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2 Samuel 8 Bible study: Wherever he went
The LORD told David, "I have been with you wherever you went" and "I will make you a great name" (7:9). This chapter uses the same Hebrew words: "The LORD gave victory to David wherever he went" (8:6, 8:14), and "David earned a reputation" (8:13) is, in Hebrew, David made a name.
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“David reigned over all Israel; and David executed justice and righteousness for all his people.”
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“2 Samuel 8 says twice that it was the LORD who gave David victory wherever he went.”
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What's really going on
Wherever he went
One line is said twice in this chapter, word for word: "The LORD gave victory to David wherever he went" (8:6, 8:14) (tap gave victory). A chapter earlier, the LORD had told David through Nathan, "I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you. I will make you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth" (7:9). In Hebrew, "wherever you went" (7:9) and "wherever he went" (8:6) are the same three words, bekhol asher halakh, changed only from you to he. And "David earned a reputation" (8:13) is in Hebrew David made a name, the same two words as "I will make you a great name" (7:9) (tap reputation). The chapter doesn't point back to chapter 7; the words are set side by side here. What it does say is who gave the victory: not David, but "the LORD" (8:6, 8:14).
Where it leads to Jesus
Which God did by him
2 Samuel 8:6leads toActs 2:22
One line is said twice in this chapter: "The LORD gave victory to David wherever he went" (8:6, 8:14). The chapter tells of David's wars (8:1-14), and it says who gave the victory: the LORD. Peter (Acts 2:14) says, "Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know" (Acts 2:22). No New Testament passage cites 2 Samuel 8, and Peter doesn't mention David's wars, so setting the two side by side is a reading. Some see a likeness: in both, God is named as the one at work, for the LORD "gave victory to David" (8:6), and the mighty works were ones "which God did by him" (Acts 2:22). Others read each on its own terms: 2 Samuel 8 records battles, garrisons and tribute (8:1-14), while Peter speaks of wonders and signs done "among you" (Acts 2:22) and goes on to tell of Jesus' death and of God raising him up (Acts 2:23-24).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about 2 Samuel 8
That was a taste
The rest of 2 Samuel 8 is waiting in Favor
- On every side
- Dedicated to the LORD
- Justice for all his people
- The chariot horses
- Justice and righteousness, together
- The same enemies as Saul
- 9 questions as you read
- 10 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
יָשַׁעyasha'say ya-SHA
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "deliver, save", and for the form used here, among its senses, "give victory to". Strong's: "to free or succor". "The LORD gave victory to David wherever he went" (8:6, 8:14): both times the LORD is the one who gives it. It is the verb of the LORD's word that Abner told the elders of Israel (3:17), "By the hand of my servant David, I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies" (3:18). It is the verb of David's own words to Goliath, "the LORD doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s" (1 Samuel 17:47). And it is the verb of the worthless fellows who said of Saul, "How could this man save us?" (1 Samuel 10:27).
For your group
2 Samuel 8 Bible study questions
- 1David dedicated to the LORD the silver and gold he brought back (8:11). What good thing that came to you this year could you give back to God, and what would that look like?
- 2David "executed justice and righteousness for all his people" (8:15). Where do other people depend on you to be fair, and who among them is easiest to overlook?
- 3The chapter lists what David did, then says twice, "The LORD gave victory to David wherever he went" (8:6, 8:14). Think of something that went well for you recently. How easy is it to see God's hand in it, and not only your own work?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads 2 Samuel 8 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home