DID YOU KNOW?

David, settled in his house of cedar, tells the prophet Nathan that the ark of God still sits in a tent. That night the Lord sends Nathan back with an answer. What is it?

The answer

The Lord will build David a house. David sets his cedar house beside the ark's tent (2 Samuel 7:2), and Nathan tells him to do what he has in mind. The word that comes that night turns it around: "the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house" (7:11). The building goes to his son (7:13), and the house God builds is a family line: "your throne shall be established forever" (7:16).

Why it’s interesting

The Hebrew word bayit means both a building and a family, and the chapter uses it both ways. Forever comes eight times in the chapter, and the note in the New Oxford Annotated Bible says scholars debate whether the Hebrew means eternity or a very long time. Centuries later the chapter fed the hope for a new king from David's line.

Scholarly consensus

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