving him the Davidic Covenant. Chapters 9-20 show the effects of being arrogant before God.
Scholars frequently refer to chapters 9-20 along with 1 Kings 1 and 2 as "the succession narrative."150The reason for this is that the passage deals with matters that lead up to Solomon's succession of David as Israel's king.151Other scholars prefer to call this unit "court history"since it deals with a broader range of subjects than just Solomon's succession to the throne.152
"Virtually all scholars agree that this is one of the finest examples of history writing from the ancient Near Eastern world. It is at the same time a masterpiece of biography and storytelling what with its ingenious interweaving of plots and subplots, its brilliant character sketches, and its attention to artistic touches such as climax and denouement."153
Chapters 9-20 begin with information about the survivors in Saul's family (ch. 9) as does the next major section of the book, chapters 21-24 (21:1-14).
The last major section of the Book of Samuel (2 Sam. 21-24) consists of six separate pericopes that together constitute a conclusion to the whole book (cf. Judg. 17-21). Each pericope emphasizes the theological message of the book.291
". . . the final four chapters, far from being a clumsy appendix, offer a highly reflective, theological interpretation of David's whole career adumbrating the messianic hope."292
The structure of this section too is chiastic.
"A. The Lord's Wrath Against Israel (21:1-14)
B. David's Heroes (21:15-22)
C. David's Song of Praise (22:1-51)
C'. David's Last Words (23:1-7)
B'. David's Mighty Men (23:8-39)
