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9. The Greatness of David: 2 Sam 21-24

1. Structure. 2 Sam 21.1-14 / 24.1-25 Two historical narratives concerning David;2 Sam 21.15-22 / 23.8-39 Two lists of heroes;2 Sam 22 / 23.1-7 Two poems in the center. . Brueggemann, 2 Samuel 21-24: An Appendix of Deconstruction?". ...James Flanagan...has proposed that 2 Samuel 5-8 is not a mer

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9. The Greatness of David: 2 Sam 21-24

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    1. 9. The Greatness of David: 2 Sam 21-24 BOT694: Exegesis of 1 & 2 Samuel

    2. 1. Structure 2 Sam 21.1-14 / 24.1-25 Two historical narratives concerning David; 2 Sam 21.15-22 / 23.8-39 Two lists of heroes; 2 Sam 22 / 23.1-7 Two poems in the center.

    3. Brueggemann, “2 Samuel 21-24: An Appendix of Deconstruction?” “...James Flanagan...has proposed that 2 Samuel 5-8 is not a mere miscellaneous collection but is organized into three pairs of literary elements: two lists, two battle narratives, and two narratives of legitimation concerning ark and oracle. This sequence of six elements is arranged chiastically. Moreover... in each of the pairs the second element is designed to supersede the first so that in the lists, the bureaucracy replaces kinship; in the war narratives, imperial wars replace Philistine struggles; and finally, in the narratives of legitimation, royal ideology replaces the tribal ark. In these three pairs, the narrative is arranged to enact the dramatic and decisive transformation of the power of David as it moved from chiefdom to monarchy.... 2 Samuel 21-24 intended to serve as a ‘deconstruction’ of David. I understand by this that the literature seeks to dismantle the high royal theology that has been enacted elsewhere in the narrative and, historically, in the Jerusalem establishment.... the six elements of 2 Samuel 21-24 are positioned to counter the six elements of 2 Samuel 5-8. Whereas chapters 5-8 trace and enact a move to a higher royal claim, so chapters 21-24 may seek to combat that higher royal claim.”

    4. Theology of 2 Samuel 21-24 The role of the appendix [2 Sam 21-24] "...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, which provides a clear hermeneutical guide for its use as sacred scripture." [Childs, Introduction to the OT as Scripture, 275. Also note the discussion by Hertzberg, OTL, concerning this passage as ‘the theological programmed for the future of the dynasty.’]

    5. 2 SAMUEL 21.1-14 “Read suspiciously, this narrative presents David as a political killer who hides his actions in religious justification. Read less suspiciously, the categories of bloodguilt and expiation portray David as one who must act in terms of the most elemental religious taboos and constraints, as elemental as anything Samuel ever required of Saul. Even read in that way, the narrative punctures a royal claim that the king is a powerful person who can decree new social reality. The king is portrayed as a modes agent who functions as a priest implementing rites but without power beyond these conventional religious perimeters. Read more innocently, David is presented as a dutiful king, scrupulous about religious obligation, with ready access to God, one who deals gently with Saul and Saul’s body, one who kills only as is necessary, and one who honors the memory of Saul. That surface reading however, is placed in the context of suspicious or religious primitivism.

    6. 2 SAMUEL 21.1-14 Carlson has seen that the narrative is now placed next to chapter 20, which discloses northern resistance to David. Thus, we may read suspiciously, ironically, or innocently. Shrewdly, the narrative does not dictate our reading.” [Brueggemann, “2 Samuel 21-24: An Appendix of Deconstruction?,” Old Testament Theology, 239]

    7. 2 SAMUEL 21.15-22 “Although our pericope (21.15-22) is part of the appendices to 2 Samuel, in its present form and place it has no real context, but its content suggest that the events depicted in it must belong to the account of David’s Philistine wars. However, there is no proof that they were contemporary with the battles described in 5.17-25 or that they must be derived from the same source. This unit contains four brief, stereotyped episodes (for a contrasting style, see 1 Sam 17) which may have come from some ancient archive. It is doubtful that the original source was the book of the Wars of Yahweh (Num 21.14) or the like, since the above episodes merely describe the exploits of human heroes.” [Anderson, WBC: 2 Samuel, 254]

    8. 2 SAMUEL 21.15-22 “The first list, 2 Sam 21.15-22, is of four great warriors in Israel who killed Philistine heroes. In the middle of this list, ‘David’s men’ (presumably led by Abishai) pronounce a massive assertion of royal ideology: ‘You shall no more go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel’ (v. 17). This sentiment is paralleled in 2 Sam 18.3, in which David’s men want him safe because ‘you are worth 10,000 of us.’ The person of the king has taken on sacral significance. I suggest that the narrative/list of 2 Sam 21.15-22 cites this royal ideology in order to assault it. The royal assertion is placed in a telling context. Two matters are of note: First, in v. 15, ‘David is weary.’ He is not filled with power and vitality, but is utterly dependent on his men. It is a consummate and daring piece of artistry to place the theme of weariness (v.15) next to the royal ideology (v. 17). Second, in the is it of four heroic killings, David does nothing. Especially in the noted case of Goliath, it is Elhanan the Bethlehemite

    9. 2 SAMUEL 21.15-22 who kills (v. 19). This great king, who is the ‘lamp of Israel,’ accomplishes nothing even against the Philistines, who are in fact dealt with by other courageous Israelites. the narrative is arranged to leave the royal slogan suspended without any supportive statement or evidence. The slogan is deliberately placed in a vacuum where it appears ludicrous. The high claims for the person of the king are unsupported by any data of action or achievement. Without this ‘lamp,’ Israel does indeed deal effectively with the Philistines.” [Brueggemann, “2 Samuel 21-24: An Appendix of Deconstruction?,” Old Testament Theology, 239-240]

    10. 2 SAMUEL 22.1-51 “The psalm extols Yahweh with praise and thanksgiving throughout, but it does divides naturally into two parts. The first, vv. 2-20, describes the psalmist’s rescue from his enemies under the image of raging waters. Its dominant them is the storm theophany of Yahweh. The second part, vv. 29-51, describes the psalmist as a mighty warrior who conquers distant lands. Yahweh is praised as the psalmist-warrior’s creator and the author of his victories. The intervening material, vv. 21-28, consists of an assertion of the psalmist’s innocence and purity (vv. 21-25) followed by the quotation of ‘an old gnomic quatrain’ (vv. 26-27) and a brief reference to Yahweh’s just reversal of human fortunes (v. 28).” [McCarter, 474]

    11. 2 SAMUEL 22.1-51 “The poem functions (together with 23.1-7) as a counterpart to the song of Hannah (1 Sam 2.1-10). The literature of Samuel is thus bracketed by songs addressed to Yahweh: The song of Hannah at the beginning and the song of David at the conclusion. This inclusion provides a theological context which the whole literature of 1 and 2 Samuel is to be understood. The history of David (and of Israel) is not simply a tale of power and conflict but concerns the enactment of Yahweh’s sovereignty. The dominant theme of this literature is deliverance by Yahweh, for which Israel is profoundly grateful.” [Brueggemann, Interpretation: 1 and 2 Samuel, 339]

    12. 2 SAMUEL 22.1-51 “The deliverance and victory of the psalm are not due to his royal person but to the incredible fidelity of Yahweh. The juxtaposition of the middle section with the first and third sections serves to remove from the king any claim of legitimacy, merit, or virtue. It shows that the king, like all others in Israel, is a creature of Yahweh’s willingness to listen and intervene. The king achieves nothing, deserves nothing, guarantees nothing. It is Yahweh, only Yahweh, who delivers.” [Brueggemann, “2 Samuel 21-24 - An Appendix of Deconstruction?” Old Testament: Essays on Structure, Theme and Text, 242]

    13. 2 SAMUEL 23.1-7 “The last words of David follow the royal psalm just as the blessing of Moses follows the song of Moses, and the texts have evidently been put together thus on purpose. The presentation of 23.1-7, like the blessing of Moses, as ‘last words’, is meant to underline their significance, for the ‘last words’, or ‘last will’ of a dying man has always been respected, as it is even in modern law, and has special weight.” [Hertzberg, 399]

    14. 2 SAMUEL 23.1-7 “Three motifs form the basis of our exposition. First God has raised on high the anointed (v. 2), who is addressed by the ‘Spirit of the Lord’ (v. 3). Kingship - that is, the kingship of David - is not a historical accident of human achievement. It is the result of God’s resolve to create a novum in Israel.... Second, the king is to rule ‘justly’ (saddiq) (v. 3). Kingship is not merely a gift of power. It is a concern for public well-being. Royal theology at its best summons the king to attend to issues of justice and righteousness, to the administration of public power for the sake of the weak, powerless, afflicted, and marginal (e.g., Psalm 72).... Third, verse 5 contains an articulation of God’s most enduring promise in Israel, ‘an everlasting covenant’ (berit (olam). The conviction that God has made an abiding, unconditional promise with ‘my house’ appears to echo and derive from the royal decree of 7.14-16. The Davidic house is not a tenuous historical institution but an ontological

    15. 2 SAMUEL 23.1-7 structure based in God’s decree.... These three motifs then - God’s sovereign power (vv. 1-2), God’s moral expectation (v. 3), and God’s abiding fidelity (v. 5) - provide the clues to the shape and significance of David’s rule. It is evident that the historical reality of David stands in considerable tension with this magisterial assertion.” [Brueggemann, Interpretation: 1 and 2 Samuel, 345-347]

    16. 2 SAMUEL 23.8-39 “These verses comprise a list that corresponds roughly to the list of 21.15-21. The unit includes three distinct elements. First, verses 8-12 report on the identity and effectiveness of David’s three most prominent and celebrated soldiers. Second, verses 18-39 give a second list, the thirty soldiers who are much celebrated in Israel but not as renowned as ‘the three.’ These two groups, the three and the thirty, constitute the core of David’s military organization. Third, between the two lists, verses 13-17 include a remarkable narrative, showing the courage and loyalty of David’s soldiers as well as David’s solidarity with them.” [Brueggemann, Interpretation: 1 and 2 Samuel, 347]

    17. 2 SAMUEL 24 “In the chiastic arrangement of chapters 21-24, this narrative is a counterpart of 21.1-14. Like that narrative, this narrative includes a hidden affront against Yahweh, a judgment against the whole people by Yahweh for the hidden affront, and an act of the king to avert the judgment.” [Brueggemann, Interpretation: 1 and 2 Samuel, 350] “The center of the narrative is a lawsuit. Verses 2-9 state the sin; verses 10-17 state the punishment. The census ordered by David (which Yahweh instigates) is a sin. The census serves primarily as a preliminary act for the military draft and for taxes (cf. 1 Kgs 4.7-19, 27-28). The census thus serves to enhance royal, bureaucratic, oppressive power.... In that earlier innocent world, a census is not needed, because (1) a draft is not necessary when the local militia can be depended upon in terms of war and (2) taxes are not needed because the government is not so expansive.” [Brueggemann, Interpretation: 1 and 2 Samuel, 352]

    18. 2 SAMUEL 24 24.1-9 The Census 24.10-17 The Plague 24.18-25 The Purchase of the Threshing Floor

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