2 Samuel

2 Samuel is the tenth book of the Bible and continues the story directly from 1 Samuel. With Saul dead, David becomes king, first over the tribe of Judah, then over all twelve tribes of Israel. The book covers the entirety of David's forty-year reign, traditionally dated to roughly 1010 to 970 BC.

The first half of the book describes David's rise. He captures Jerusalem from the Jebusites and makes it his capital. He brings the ark of the covenant into the city. He expands Israel's borders through a series of military victories. God makes a covenant with him through the prophet Nathan, promising that David's dynasty will continue forever.

The turning point comes when David, now at the height of his power, commits adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers, and arranges her husband's death to cover it up. The prophet Nathan confronts him; David repents; but the consequences ripple through the rest of his reign.

The second half of the book is dominated by family disaster. David's son Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar. Tamar's full brother Absalom murders Amnon in revenge, then later leads a civil war against his father and is killed. The book closes with David's reign winding down, a plague brought on by a census David takes, and the purchase of the threshing floor that will become the site of the temple.