2 Samuel 22 is the twenty-second chapter in the second parts of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible (or the 22nd chapter of the "Second Book of Samuel" in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible). According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter contains a Song of Thanksgiving attributed to King David which corresponds to Psalm 18. It is within a section comprising 2 Samuel 21–24 containing the appendices to the Books of Samuel.
Text
The original text of this chapter was written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 51 verses.
Textual versions
Some ancient witnesses for the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q51 (4QSam; 100–50 BCE) with extant verses 17, 19, 21, 24, 26–28, 30–31, 33–51.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).
Analysis
The song celebrates King David's achievements as God's marvellous works, which is very similar to Psalm 18, with only minor differences, attributed to possible scribal errors or to the transmission process. According to Charles and Emilie Briggs in the International Critical Commentary series, Psalm 18 borrowed material from 2 Samuel 22, which may have been written by David himself, with later additions in the psalm by multiple editors adapting it for use in public worship. The Pulpit Commentary suggests that "the introduction – David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul – "was probably written by the prophet who compiled the Books of Samuel. The scribe who collected the Book of Psalms would be a priest, and he has repeated it with one or two additions". It is generally recognized that the language of the poem is archaic, with earlier attempts to date it to the Macabean period (second century BCE) 'have been abandoned in favor of the tenth century BCE'. The analysis finds two ancient poems from the monarchical period: (1) verse 2–20 and (2) verses 29–31, 35–51), which were linked with the addition of verses 21–28, verse 1 and verse 51a. The combined songs celebrates two aspects in the life of David: the deliverance from his enemies and his military conquests.
This chapter has the following structure:
The incipit: God delivered David (22:1) A. Introduction: David invokes God, his savior (22:2–4) B. David recalls that God heard his cry (22:5–7) C. Weather theophanies: God won David's battles (22:8–16) D. David sings of his deliverance by God (22:17–20) E. David's legacy: his righteousness (22:21–25) E'. God delivers all the righteous (22:26–28) D'. David sings of the victories God gave him (22:29–31) C'. David was victorious with God's help (22:32–43) B'. What God did for David (22:44–46) A. Conclusion: David praises God for his steadfast love (22:47–51)
The inclusion to this song or "psalm" (A/A' sections) is marked by the appellation for God such as "my rock" (22:3 and 22:47). The next bracket, B/B' sections, balances David's plea with God's response: David called out (22:7) and God rescued (22:44). The C/C' sections contain divine theophanies (22:11: "he was seen upon the wings of the wind") and what David accomplished with that divine support (22:38: "I pursued my enemies and I destroyed them"). The D/D' sections parallel how God rescued David (22:18: "He delivered me from my strong enemy") with how God prepared David as his warrior (22:35: "he trains my hands for war"). The center of this song (E/E sections) contains the main themes that define David for future generations.
Incipit (22:1) Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. This verse contains the song title which generally relates to the protection of David from Saul and his enemies, not focusing on any particular event.