2 Samuel 7-8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 7
The Oracle of Nathan. 1 (A)After the king had taken up residence in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from his enemies on every side,(B) 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent!”(C) 3 Nathan answered the king, “Whatever is in your heart, go and do, for the Lord is with you.”(D) 4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell David my servant, Thus says the Lord: Is it you who would build me a house to dwell in?(E) 6 I have never dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up from Egypt to this day, but I have been going about in a tent or a tabernacle. 7 As long as I have wandered about among the Israelites, did I ever say a word to any of the judges whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?
8 Now then, speak thus to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts:[a] I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to become ruler over my people Israel.(F) 9 I was with you wherever you went, and I cut down all your enemies before you. And I will make your name like that of the greatest on earth.(G) 10 I will assign a place for my people Israel and I will plant them in it to dwell there; they will never again be disturbed, nor shall the wicked ever again oppress them, as they did at the beginning, 11 and from the day when I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you:(H) 12 (I)when your days have been completed and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, sprung from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He it is[b] who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. If he does wrong, I will reprove him with a human rod and with human punishments;(J) 15 but I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from Saul who was before you.(K) 16 Your house and your kingdom are firm forever before me; your throne shall be firmly established forever.[c](L) 17 In accordance with all these words and this whole vision Nathan spoke to David.
David’s Thanksgiving. 18 Then King David went in and sat in the Lord’s presence and said, “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house, that you should have brought me so far?(M) 19 And yet even this is too little in your sight, Lord God! For you have made a promise regarding your servant’s house reaching into the future, and giving guidance to the people, Lord God! 20 What more can David say to you? You know[d] your servant, Lord God! 21 For your servant’s sake and as you have had at heart, you have brought about this whole magnificent disclosure to your servant. 22 Therefore, great are you, Lord God! There is no one like you, no God but you, as we have always heard.(N) 23 What other nation on earth is there like your people Israel? What god has ever led a nation, redeeming it as his people and making a name by great and awesome deeds, as you drove out the nations and their gods before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt?(O) 24 (P)You have established for yourself your people Israel as your people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God. 25 Now, Lord God, confirm the promise that you have spoken concerning your servant and his house forever. Bring about what you have promised 26 so that your name may be forever great. People will say: ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ when the house of your servant David is established in your presence. 27 Because you, Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed to your servant, ‘I will build you a house,’ your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer before you. 28 Since you, Lord God, are truly God and your words are truth and you have made this generous promise to your servant,(Q) 29 do, then, bless the house of your servant, that it may be in your presence forever—since you, Lord God, have promised, and by your blessing the house of your servant shall be blessed forever.”
Chapter 8
Summary of David’s Wars. 1 (R)After this, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took…[e] from the Philistines. 2 He also defeated Moab and measured them with a line. Making them lie down on the ground, he measured two lengths of line for death, and a full length for life.[f] Thus the Moabites became subject to David, paying tribute. 3 (S)David then defeated Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to re-establish his dominion at the River.(T) 4 David captured from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left one hundred for his chariots.(U) 5 The Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, but David also defeated twenty-two thousand of them in Aram. 6 David then placed garrisons in the Damascus region of Aram, and the Arameans became David’s subjects, paying tribute. The Lord brought David victory in all his undertakings. 7 David took the golden shields that were carried by Hadadezer’s attendants and brought them to Jerusalem. (These Shishak, king of Egypt, took away when he came to Jerusalem in the days of Rehoboam, son of Solomon.) 8 From Tebah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David removed a very large quantity of bronze. 9 When Toi, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, 10 Toi sent his son Hadoram to wish King David well and to congratulate him on having waged a victorious war against Hadadezer; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. Hadoram also brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze. 11 These also King David consecrated to the Lord along with the silver and gold that he had taken for this purpose from all the nations he had subdued: 12 from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 On his return,[g] David made a name for himself by defeating eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.(V) 14 He set up garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. Thus the Lord brought David victory in all his undertakings.
David’s Officials. 15 (W)David was king over all Israel; he dispensed justice and right to all his people. 16 Joab, son of Zeruiah, was in command of the army. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was chancellor. 17 Zadok, son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, were priests.[h] Shavsha was scribe. 18 Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests.(X)
Notas al pie
- 7:8–16 The message Nathan delivers to David, called the Dynastic Oracle, is prompted by David’s intention to build a house (i.e., a temple) for the Lord, like David’s own house (i.e., palace) of cedar. David is told, in effect, not to bother building a house for the Lord; rather, the Lord will make a house for him—a dynasty, the House of David. Not only will he have descendants (v. 12) who will sit upon the throne of Israel (v. 13), their rule will last forever (vv. 13, 16); and even if they transgress the Lord’s commands, the line of David will never be removed from kingship as Saul was (cf. 1 Sm 13; 15). The oracle establishes the Davidic king as standing in relationship to the Lord as a son to a father (v. 14; cf. Ps 2:7; 89:27). The Dynastic Oracle, with cognate texts in the Scriptures, is the basis for Jewish expectations of an anointed king (1 Sm 12:3, 5), son of David (Mt 21:9); cf. Acts 2:30; Hb 1:5.
- 7:13 He it is: Solomon, in the event.
- 7:16 The unconditional promise made here, and reflected in Ps 89:34–35, stands in contrast to the tradition in Ps 132:12, where the continuation of the line of David depends on their fidelity to the Lord; cf. also 1 Kgs 2:4; 6:12; 8:25.
- 7:20 Know: give recognition, choose, single out: cf. Gn 18:19; Ex 33:12; Am 3:2.
- 8:1 David took…: the original Hebrew seems irretrievable. The transmitted text gives “the bridle of the cubit”; 1 Chr 18:1 understood “Gath and its towns”; others implausibly read “dominion of the capital city.”
- 8:2 Two lengths…a full length for life: usually taken to mean that two-thirds of them were executed; but it could mean that two-thirds were spared, if the line was used full length in their case but doubled on itself to make “two lines” for those to be put to death. Note the contrasting good relations in 1 Sm 22:3–4.
- 8:13 On his return: possibly to Jerusalem, after the revolt of Absalom (chaps. 15–18), which this catalogue of victories would avoid mentioning. 1 Chr 18:12 attributes the defeat of the Edomites to Abishai, while the superscription of Ps 60 attributes it to Joab.
- 8:17 Zadok…Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, were priests: the names of Abiathar and Ahimelech are frequently associated with David (1 Sm 22:20; 23:6; 30:7; 2 Sm 15:24, 29, 35; 17:15; 19:12; 20:25), but they show Abiathar acting as priest, not Ahimelech: Abiathar shared the priestly office with Zadok in David’s reign and even during Solomon’s early years (1 Kgs 2:26; 4:4). Ahimelech was the name of Abiathar’s father. This verse and 1 Chr 18:16 may indicate that Abiathar had a son named Ahimelech who also acted as a priest, like his father and his namesake grandfather, in the last years of David.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.