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7. History of David s Rise, Part II: 2 Sam 2-8

2 Sam 2.1-11 David becomes King of Judah .

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7. History of David s Rise, Part II: 2 Sam 2-8

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    1. 7. History of Davids Rise, Part II: 2 Sam 2-8 BOT694: Exegesis of 1 & 2 Samuel

    2. 2 Sam 2.1-11 David becomes King of Judah Vv1-4a and 8-11 are associated by certain contrasts and similarities. Thus Ishbosheth's move to Mahanaim (v8) has it s parallel in David's move to Hebron (v3), while the crowning of the former (v9) provides an obvious counterpart to David's anointing (v4a); yet one set of event is apparently depicted as the outworking of Yahweh's blessing, while the other is the result of Yahweh's rejection. It is also clear that vv8-11 serve as a sort of prologue to the civil war episode (2.12-3.1) by introducing Abner, Ishbosheth, and their center of activities, Mahanaim (v8). [Anderson, 32]

    3. 2 Sam 2.1-11 David becomes King of Judah Is seems that the main function of this short report was to stress that the first thing David did after the mourning over Saul and Jonathan, was to seek Yahweh's counsel; the Philistines and their possible plans are not even alluded to. It is plausible that Yahweh's oracular reply was thought to refer, in retrospect, not only to Hebron's takeover but also to David's anointing in Hebron. [Anderson, 22] This pericope is primarily concerned to emphasize the religious setting of David's move to Hebron; it was guided by Yahweh. [Anderson, 25]

    4. 2 Sam 2.12-3.1 Hostility between Judah and Israel The account has two foci. The first is the contest at Flints Field. The second is the death of Asael.... With respect to the clash at Flints Field, it is important to keep in mind the fact that such contests were believed to be decided not only by the relative strength and skill of the competitors but also, and more importantly, by the divine will.... The enmity between the surviving sons of Zeruiah and Abiner, their brother's killer, will be a major factor in the future course of events. [McCarter, 98] The juxtaposition of h9esed and sword invites a reflection on power and legitimacy, on the reality of blood in the midst of power and the limits of the strategic shedding of blood. The juxtaposition raises the question of how and in what way the vicious cycle of destructive power can ever be broken. [Brueggemann, ibid., 224]

    5. 2 Sam 3.2-5 David's Family in Hebron The original purpose of this list is not longer clear, but it may have been linked with the question of succession. In its present settling, it probably serve as an illustration of steady growth of the house of David and as an indication of the divine blessing and approval. [Anderson, 50]

    6. 2 Sam 3.6-39 David and Abner The narrative in vv6-39 could be roughly divided into four sections; vv6-11 depicts Abner's quarrel with Ishbosheth, while vv12-21 deal with Abner's negotiations with David, involving the restoration of Michal (vv13-16) and the planned covenant with Israel. Unfortunately, the finalization of the negotiations did not materialize because of Abner's tragic and untimely death (vv22-27). The last section (vv28-39) shows that David had no part in murder of Abner; he curses Joab and laments Abner. [Anderson, 55] It is the chief goal of this part of the story of David's rise to demonstrate the new king's innocence of the two assassinations (viz. of Abiner and Ishbaal) that open the way to his kingship in the north.... Nevertheless, the suspicion arose - perhaps in retrospect, perhaps without justification, but it was there - and it lingered on throughout Davids reign, as attested by the Shimei incident in 16.5-14 and indeed by the persistently defensive one of the present

    7. 2 Sam 3.6-39 David and Abner account itself.... From the perspective of the larger narrative, the motivating force was Yahwehs will and his special favor for David, but the working out of the divine plan remains implicit in the present episode, becoming explicit only where a later hand has touched the original version and drawn it out (vv. 9-10, 18b, 28-29). [McCarter, 120]

    8. 2 Sam 3.6-39 David and Abner Rizpah figures prominently in the story of the Gibeonites' revenge in 21.1-14. She was a concubine, a slave woman attached to the house of Saul, but the fact that she had borne two sons to the king (21.8) made her an important figure in the royal household, as the present incident attests. [McCarter, 112] Michal provided the necessary link in the broken chain of relationships. Therefore, David demanded her return as a condition for beginning the treasonous negotiations with Abner, who as a cousin of Saul may have been a candidate himself. After she had been returned, a deal was struck, and soon the deaths of Abner and Ishbosheth removed the incumbent and reduced the pool of eligible contenders David had rejoined. As husband of Micahl, he could be considered an adopted son (compare Num 27:1-11; 36:1-2), and through optative affiliation, a custom which allowed a couple to affiliate with either the husbands or wifes family, he could enjoy succession rights as a stand-in

    9. 2 Sam 3.6-39 David and Abner or regent for his wife. Before long the elders of Israel were moved by the pressure of circumstances, the absence of viable alternatives, and Davids personal attractiveness to choose the Judahite as their leader. His marriage to Michal gave them a successor who was of the house of Saul. [James W. Flanagan, Social Transformation and Ritual in 2 Samuel 6, in Coral L. Meyers and M. OConnor, eds., The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth: Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman in Celebration of His Sixtieth Birthday, American Schools of Oriental Research Special Volume Series, No. 1, (Winona Lake, Indian: Eisenbrauns, 1983), 366]

    10. 2 Sam 4.1-12 The Death of Ishbosheth This chapter provides a parallel to 2 Sam 1.1-16. In both accounts the messengers of the tidings were personally involved in the shaping of the events, and they hoped for rewards from David. Yet the only recompense they received was death. As the same time, David is depicted as the just judge if not also a caring kinsman of Saul and his family, and the author makes it clear that David has no part in the deaths of Saul and his sons. [Anderson, 66] The extreme defensiveness of the previous section is lacking here - the public circumstances are not as damning to David as in the case of Abiners assassination - but the tone is apologetic nevertheless.... It was David who stood to gain most from Ishbaals death. [McCarter, 129]

    11. 2 Sam 5.1-5 David King of Israel and Judah Chapter 5, like chapters 2-4, consists of a three-part ingress (5.1-5) followed by milh[a4ma4h units (5.6-9, 17-25) which enclose a be6ra4ka4h passage (5.10-16) similar to that found in 3.2-5. Here, too, the units are bounded by various associative elements; further, the key-word principle is characteristic of the complex as a whole. At the same time the contribution made by the D-group is more notable here than in the previous complex. [Carlson, ibid., 52] ...here is the climax to which the story has been building since its beginning, when David came to Saul's court as a musician and royal weapon-bearer (1 Sam 16.14-23). David is king of Israel now, and with a final repetition of its central theological claim the narrative, its argument complete, can draw to a close.... it is not our narrator's purpose to celebrate David's kingship. Instead he wants, as we have seen, to absolve David from any suspicion of wrongdoing in the

    12. 2 Sam 5.1-5 David King of Israel and Judah course of his ascent to the royal office. To this end he has presented David throughout as a man innocent of overweening ambition, whose extraordinary successes result less often form self-interested undertakings of his own than from the willing deeds of others.... [McCarter, ibid., 133]

    13. 2 Sam 5.6-16 The Capture of Jerusalem and Its Sequel This composite section revolves largely around Jerusalem and David's rise to fame, yet at the same time, the editor has clearly indicated that the triumphs and prosperity attained were the blessing of Yahweh (vv10 and 12). It is evident that although God had established David's kingdom, his primary concern was not the glorification of the king but the salvation and welfare of his people (cf. 2 Sam 3.18). [Anderson, 88] Jerusalem was a city at that time at least a thousand years old; it occurs in Egyptian Execration Text and in the Amarna correspondence, and also in the accounts of the conquest in the Old Testament. [Hertzberg, 268]

    14. 2 Sam 5.17-25 The Philistine Campaigns It may be that these chapters (5.11-8.18) are simply a collection of important narratives placed back to back in the canon. Flanagan, however, has suggested an organizational patter which in my judgment is persuasive. Flanagan observes six primary narrative elements that are arranged chiastically in three pairs so as to trace the costly transformation for tribe to state: 1. List of family (5.13-16) 3. Oracle as new claim (7.1-29) 2. Battle of Philistines (5.17-25) 2. Battle with two nations (8.1-14) 3. Ark as old (6.1-20) 1. List of officials (8.15.18) The two lists (6.13-16; 8.15-18) form the outside boundaries of the unit, and the stories of ark (6.1-20) and oracle (7.1-29) form the central focus. Moreover, in each pair the second element is contrasted with the first. Thus the list of officers displaces the list of children as the monarchy moves from kinship toward bureaucracy. The battle with the Philistines is replaced by more expansive

    15. 2 Sam 5.17-25 The Philistine Campaigns battles, as David no longer struggles for survival but now is involved in territorial expansion. At the center, the old, precious ark is superseded by Nathans oracle, which bespeaks a radical innovation in Israel, breaking David free of old tribal loyalties carried with the ark. [Brueggemann, 245]

    16. 2 Sam 6.1-23 The Ark Brought to the City of David Chap. 6 comprises two main topics: the transfer of the ark to Jerusalem (vv1-15, 17-19) and Michal's break with David (vv16, 20-23). Although the later episode is well integrated in the present context, it has been argued that the Michal story not have been an integral part of the Ark Narrative. [Anderson, 99] It is possible that at a later time the first entry of the ark in Jerusalem became an annual cultic event (Pss 24 and 132) but it is less certain that its liturgy has determined the present description of the original events. [Anderson, 100] Scholars have long recognized that 2 Sam 6 contains material for the legitimation of the Davidic dynasty.... 2 Samuel 6 has to do with the inauguration of the new city and is, thus, comparable with similar religio-political rituals performed elsewhere in the Ancient Near East. [Seow, Myth, Drama, and the Politics of David's Dance, 140]

    17. 2 Sam 7.1-17 The Dynastic Oracle Chapter 7 is an unit complete in itself. It is divided into 7.1-17, the dynastic oracle and 7.18-29, David's prayer. Its connection with chap. 6 is theologically interesting in that after the ark is installed in Jerusalem and YHWH is seen as the true king of Israel, then David who now wants to build a temple, is instead given a dynasty. On the other end, chapter 8 contains a list of David's past victories which it seem could have been place in another place. Although in its present location one wonders if David's victories are now able to be mentioned since YHWH is enthroned. ...2 Sam 7 forms a parallel passage to the oracle in 1 Sam 2.27-36.... In this passage the point at issue was the establishment of a new priestly dynasty: in 2 Sam 7 a royal dynasty. [Carlson, 104]

    18. 2 SAM 7.18-29 The Prayer of David His purpose was to show that Davids request for a dynasty was buttressed by a divine promised, and that the erection of the temple was an outgrowth of the arrival of the ark in Jerusalem. That is, he sought to associate his own twin themes of dynastic promise and royal temple with events in the time of David. [McCarter, 240] In its final form Davids prayer has another focus, viz. praise of the uniqueness of Yahweh (v. 22b) and his ransom of Israel form Egypt (vv. 23-24). This is characteristic of the editorially expanded prayers and litanies of the Deuteronomistic history. The shift of attention from the house of David to the people in general in v. 23, the presence of a long series of Deuteronomistic clichs in vv. 22b-26, and other factors... indicate that at least this section (vv. 22b-26) is late and thus that Davids prayer has undergone substantial revision. [McCarter, 240]

    19. 2 Sam 8.1-14 The Wars of David This pericope (vv1-14) gives a short summary of David's military achievements, and is reminiscent of the brief resume of Saul's victories in 1 Sam 14.47-48. It is doubtful that the events in our pericope are arranged in any chronological order; essentially they are intended to illustrate David's God-given triumphs. The presentation of the material is done in an annalistic fashion, and there is neither plot nor dialogue. Nor is there any clear structure although the following outline sums up the content: vv1-2 Victory over the Philistines and Moabites vv3-8 The Aramean wars vv9-10 King of Hamath congratulates David vv11-12 The dedication of the spoils vv13-14a The defeat of the Edomites v14b Conclusion [Anderson, 130]

    20. 2 Sam 8.15-18 David's High Officials of State The officers names at the close of the section indicate that the importance of kinship had declined during the Jerusalem years and was becoming restricted to the upper eschelon of Davids administration. By the time of this list, specializations had been institutionalized in offices which could be filled, by kin or non-kin, according to an individuals talent. Therefore, a list of sons gave way to a list of officers as the compilers explained the political transitions which had occurred. [James W. Flanagan, Social Transformation and Ritual in 2 Samuel 6, in Coral L. Meyers and M. OConnor, eds., The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth: Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman in Celebration of His Sixtieth Birthday, American Schools of Oriental Research Special Volume Series, No. 1, (Winona Lake, Indian: Eisenbrauns, 1983), 363]

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