Bible Strands
2 Samuel 22:32
For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David speaks these lines within a recorded psalm of deliverance, positioned between affirmations of God's perfect way and His function as a clear path. The declaration occurs in a moment of retrospective gratitude, addressing the community of Israel through the lens of personal and corporate rescue.
The words — The preposition מִ/בַּלְעֲדֵי (mi/bal'adei) translates literally as "from/except," structuring the verse as a rhetorical exclusion of all rivals. The noun צוּר (tzur) means "rock," functioning as a concrete metaphor for unshakable stability rather than a geological reference.
The thread — The text runs parallel to 1 Samuel 2:2 and Deuteronomy 32:31, both of which use identical rhetorical structures to isolate Yahweh as the sole divine Rock. Isaiah 44:6 extends this pattern by pairing Yahweh's unique kingship with the same exclusive claim.
Why it lands — The text asks the reader to identify Yahweh as the only valid source of security by rejecting all competing foundations. It requires a concrete shift of reliance from created alternatives to the single unshakable standard.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, save our God?
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 2:2 There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.
- Deuteronomy 32:31 For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies concede.
- Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
- Isaiah 44:8 Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.”
- Jeremiah 10:6 There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.
- Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
- 2 Samuel 22:2 He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.
- Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
- Isaiah 45:21 Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me.
- Jeremiah 10:16 The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.