The Second Book of Samuel (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament | NICOT)
Overview
Second Samuel includes some of the most well-known and theologically layered episodes in the Old Testament, such as the Lord’s establishment of an eternal covenant with David, David’s sin with Bathsheba, and the subsequent account of Absalom’s rebellion. In this second part of an ambitious two-volume commentary on the books of Samuel, David Toshio Tsumura elucidates the rich text of 2 Samuel with special attention to literary and textual issues. Tsumura interprets the book in light of the meaning of the original composition, and he provides a fresh new translation based on careful analysis of the Hebrew text.
- Includes verse-by-verse commentary
- Provides in-depth discussion of textual and critical matters
- Contains introductions to the book’s authorship, date, purpose, structure, and theology
Top Highlights
“Certainly, the ark as the symbol of the holy presence of God would give the newly conquered royal city legitimacy as the holy city of the country, the national center for worship of the national god Yahweh. Ever since Sumerian times, a royal city, the very center of the realm, was never complete as such until the national temple was constructed. In this sense, bringing the holy ark into Jerusalem was a crucial event in the history of the monarchy in Israel.” (Page 107)
“Even a careless handling of the holy object could be a cause of the divine anger, for the priests were supposed to know how to transport the ark of God.” (Page 115)
“Here in 2 Sam. 24 it is not David’s supplication (as in Ps. 51:18) but the Lord’s initiative that commanded through the prophet Gad to erect an altar to the Lord, so that David and his people may propitiate the anger of the Lord. So, it was not by chance that the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah (v. 16). Rather, the Lord guided David mercifully to the very place of worship, where his son Solomon eventually builds the temple for the Lord. The temple is thus the place where the sinful people are invited by God’s mercy to worship and have fellowship with God.” (Page 348)
“Even a part of 1-2 Samuel is not worthy to be called David’s biography.40 The author/editor’s concern is rather how God, the Lord of history, guides history through his human agents so that his divine purpose of saving his people may be fulfilled through the human agency of the messiah king, at a particular place of worship, that is, Zion: for example, Ps. 132.41 Such character studies are most profitable when controlled by a spatio-temporal reality of individual circumstances, either cultural or historical.” (Pages 8–9)
- Title: The Second Book of Samuel (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament | NICOT)
- Author: David Toshio Tsumura
- Series: The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT)
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Publication Date: 2019
- Pages: 320
- Resource Type: Commentary
- Topic: 2 Samuel