2 Samuel

by Antony F. Campbell

Overview

2 Samuel, by Antony F. Campbell, S.J., is Volume VIII of The Forms of the Old Testament Literature, a series that aims to present a form-critical analysis of every book in the Hebrew Bible. Fundamentally exegetical, the FOTL volumes examine the structure, genre, setting, and intention of each textual unit in question. They also study the history behind the form-critical discussion of the material, attempt to bring consistency to the terminology for the genres and formulas of the biblical literature, and expose the exegetical process so as to enable students and pastors to engage in their own analysis and interpretation of the Old Testament texts.

Beginning where he left off in his volume on 1 Samuel, Campbell unpacks the wealth of insight inherent in 2 Samuel by paying close attention to the literary structure of the book. Following a comprehensive introduction, the commentary carefully analyzes the major sections of 2 Samuel and each passage within them. In the process, Campbell reveals the diversity of views that existed in Israel's traditions, and he highlights the primacy of theology over history in Israel's thinking.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802828132
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/01/2005
Series:	The Forms of the Old Testament Literature (FOTL) , #8
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Antony F. Campbell, SJ, (1934–2020) was professor of Old Testament at Jesuit Theological College, Parkville, Australia. His other books include Joshua to Chronicles: An Introduction, God First Loved Us: The Challenge of Accepting Unconditional Love, and The Whisper of Spirit: A Believable God Today.

Table of Contents

	Abbreviations	vii
	Editors' Foreword	viii
	Bibliography of Frequently Cited Works	x
	Author's Preface	xi
	Introduction	1
Chapter 1	David's Kingship over Judah (2 Sam 1:1-2:7)	15
Chapter 2	Civil War (2 Sam 2:8-4:12)	30
Chapter 3	The Establishment of David as King of All Israel (2 Sam 5-8)	53
Chapter 4	Anticipatory Appendices (2 Sam 9-10)	87
Chapter 5	The Stories of David's Middle Years: Structure (2 Sam 11-20)	97
Chapter 6	David and Bathsheba (2 Sam 11-12)	111
Chapter 7	Amnon-Tamar-Absalom (2 Sam 13-14)	125
Chapter 8	David's Retreat and Return (2 Sam 15-19)	138
Chapter 9	Sheba's Rebellion (2 Sam 20)	167
Chapter 10	The Stories of David's Middle Years: Genre - Setting - Meaning (2 Sam 11-20)	173
Chapter 11	The Special Collection (2 Sam 21-24)	184
Chapter 12	Diachronic Dimension: From Past Texts to Present Text	211
	Glossary	224
	Afterword: The Bible's Basic Role	233

Editorial Reviews

Walter Brueggemann
"This volume in the FOTL commentary series shows an imaginative and well-informed push beyond form criticism into newer, more dynamic methods of interpretation. Antony Campbell is a master of this narrative material and is able to exhibit the deep artistic character of the text, making for a most welcome and fresh read. His commentary is informed on critical data but lingers with that data only in order to see the artistic force of the text itself."

David M. Gunn
"In Antony Campbell the reader has a sure guide to 2 Samuel. He writes with the assurance of a scholar who knows the terrain through and through. Distinctive is his charting of a middle way between recent literary approaches to the book's final form and the concern of modern historical-critical scholarship to account for the earlier stages of the text's composition. Distinctive also is his insistent eliciting of questions from the narrative and his resolute refusal to offer easy answers. Campbell writes with clarity and skillfully draws his reader through a wide range of issues, from form to meaning. At the heart of this biblical book, which contains some of the finest narrative in the Bible, he discerns an exposition of human power and a challenge to grow wise in the ways of God. Complementing Campbell's fine commentary on 1 Samuel, this volume adds further weight to a distinguished series."

Restoration Quarterly
"A fine work that deserves, and will doubtless receive, much appreciative attention. Arguably, the best available commentary on 2 Samuel as ancient literature that still speaks to the contemporary situation."

From the Publisher