2 Samuel 21 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

The author seems to conclude his continuous account of what David did as king of Israel at the end of [chapter 20](../20/01.md). Chapters 21–24 then provide supplemental information. It is not clear at what point in David’s reign the events they describe happened. These chapters are composed of six parts. Parts one and six match, parts two and five match, and parts three and four match. (This kind of pattern is called a “chiasm,” and Hebrew writers considered it to be elegant.)21:1–14 A famine, after which “God was entreated for the land.”21:15–22 An account of David’s mighty men22:1–51 A song by David about Yahweh’s deliverance23:1–7 A song by David about what a good ruler is like23:8–39 An account of David’s mighty menIn your translation, you may wish to put a break between [21:14](../21/14.md) and [21:15](../21/15.md) to show that this chapter contains two of the six parts of the supplemental information at the end of the book.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Famine caused by a broken oath

When Israel first conquered the land, they promised not to kill the people of Gibeon. When Saul tried to kill them all, God caused a famine in Israel. David made amends with the people of Gideon and the famine ended. David also kept his vow to Jonathan’s sons. This helps to show the wisdom of king David. Although these people were not Israelites, they believed in Yahweh. (See: oath, and wise and believe)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

“struck”

In several places in this chapter, the author uses the term “struck” to mean “killed.” See the discussion in the Introduction to 1 Samuel of this usage and see how you have been translating the term with this meaning throughout the book.

“Rapha”

In [21:16–22](../21/16.md), the author refers several times to “the children of Rapha” or says that someone was “born to Rapha.” He probably means that they were descendants of a people group whose members were very tall. One way to represent the name Rapha would be to use the general term “giant.”