Bede

In his own words on 2 Samuel

• 2 Samuel 1:18

  "And he commanded that the children of Judah be taught the bow, etc." [2 Samuel 1:18] This was written about David when he was mourning the deaths of Saul and Jonathan: And he commanded that the children of Judah be taught the bow, he did this because he knew that the Philistines abounded in archers, and Saul had perished particularly by their arrows, so he wanted his soldiers to learn the same art of war to defeat them. As for the following: As it is written in the book of the just, they assert that the very book cannot be found anywhere today, not even among the Hebrews, just as the book of the wars of the Lord mentioned in the book of Numbers; nor the songs of Solomon, nor his wisest discussions on the nature of trees, all herbs, likewise beasts, birds, reptiles, and fish; or what is said in the book of the Chronicles: The rest of Solomon's deeds, former and later, are written in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the books of Ahijah the Shilonite. In the vision of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam son of Nebat (II Chron. IX), and many such volumes which are proven to have existed in Scripture but are acknowledged as no longer extant today. Judah was indeed ravaged by the Chaldeans, and even the library, formerly gathered, was consumed by enemy fire along with other provincial treasures. From this, the few books that now remain in the holy Scriptures were later restored through the efforts of Ezra the priest and prophet. Hence it is written about him: Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses (I Esdras VII). Ready indeed, because he discovered quicker forms of letters than the Hebrews had up to that time. And in the letter of the king of Persia: Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the most learned scribe of the law of the God of heaven, greetings (Ibid.).

  Questions on the Book of Kings #7

• 2 Samuel 8:2

  "And he struck down Moab, and measured them with a line, aligning them to the ground, etc." [2 Samuel 8:2] What is written about David: "And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, laying them on the ground," should be understood hyperbolically. For it was not possible that men living on the earth would be so humbled that, lying on the ground, they would appear equal with the ground itself, as confirmed by a line stretched over them; but the Scripture wanted to accumulate the immense humiliation of the captured and oppressed nation with this word, to say they were made equal to the ground, as if by God they were emasculated and despised, so that they living on earth no longer mattered more than the ground that had no people. You have many examples of this kind of expression in the Scriptures, such as that one from the Gospel: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did; if they were written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written" (John XXI). For how could the world not contain the books that could have been written in the world? But to imply the greatness and multitude of the Lord's deeds, the Scripture wished to use such an expression. And in David's lament, "They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions" (II Samuel I). Which is similar to that secular expression: "Who would surpass the whiteness of snow, in their courses the winds." That he said "measured them with a line," he put the line allegorically for destiny, because fields are usually measured by a line. Hence it is written: "And he divided the land to them by lot with a measuring line." It means that David would distribute the regions of the Moabites to the heirs according to his will, as freely as any possessor might divide his own fields at his whim by stretching the line here and there. He measured two lines, one for putting to death, and one for keeping alive. And this is said allegorically, signifying that David had the power, with no one contradicting, to put to death those who were rebellious and to spare those who were submissive.

  Questions on the Book of Kings #8

• 2 Samuel 23:8

  "He is like the most delicate worm of wood." [2 Samuel 23:8] This is said of the wisest leader of David's mighty men, whose name indeed is not mentioned in the Book of Kings, but in the Book of Chronicles he is called Jeshbaam and is noted to have been the son of Hachmoni (I Chron. XI). "He is like the most delicate worm of wood" (II Sam. XXIII, 8). This signifies both the man's martial strength and his modest civility, as he appeared, like a woodworm, indeed tender and fragile in his whole body, and even very small, yet nonetheless consumed and hollowed out the strongest wood, rendering it decayed. Hence, the woodworm takes its name from gnawing through wood. In the same way, he seemed to be affable to all at home, quiet and humble; yet in public battle, he showed himself to be a lion, strong and unbearable to his enemies.

  Questions on the Book of Kings #9

• 2 Samuel 23:20

  "He went down and struck the lion in the middle of the cistern." [2 Samuel 23:20] As it is said of Benaiah: And he went down and struck the lion in the middle of the cistern on a snowy day (Book VII, Antiquities, ch. 12), how this was done, Josephus recounts more clearly, because the cistern was indeed very deep, which in the wintertime, when everything was filled with snow, it too was leveled with an excessive heap of snow. When the lion, unbeknownst to danger, happened upon it and fell in, and being trapped there roared greatly, people ran to see what it was. And when Benaiah came with others to such a spectacle, he immediately jumped into the cistern, and attacked and killed the lion in the midst of the snow.

  Questions on the Book of Kings #10