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II Samuel

II Samuel

1 8.6
The second book of the Old Testament that tells about the kings Saul and David
  • proper noun
  • /ˈtuː ˈsæmjəl/
: II Samuel
  • The story of King David and Bathsheba is found in II Samuel.

Examples

  • Many scholars study II Samuel to understand the history of Israel's monarchy.

  • In II Samuel, David is anointed king over Israel.

  • Every Sunday, the pastor reads a passage from II Samuel during the service.

  • Have you read II Samuel recently?

  • The story of King David and Bathsheba is found in II Samuel.

  • Every Sunday, the pastor reads a passage from II Samuel during the service.

  • Many scholars study II Samuel to understand the history of Israel's monarchy.

Synonyms

2 Samuel
vsII Samuel
2 7.7

The second book of the Bible that tells about the time Saul and David were kings of Israel

has identical meaning but uses Roman numerals

Surface Forms

II Samuel main

Morphology

II + Samuel

The label 'II Samuel' is compositionally built from 'II' (the Roman numeral two) plus the proper name 'Samuel', which directly signals the second of two books named Samuel. This numbering convention for sequels/volumes is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the numeral and the name can infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The book II Samuel is called that because the Roman number II shows it is the 'second' book connected to the prophet Samuel; early readers split a long history into two parts. So II Samuel today simply means the second book that tells the stories of Saul and David.