The Second Book of Kings (2 Samuel)

The Second Book of Kings opens in the days after Saul's death and closes on the threshing floor where the Temple would one day stand. Between the two lie forty years of David's reign over Israel, told with rare frankness: victories and psalms, adultery and murder, a father's grief and a king's penance. The Latin Vulgate calls it Liber II Regum and the Douay-Rheims the Second Book of Kings; most English Bibles today call it 2 Samuel. Below you can read all twenty-four chapters, the Vulgate beside the Douay-Rheims, beginning with chapter 1.

Why is 2 Samuel called 2 Kings in the Catholic Bible?

In the Hebrew Bible, Samuel was originally one book. The Septuagint divided it in two and joined it to the following history under the name "Books of the Kingdoms"; St Jerome kept the fourfold division in the Vulgate but called them Libri Regum, the Books of Kings. So the Catholic Bible counts four Books of Kings: 1 Kings (1 Samuel), 2 Kings (2 Samuel), 3 Kings (1 Kings) and 4 Kings (2 Kings). The printed Hebrew Bible of Venice (1516–17) first split Samuel in two, and Protestant versions followed it. Only the name differs, as with other titles in the Douay-Rheims Bible.

The author of 2 Samuel

The book names no author, but tradition has a clear answer. The Chronicler names the prophets who recorded David's reign: "Now the acts of king David first and last are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer" (1 Paralipomenon 29:29). On this ground the Jewish tradition preserved in the Talmud (Baba Bathra) and most older Christian writers ascribed the work to Samuel, Gad and Nathan.

Challoner's preface gives the common opinion: Samuel composed the first book as far as the twenty-fifth chapter, "and the prophets Nathan and Gad finished the first, and wrote the second book." Since Samuel's death is recorded in 1 Kings 25, 2 Kings falls wholly to these two prophets of David's court: Gad, "the seer of David" (2 Kings 24:11), and Nathan, who received the promise of chapter 7 and rebuked the king in chapter 12.

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) adds that the inspired author drew on these prophetic writings and on the court records, and that a final hand, whose name is unknown, joined them into one work with a single plan. Many modern scholars hold that it was edited much later. The Pontifical Biblical Commission (23 June 1905) taught that the narratives of the historical books are to be received as true history unless solid proof shows otherwise, and so the Church has always read 2 Kings.

The date of 2 Samuel

The events fill the reign of David, roughly the tenth century before Christ: "David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years" (2 Kings 5:4). If Nathan and Gad set down what they saw, the substance of the book was written in David's lifetime or soon after. The finished book shows a later editor's touch: the remark that Siceleg "belongeth to the kings of Juda unto this day" (1 Kings 27:6) supposes that several kings had already reigned over Juda alone. The Catholic Encyclopedia therefore places the final composition no earlier than the reign of Abiam, Solomon's grandson, and before the reform of King Josias (621 B.C.), noting that the purity of the Hebrew favors the earlier part of that span. Many modern scholars prefer a later date.

Summary of 2 Samuel, chapter by chapter

The book is no mere chronicle: its central idea, as the Catholic Encyclopedia observes, is the providential foundation of a lasting royal house in the family of David, and the whole story builds toward the promise of chapter 7.

David king at Hebron (chapters 1–4)

Chapters 1–4 open with an Amalecite claiming to have killed Saul; David has him put to death and laments Saul and Jonathan. The men of Juda anoint David at Hebron (chapter 2), while Abner sets up Isboseth, Saul's son, over the other tribes. Civil strife follows: Abner comes over to David and is murdered by Joab in revenge for his brother Asael (chapter 3), and Isboseth is killed asleep on his bed by two of his captains, whom David punishes (chapter 4).

David king in Jerusalem (chapters 5–10)

In chapters 5–10 all the tribes anoint David, and he takes the fortress of Sion from the Jebusites, "the city of David." He brings up the Ark with music and dancing; Oza is struck dead for touching it, and the Ark rests three months with Obededom before entering Jerusalem (chapter 6). David wishes to build a house for the Lord, and the Lord answers through Nathan that He will build a house for David (chapter 7). Victories over the Philistines, Moab and Syria follow (chapter 8); David seats Miphiboseth, Jonathan's lame son, at his table (chapter 9), and war breaks out with Ammon and Syria (chapter 10).

David's sin and its punishment (chapters 11–20)

Chapters 11–20 are the heart of the book. While the army besieges Rabba, David takes Bethsabee and, failing to hide his sin, has her husband Urias killed. Nathan comes with the parable of the poor man's ewe lamb, and David confesses (chapter 12). He is forgiven, but the sword does not depart from his house. Amnon violates Thamar and is murdered by Absalom (chapter 13); Joab contrives Absalom's return through the woman of Thecua (chapter 14); Absalom rises in revolt, and David flees barefoot over the brook Cedron and up the Mount of Olives, weeping (chapter 15).

Semei curses him and Siba slanders his master (chapter 16); Chusai defeats the counsel of Achitophel, who hangs himself (chapter 17); Absalom, caught by the head in an oak, is slain by Joab against the king's order (chapter 18). David returns, pardoning Semei (chapter 19), and the revolt of Seba ends with Joab's treacherous killing of Amasa (chapter 20).

Appendix: famine, psalm, last words and census (chapters 21–24)

Chapters 21–24 gather four pieces outside the main narrative: the famine sent for Saul's crime against the Gabaonites, with the wars against the giants of Geth; David's song of thanksgiving (chapter 22), which is also Psalm 17 (18); his "last words" and the roll of his mighty men (chapter 23); and the census, the pestilence, and the altar on the threshing floor of Areuna (chapter 24).

The Catholic reading: David, the Son of David, and the Ark

The promise of an everlasting throne. Nathan's oracle is the hinge of the Old Testament hope: "I will raise up thy seed after thee... and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son" (2 Kings 7:12–14). Challoner notes that "this prophecy partly relateth to Solomon: but much more to Christ, who is called the son of David in scripture, and who is the builder of the true temple, which is the church."

St Augustine devotes a chapter of The City of God (XVII, 8) to showing that these promises "are in no wise fulfilled in Solomon, but most fully in Christ." Hebrews 1:5 applies "I will be to him a Father" to Christ, and the Angel tells Our Lady that "the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father... and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:32–33). So St Matthew opens with "Jesus Christ, the son of David," and the Church keeps the feast of Christ the King.

Sin, confession and temporal punishment. To Nathan's "Thou art the man," David answers: "I have sinned against the Lord." The prophet replies: "The Lord also hath taken away thy sin: thou shalt not die. Nevertheless... the child that is born to thee, shall surely die" (2 Kings 12:13–14). The guilt is forgiven, yet a temporal punishment remains. The Council of Trent (Sess.

XIV, ch. 8 and canon 12) condemns the claim that God always remits the whole punishment together with the guilt, pointing to the "clear and illustrious examples" of Scripture. David's penance bore fruit in the Miserere, Psalm 50 (51), written "when Nathan the prophet came to him," which the Church counts among the seven Penitential Psalms and which we pray to ask for sorrow before making an Act of Contrition and a good confession. The doctrine of indulgences rests on the same distinction.

David as a figure of Christ in His Passion. The king crosses the brook Cedron and climbs Olivet weeping (15:23, 30), as Our Lord "went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron" on the night He was betrayed (John 18:1). On Psalm 3, "the psalm of David when he fled from the face of his son Absalom," St Augustine sees in the rebel son "that undutiful disciple who betrayed Him." Of David's cry over Absalom, Challoner writes that "he was a figure of Christ weeping, praying and dying for his rebellious children, and even for them that crucified him."

The Ark and Our Lady. Catholics have read chapter 6 in the light of the Visitation. David asks, "How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?" (6:9); Elizabeth asks, "Whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43). The Ark stays three months with Obededom, bringing blessing (6:11); Mary "abode with her about three months" (Luke 1:56). The Church greets Mary as Ark of the Covenant in the Litany of Loreto.

Famous chapters and verses of 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 1:26. "I grieve for thee, my brother Jonathan: exceeding beautiful, and amiable to me above the love of women. As the mother loveth her only son, so did I love thee." (chapter 1)

2 Samuel 6:14. "And David danced with all his might before the Lord: and David was girded with a linen ephod." To Michol's scorn he answers, "I will be little in my own eyes" (6:22). Oza's death (6:6–7) in the same chapter teaches reverence for holy things (chapter 6).

2 Samuel 7:12–16. The covenant with David, ending "thy throne shall be firm for ever" (7:16), and his prayer: "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far?" (7:18).

2 Samuel 9. Mercy to an enemy's house: "Fear not, for I will surely shew thee mercy for Jonathan thy father's sake... and thou shalt eat bread at my table always" (9:7).

2 Samuel 11. "At the time when kings go forth to war... David remained in Jerusalem" (11:1): idleness opens the door to sin, and Urias shames the king: "The ark of God and Israel and Juda dwell in tents... and shall I go into my house?" (11:11) (chapter 11).

2 Samuel 12:23. After the child's death: "Shall I be able to bring him back any more? I shall go to him rather: but he shall not return to me."

2 Samuel 14:14. "We all die, and like waters that return no more, we fall down into the earth: neither will God have a soul to perish" (chapter 14).

2 Samuel 18:33. "My son Absalom, Absalom my son: would to God that I might die for thee" (chapter 18).

2 Samuel 21:19. The Vulgate reads "Adeodatus the son of the Forrest... slew Goliath the Gethite." Challoner explains that the Latin translates the Hebrew names Elhanan son of Jaare, and 1 Paralipomenon 20:5 states that the man he slew was "the brother of Goliath" (chapter 21).

2 Samuel 22. "The Lord is my rock, and my strength, and my saviour" (22:2); "thou art my lamp, O Lord: and thou, O Lord, wilt enlighten my darkness" (22:29); "the word of the Lord is tried by fire" (22:31); "God who hath girded me with strength, and made my way perfect" (22:33). It is also Psalm 17 (18).

2 Samuel 23:2. "The spirit of the Lord hath spoken by me and his word by my tongue," the last words of the man "to whom it was appointed concerning the Christ of the God of Jacob" (23:1) (chapter 23).

2 Samuel 24. "The anger of the Lord was again kindled against Israel, and stirred up David" (24:1); Challoner: "This stirring up was not the doing of God, but of Satan," as 1 Paralipomenon 21:1 declares. David chooses "to fall into the hands of the Lord (for his mercies are many)" (24:14), offers himself for his people, "these that are the sheep, what have they done?" (24:17), and will not offer "holocausts free cost" (24:24).

Its place in the canon and the liturgy

2 Kings is a protocanonical book, received by Jews, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants alike; only its name differs. It follows 1 Kings, which ends with Saul's death, and leads into 3 Kings, which opens with Solomon's accession. Much of its matter is retold in 1 Paralipomenon 11–21, which drew on the same court records. Its Vulgate text, translated by St Jerome from the Hebrew, belongs to the edition the Council of Trent declared authentic (Sess. IV, 1546); see our article on the Latin Vulgate Bible.

In the traditional Roman Breviary, the Books of Kings are read at Matins in the weeks after Pentecost, so that those who pray the Office pass through the reign of David every summer; you can follow it day by day in the Iter Fidei breviary.

How to read 2 Samuel

Read the last chapters of 1 Kings first, since 2 Kings begins in mid-story. Then read straight through: it is narrative prose of great purity, vivid and rarely pausing to pass judgment, so that the reader sees God's hand in the outcome. Keep the Psalms beside it: Psalm 50 with chapters 11–12, Psalm 3 with 15–18. And read chapter 7 slowly, for the rest of the Bible keeps returning to it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote 2 Samuel?

The book names no author. Tradition, following 1 Paralipomenon 29:29, holds that David's acts were written by the prophets Samuel, Nathan and Gad; since Samuel died before David's reign, 2 Samuel is ascribed to Nathan and Gad, as Challoner's preface states.

Who wrote 1 and 2 Samuel?

They were once a single book. The common opinion recorded by Challoner is that Samuel wrote 1 Samuel (1 Kings) as far as chapter 25, where his death is told, and that the prophets Nathan and Gad finished it and wrote 2 Samuel. The Talmud likewise links the work to Samuel, Gad and Nathan.

When was 2 Samuel written?

Its events cover David's forty-year reign, around the tenth century before Christ, and its sources go back to prophets of his court. Because a few remarks suppose the later division of the kingdom, the Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) places its final form after the division of the kingdom, no earlier than King Abiam, and before King Josias's reform of 621 B.C.

How many chapters are in 2 Samuel?

2 Samuel has 24 chapters in the Douay-Rheims (where it is called 2 Kings), the Vulgate and Protestant Bibles alike. Verse numbers differ in a few places: Douay 18:33, "My son Absalom," is 19:1 in Hebrew-based Bibles.

What is 2 Samuel about?

It is the history of David's reign: his anointing over Juda and then all Israel, the capture of Jerusalem, the bringing of the Ark, God's promise of an everlasting throne, the sin with Bethsabee and its punishment through Absalom's revolt, and an appendix ending with the census and the altar on Areuna's threshing floor. God keeps His promise to David's house, fulfilled in Christ.

What is the Ark of God in 2 Samuel 6?

The Ark was the gilded chest made under Moses to hold the tables of the Law, over which the Lord was enthroned "upon the cherubims" (6:2). David brought it from Cariathiarim to Jerusalem, where it became the center of Israel's worship. Catholic tradition sees in it a figure of Our Lady, Ark of the New Covenant.

Why was God angry in 2 Samuel 24, and what was David's sin?

David numbered the fighting men out of pride, trusting in numbers rather than in God; Challoner speaks of "the vanity and pride which had put him upon numbering the people." The words "stirred up David" are explained by 1 Paralipomenon 21:1: "Satan rose up against Israel: and moved David." David repented, and his prayer and sacrifice stayed the plague.

Who is Joab in 2 Samuel?

Joab, son of David's sister Sarvia, commanded David's army. Brave but ruthless, he murdered Abner and Amasa and killed Absalom against the king's command. His crimes are punished in 3 Kings 2.

Read the whole Second Book of Kings verse by verse, in Latin and English, in the Iter Fidei Catholic Bible app.

Sources. The Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims version with Bishop Challoner's notes and prefaces; the Latin Vulgate; St Augustine, The City of God XVII, 8, and Enarrationes in Psalmos 3; the Talmud, Baba Bathra; Council of Trent, Sess. IV (1546) and Sess. XIV, ch. 8 and canon 12; Pontifical Biblical Commission, response of 23 June 1905 on the historical narratives of Scripture; F. Bechtel, "First and Second Books of Kings," Catholic Encyclopedia (1910).