2 Samuel 21 - Printer Friendly

What does 2 Samuel 21 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

First Samuel 16—2 Samuel 1 covers David's life from the time Samuel anoints him as Israel's future king until he hears about the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. David becomes king over Judah in 2 Samuel 2 and king over all Israel in 2 Samuel 5. Second Samuel 5—10, in general, records David's successes, while 2 Samuel 11—20 tells the stories of his failures and their consequences. The two sections aren't strictly chronological, meaning David did not experience near-perfection early in his rule only to suffer near-complete disaster at the end.

Second Samuel 21—24 serves as an epilogue to the entire story of 1 and 2 Samuel. What we consider two books today was originally written as a single text. The events of this chapter add some stories from David's life and kingship that don't follow in chronological order. But the passages also form a mirrored structure, called a chiasm:

A. 2 Samuel 21:1–14: Saul's failure against the Gibeonites is dealt with.
B. 2 Samuel 21:15–22: David's men beat the Philistines.
C 2 Samuel 22:1—23:7: David sings God's praises.
B' 2 Samuel 23:8–38: David's men beat the Philistines.
A' 2 Samuel 24: David's failure with the census is dealt with.

In the first section, David must clean up Saul's last mess. A three-year famine has gripped the land. This may have been caused by a drought (2 Samuel 21:10) David asks God why this happens and learns that Saul and either his sons or his officials wrongfully killed some Gibeonites. The Gibeonites are Amorites: a group of residents protected since tricking Joshua into thinking they lived far away (Joshua 9). Any attempt to mistreat them is against the old treaty. Apparently, in his zeal to rid Israel of its original occupants, Saul tried to destroy them (2 Samuel 21:1–2).

We don't know why God punishes Israel in David's time for Saul's sin. Perhaps it's because the injustice has been left unresolved for too long. In any case, David takes responsibility as king. He asks the Gibeonites how to make things right. They demand seven of Saul's sons whom they will execute before God. At first, it seems horribly unfair to execute sons to punish a father who is already dead. However, as the NASB renders it, the guilt is on Saul's "bloody house" (2 Samuel 21:1). The Hebrew phrasing suggests the violence involved others, possibly some of the very men being executed (2 Samuel 21:3–6).

David refuses to turn over Jonathan's son Mephibosheth because of his vow (1 Samuel 20:8, 42; 23:18). He gives the Gibeonites two sons of Saul's concubine Rizpah and five from Saul's daughter Merab, whom David was originally supposed to marry (1 Samuel 18:17–19). The Gibeonites put them to death and hang them (2 Samuel 21:7–9).

To be left hanging is a curse of God (Deuteronomy 21:22–23). Rizpah takes sackcloth and places it on a nearby rock. She remains there for some time, possibly the months from the beginning of the harvest until the rainy season begins. She protects the bodies from scavenging animals. The sons may be cursed by God, but she will not let the animals defile them. When David hears, he takes the bodies of Saul and Jonathan from Jabesh-gilead (1 Samuel 31:11–13), along with the seven men and buries them all in the tomb of Saul's father. In response, God lifts the famine (2 Samuel 21:10–14).

In the second section of the chiasm, the author describes yet another battle with the Philistines. David's men had kept him from fighting against Absalom because he was Absalom's only target (2 Samuel 18:2–3). In this battle, a giant singles David out when the king is exhausted from fighting. A fellow soldier saves David's life, but his advisors make the earlier restriction permanent. The warrior who cut his teeth on Goliath may no longer wield a sword in war. The section ends with the defeats of several other Philistine giants (2 Samuel 21:15–22). The battles against the giants are also recorded in 1 Chronicles 20:4–8.

As with any chiasm, the most important point is in the center: through failures and successes, David is a man after God's own heart. He trusts God and readily repents when he sins. Following God through Saul's persecution, the early days of the kingdom, and the consequences of his own failures wasn't easy. And yet, David always returned to his God.

Second Samuel 21:1–6 begins an explanation of how David pays Saul's lingering debt. God has put a famine on the land. When David asks why, he learns that in some unrecorded event, Saul and his household attacked the Gibeonites, These were Gentile residents with protected status (Joshua 9). David asks what the Gibeonites need to make it right. They want seven of Saul's sons so they can execute them (2 Samuel 21:1–6). David gives them two sons and five grandsons, and God lifts the famine (2 Samuel 21:7–14).

Second Samuel 21:7–9 continues the prior story as David decides which of Saul's descendants should pay for the family sin. God has punished Saul's ill treatment of the Gibeonites with a famine in David's kingdom. The Gibeonites demand seven sons of Saul. David spares Jonathan's son but gives them Saul's concubine Rizpah's two sons and his daughter Merab's five. Rizpah will stay near the hanging bodies for months, scaring away birds and wild animals. David hears and has them taken down. Saul and Jonathan's bones are retrieved, and all the men are buried in the family tomb (2 Samuel 21:10–14).

In 2 Samuel 21:10–14, Rizpah, Saul's concubine, protects the remains of her sons. The Gibeonites hanged them along with five sons of Merab, Saul's daughter. Their deaths pay the debt owed because Saul's household attacked Gibeonites, who were protected under Joshua's treaty (Joshua 9). Rizpah stays with the bodies, preventing them from being eaten by scavengers. David hears and buries them with Saul and Jonathan in Saul's father's tomb. In the parallel level of the mirror-like arrangement, God punishes David's sin with a pestilence that kills thousands of people (2 Samuel 24).

Second Samuel 21:15–17 notes the moment when David's men retire him from active military duty. David mostly leaves the fighting to the army under Joab and Abishai. In the battle against David's traitorous son, he tried to join, but his men wouldn't let him (2 Samuel 18:2–3). The army is once again fighting the Philistines. A giant singles David out and tries to kill him but Abishai rushes to the rescue. David's men tell him he can no longer go to battle: he's too important to the nation. The text then describes several other fights against Philistine giants (2 Samuel 21:18–22).

Second Samuel 21:18–22 records three more battles which David's warriors fight against Philistine giants. This includes a second warrior named Goliath. This information is also recorded in 1 Chronicles 20:4–8. The companion passage in the mirrored structure of 2 Samuel 21—23, in 2 Samuel 23:8–39, gives an extended description of David's mighty men and their exploits in battle.

Chapter Summary:

Second Samuel 21 records several varied stories of David's reign. A famine strikes the land because Saul and his household had attacked the Gibeonites, who had tricked Joshua into a treaty (Joshua 9). The Gibeonites ask for seven of Saul's descendants, whom they kill and hang in their city. Saul's concubine Rizpah protects them from birds and beasts until David orders them removed and buried in the family tomb. Next, David's men forcibly retire him from active military service and go on to slay several giant Philistine warriors. The battles against the giants are also recorded in 2 Chronicles 20:4–8.

Chapter Context:

Second Samuel 21 presents the first two levels of a mirrored view of David's reign (2 Samuel 21—24). First, David learns a famine is due to Saul's attack on the protected Gibeonites (Joshua 9). David gives them seven of Saul's male descendants, and God lifts the famine. In the second section, David retires from military service, and his men kill Philistine giants. The giants are also mentioned in 1 Chronicles 20:4–8. Section three is David's praise to God (2 Samuel 22:1—23:7). The fourth records David's mighty men's exploits (2 Samuel 23:8–38). The fifth is David's sinful census (2 Samuel 24).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.

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