II Samuel 7

שמואל ב׳ פרק ז׳

Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: II Samuel | Chapter: 7 of 24 | Day: 83 of 742

Date: May 5, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

II Samuel 7 stands as one of the most theologically consequential chapters in all of Tanakh. Often called the Davidic Covenant (ברית דוד), the chapter pivots Israelite history toward a new horizon: the promise of an eternal dynasty rooted not in conditional obedience alone but in divine chesed (חסד) that will never depart. The chapter opens with David at rest. He is settled in his palace of cedar (בית ארזים), and the Lord has given him respite from his enemies on every side. Rashi, citing the parallel in Devarim 12:10, hears David reasoning in this very moment: the Torah’s condition for centralized worship has been fulfilled — “He will give you safety from all your enemies” — and therefore “the place that the Lord will choose” must now be sought out. David’s desire to build a sanctuary is thus not mere royal ambition but a measured halakhic response to a Deuteronomic mandate. Radak adds that David has in mind not only the Ark but the entire mishkan apparatus, since altar, vessels, and tent were all still scattered between Jerusalem and Givon.

The chapter’s literary architecture turns on a single Hebrew word: בית (bayit), “house.” David, dwelling in his bayit of cedar, wishes to build a bayit for the Ark. God’s response inverts the proposition with stunning theological force: it is not David who will build a house for God, but God who will build a house — a dynasty — for David. This pun is not ornamental; it carries the entire weight of the prophecy. Nathan, who in verse 3 had spontaneously approved David’s plan with the words “all that is in your heart, go and do, for the Lord is with you,” is corrected that very night by the divine word. Rashi preserves the striking midrashic explanation for the urgency of the nighttime revelation: David is a quick man, a man of vows, and might already be hiring workers or swearing oaths to abstain from food and sleep until the Temple is built. The reversal must come immediately. Radak, more soberly, notes that even a great prophet like Nathan cannot know what has not been revealed to him — just as Shmuel himself misjudged Eliav as the future king, so Nathan misjudged the moment.

The prophecy itself, delivered in verses 5-16, is structured as a chiastic meditation on continuity. God recalls that He has dwelt in a tent since the Exodus and never asked any tribal leader for a cedar house. He recalls taking David from the sheepfold and cutting off his enemies. Then comes the great pivot in verse 11: “the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.” David’s seed, raised up after him, will build the Bayit; God will be a father (אב) to him and he will be a son; iniquity will bring chastisement “with the rod of men” but chesed will never be removed as it was removed from Saul; and the throne (כסאך) will be established forever (עד עולם). The prohibition on David’s building is not punishment alone — David, as a man of war and bloodshed, is unsuited to inaugurate the place of peace, while his son, whose very name Shlomo evokes shalom, will be the proper builder. This division of labor between father and son — David assembling the materials, Solomon assembling the structure — becomes the template for all subsequent rabbinic thinking about the relationship between preparation and consummation.

David’s response in verses 18-29 is one of the most extraordinary prayers in Tanakh. He goes in and “sits before the Lord” (וישב לפני ה׳) — a posture the Talmud (Moed Katan 16b) finds so unusual that it concludes that David alone, of all human beings, was permitted to sit in the divine presence. The prayer is built around the question מי אנכי, “who am I,” and stretches outward to encompass the uniqueness of Israel as the one nation God redeemed for Himself, “to make Him a name” (לעשות לו שם). Theological humility is here fused with covenantal appeal: David, having received the promise unilaterally, asks that God now confirm it (וקיים) and bless His servant’s house forever. The repeated use of “your servant” (עבדך) — at least ten times in the prayer — frames David’s response as the model of how a human being receives unmerited divine grace: not by minimizing the gift but by amplifying the giver.

This chapter is the seedbed of biblical messianism. Every later prophetic vision of a “shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Yeshayahu 11), every Davidic psalm anticipating an eternal throne (Tehillim 89, 132), every teaching of chazal about מלך המשיח being descended from בית דוד, draws its authority from this prophecy. The phrase “Son of David” (בן דוד) — which becomes shorthand for the Messiah throughout rabbinic literature — is rooted in verse 14’s “I will be to him a father, and he will be to Me a son.” The parallel in I Chronicles 17 is nearly identical but, as Radak and others note, slightly softens certain phrases (substituting “I will not remove My chesed” for the Samuel version’s reference to chastisement), suggesting that the Chronicler is writing for a post-exilic audience reading the covenant as still operative even in the absence of an enthroned king. The prophecy thus does double duty: it grounds the historical Solomonic Temple in divine sanction, and it projects forward, beyond any one Temple or any one king, toward an eschatological fulfillment in which the throne of David is established forever.

פרק ז׳ · Chapter 7

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֕י כִּֽי־יָשַׁ֥ב הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ בְּבֵית֑וֹ וַיהֹוָ֛ה הֵנִיחַֽ־ל֥וֹ מִסָּבִ֖יב מִכׇּל־אֹיְבָֽיו׃

English:

aThis chapter is found, with variations, also in 1 Chron. 17. When the king was settled in his palace and GOD had granted him safety from all the enemies around him,

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ אֶל־נָתָ֣ן הַנָּבִ֔יא רְאֵ֣ה נָ֔א אָנֹכִ֥י יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּבֵ֣ית אֲרָזִ֑ים וַֽאֲרוֹן֙ הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים יֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּת֥וֹךְ הַיְרִיעָֽה׃

English:

the king said to the prophet Nathan: “Here I am dwelling in a house of cedar, while the Ark of GOD abides in a tent!”

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר נָתָן֙ אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּֽלְבָבְךָ֖ לֵ֣ךְ עֲשֵׂ֑ה כִּ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה עִמָּֽךְ׃

English:

Nathan said to the king, “Go and do whatever you have in mind, for GOD is with you.”

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֖י בַּלַּ֣יְלָה הַה֑וּא {ס}        וַֽיְהִי֙ דְּבַר־יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־נָתָ֖ן לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

But that same night the word of GOD came to Nathan:

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

לֵ֤ךְ וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙ אֶל־עַבְדִּ֣י אֶל־דָּוִ֔ד {ס}        כֹּ֖ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה הַאַתָּ֛ה תִּבְנֶה־לִּ֥י בַ֖יִת לְשִׁבְתִּֽי׃

English:

“Go and say to My servant David: Thus said GOD: Are you the one to build a house for Me to dwell in?

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יָשַׁ֙בְתִּי֙ בְּבַ֔יִת לְ֠מִיּ֠וֹם הַעֲלֹתִ֞י אֶת־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם וְעַ֖ד הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וָאֶֽהְיֶה֙ מִתְהַלֵּ֔ךְ בְּאֹ֖הֶל וּבְמִשְׁכָּֽן׃

English:

From the day that I brought the people of Israel out of Egypt to this day I have not dwelt in a house, but have moved about in Tent and Tabernacle.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

בְּכֹ֥ל אֲשֶֽׁר־הִתְהַלַּ֘כְתִּי֮ בְּכׇל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ הֲדָבָ֣ר דִּבַּ֗רְתִּי אֶת־אַחַד֙ שִׁבְטֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּ֗יתִי לִרְע֛וֹת אֶת־עַמִּ֥י אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר לָ֛מָּה לֹֽא־בְנִיתֶ֥ם לִ֖י בֵּ֥ית אֲרָזִֽים׃

English:

As I moved about wherever the Israelites went, did I ever reproach any of the tribal leadersbleaders Understanding shibṭe as “scepters”; so Kimhi. 1 Chron. 17.6 reads “chieftains”; cf. below, v. 11. whom I appointed to care for My people Israel: Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וְ֠עַתָּ֠ה כֹּה־תֹאמַ֞ר לְעַבְדִּ֣י לְדָוִ֗ד כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת אֲנִ֤י לְקַחְתִּ֙יךָ֙ מִן־הַנָּוֶ֔ה מֵאַחַ֖ר הַצֹּ֑אן לִֽהְי֣וֹת נָגִ֔יד עַל־עַמִּ֖י עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

English:

“Further, say thus to My servant David: Thus said GOD of Hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be ruler of My people Israel,

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וָאֶהְיֶ֣ה עִמְּךָ֗ בְּכֹל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הָלַ֔כְתָּ וָאַכְרִ֥תָה אֶת־כׇּל־אֹיְבֶ֖יךָ מִפָּנֶ֑יךָ וְעָשִׂ֤תִֽי־לְךָ֙ שֵׁ֣ם גָּד֔וֹל כְּשֵׁ֥ם הַגְּדֹלִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּאָֽרֶץ׃

English:

and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut down all your enemies before you. Moreover, I will give you great renown like that of the greatest men on earth.

פסוק י״ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וְשַׂמְתִּ֣י מָ֠ק֠וֹם לְעַמִּ֨י לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֤ל וּנְטַעְתִּיו֙ וְשָׁכַ֣ן תַּחְתָּ֔יו וְלֹ֥א יִרְגַּ֖ז ע֑וֹד וְלֹֽא־יֹסִ֤יפוּ בְנֵֽי־עַוְלָה֙ לְעַנּוֹת֔וֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר בָּרִאשׁוֹנָֽה׃

English:

I will establish a home for My people Israel and will plant them firm, so that they shall dwell secure and shall tremble no more. Iniquitous people shall not oppress them anymore as in the past,

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וּלְמִן־הַיּ֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוִּ֤יתִי שֹֽׁפְטִים֙ עַל־עַמִּ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַהֲנִיחֹ֥תִי לְךָ֖ מִכׇּל־אֹיְבֶ֑יךָ וְהִגִּ֤יד לְךָ֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה כִּי־בַ֖יִת יַעֲשֶׂה־לְּךָ֥ יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

ever since I appointed chieftains over My people Israel. I will give you safety from all your enemies.”GOD declares to you: GOD will establish a housechouse I.e., a dynasty; play on “house” (i.e., temple) in v. 5. for you—

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

כִּ֣י ׀ יִמְלְא֣וּ יָמֶ֗יךָ וְשָֽׁכַבְתָּ֙ אֶת־אֲבֹתֶ֔יךָ וַהֲקִימֹתִ֤י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֵצֵ֖א מִמֵּעֶ֑יךָ וַהֲכִינֹתִ֖י אֶת־מַמְלַכְתּֽוֹ׃

English:

When your days are done and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own issue, and I will establish his kingship.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

ה֥וּא יִבְנֶה־בַּ֖יִת לִשְׁמִ֑י וְכֹנַנְתִּ֛י אֶת־כִּסֵּ֥א מַמְלַכְתּ֖וֹ עַד־עוֹלָֽם׃

English:

He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish his royal throne forever.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

אֲנִי֙ אֶֽהְיֶה־לּ֣וֹ לְאָ֔ב וְה֖וּא יִֽהְיֶה־לִּ֣י לְבֵ֑ן אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּהַ֣עֲוֺת֔וֹ וְהֹֽכַחְתִּיו֙ בְּשֵׁ֣בֶט אֲנָשִׁ֔ים וּבְנִגְעֵ֖י בְּנֵ֥י אָדָֽם׃

English:

I will be a father to him,dI will be a father to him I.e., I will provide protection and guidance, while expecting loyalty in return. And he shall be a son to Me.When he does wrong,I will chastise himWith the rod of mortalsAnd the blows of humankind.eWith the rod of mortals / And the blows of humankind I.e., as a human father chastises a wayward son. Or “With the scepter of [hostile] parties and the afflictions of mortals,” i.e., respectively, foreign adversaries and disease.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וְחַסְדִּ֖י לֹא־יָס֣וּר מִמֶּ֑נּוּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר הֲסִרֹ֙תִי֙ מֵעִ֣ם שָׁא֔וּל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֲסִרֹ֖תִי מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ׃

English:

“But I will never withdraw My favor from him as I withdrew it from Saul, whom I removed to make room for you.fto make room for you Lit. “from before you.”

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וְנֶאְמַ֨ן בֵּיתְךָ֧ וּמַֽמְלַכְתְּךָ֛ עַד־עוֹלָ֖ם לְפָנֶ֑יךָ כִּֽסְאֲךָ֔ יִהְיֶ֥ה נָכ֖וֹן עַד־עוֹלָֽם׃

English:

Your house and your kingship shall ever be secure before you;gbefore you Septuagint reads “before Me,” i.e., “by My favor.” your throne shall be established forever.”

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

כְּכֹל֙ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וּכְכֹ֖ל הַחִזָּי֣וֹן הַזֶּ֑ה כֵּ֛ן דִּבֶּ֥ר נָתָ֖ן אֶל־דָּוִֽד׃ {פ}

English:

Nathan spoke to David in accordance with all these words and all this prophecy.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וַיָּבֹא֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ דָּוִ֔ד וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב לִפְנֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר מִ֣י אָנֹכִ֞י אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱהֹוִה֙ וּמִ֣י בֵיתִ֔י כִּ֥י הֲבִאֹתַ֖נִי עַד־הֲלֹֽם׃

English:

Then King David came and sat before GOD, and he said, “What am I, O Sovereign GOD, and what is my family, that You have brought me thus far?

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וַתִּקְטַן֩ ע֨וֹד זֹ֤את בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהֹוִ֔ה וַתְּדַבֵּ֛ר גַּ֥ם אֶל־בֵּֽית־עַבְדְּךָ֖ לְמֵרָח֑וֹק וְזֹ֛את תּוֹרַ֥ת הָאָדָ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֥י יֱהֹוִֽה׃

English:

Yet even this, O Sovereign GOD, has seemed too little to You; for You have spoken of Your servant’s house also for the future. May that be the law for the people,hMay that be the law for the people Meaning of Heb. uncertain. O Sovereign GOD.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וּמַה־יּוֹסִ֥יף דָּוִ֛ד ע֖וֹד לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלֶ֑יךָ וְאַתָּ֛ה יָדַ֥עְתָּ אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֖ אֲדֹנָ֥י יֱהֹוִֽה׃

English:

What more can David say to You? You know Your servant, O Sovereign GOD.

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

בַּעֲב֤וּר דְּבָֽרְךָ֙ וּֽכְלִבְּךָ֔ עָשִׂ֕יתָ אֵ֥ת כׇּל־הַגְּדוּלָּ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את לְהוֹדִ֖יעַ אֶת־עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃

English:

For Your word’s sake and of Your own accordiFor Your word’s sake … accord Meaning of Heb. uncertain. You have wrought this great thing, and made it known to Your servant.

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

עַל־כֵּ֥ן גָּדַ֖לְתָּ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֑ים כִּֽי־אֵ֣ין כָּמ֗וֹךָ וְאֵ֤ין אֱלֹהִים֙ זוּלָתֶ֔ךָ בְּכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־שָׁמַ֖עְנוּ בְּאׇזְנֵֽינוּ׃

English:

You are great indeed, O Sovereign GOD! There is none like You and there is no other God but You, as we have always heard.

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

וּמִ֤י כְעַמְּךָ֙ כְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל גּ֥וֹי אֶחָ֖ד בָּאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הָלְכֽוּ־אֱ֠לֹהִ֠ים לִפְדּֽוֹת־ל֨וֹ לְעָ֜ם וְלָשׂ֧וּם ל֣וֹ שֵׁ֗ם וְלַעֲשׂ֨וֹת לָכֶ֜ם הַגְּדוּלָּ֤ה וְנֹֽרָאוֹת֙ לְאַרְצֶ֔ךָ מִפְּנֵ֣י עַמְּךָ֗ אֲשֶׁ֨ר פָּדִ֤יתָ לְּךָ֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם גּוֹיִ֖ם וֵאלֹהָֽיו׃

English:

And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth, whom God went and redeemed as a covenanted people, thus winning renown and doing great and marvelous deeds for themjthem Heb. “you,” apparently denoting Israel. [and] for Your land—[driving out]k[driving out] So 1 Chron. 17.21. nations and their gods before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt.

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

וַתְּכ֣וֹנֵֽן לְ֠ךָ֠ אֶת־עַמְּךָ֨ יִשְׂרָאֵ֧ל ׀ לְךָ֛ לְעָ֖ם עַד־עוֹלָ֑ם וְאַתָּ֣ה יְהֹוָ֔ה הָיִ֥יתָ לָהֶ֖ם לֵאלֹהִֽים׃ {ס}        

English:

You have established Your people Israel as Your very own people forever; and You, O ETERNAL One, have become their God.

פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

וְעַתָּה֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים הַדָּבָ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבַּ֤רְתָּ עַֽל־עַבְדְּךָ֙ וְעַל־בֵּית֔וֹ הָקֵ֖ם עַד־עוֹלָ֑ם וַעֲשֵׂ֖ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּֽרְתָּ׃

English:

“And now, O ETERNAL God, fulfill Your promise to Your servant and his house forever; and do as You have promised.

פסוק כ״ו · Verse 26

Hebrew:

וְיִגְדַּ֨ל שִׁמְךָ֤ עַד־עוֹלָם֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת אֱלֹהִ֖ים עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וּבֵית֙ עַבְדְּךָ֣ דָוִ֔ד יִהְיֶ֥ה נָכ֖וֹן לְפָנֶֽיךָ׃

English:

And may Your name be glorified forever, in that men will say, ‘GOD of Hosts is God over Israel’; and may the house of Your servant David be established before You.

פסוק כ״ז · Verse 27

Hebrew:

כִּֽי־אַתָּה֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה צְבָא֜וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל גָּלִ֜יתָה אֶת־אֹ֤זֶן עַבְדְּךָ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר בַּ֖יִת אֶבְנֶה־לָּ֑ךְ עַל־כֵּ֗ן מָצָ֤א עַבְדְּךָ֙ אֶת־לִבּ֔וֹ לְהִתְפַּלֵּ֣ל אֵלֶ֔יךָ אֶת־הַתְּפִלָּ֖ה הַזֹּֽאת׃

English:

Because You, O GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed to Your servant that You will build a house for him, Your servant has ventured to offer this prayer to You.

פסוק כ״ח · Verse 28

Hebrew:

וְעַתָּ֣ה ׀ אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהֹוִ֗ה אַתָּה־הוּא֙ הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים וּדְבָרֶ֖יךָ יִהְי֣וּ אֱמֶ֑ת וַתְּדַבֵּר֙ אֶֽל־עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־הַטּוֹבָ֖ה הַזֹּֽאת׃

English:

And now, O Sovereign GOD, You are God and Your words will surely come true, and You have made this gracious promise to Your servant.

פסוק כ״ט · Verse 29

Hebrew:

וְעַתָּ֗ה הוֹאֵל֙ וּבָרֵךְ֙ אֶת־בֵּ֣ית עַבְדְּךָ֔ לִֽהְי֥וֹת לְעוֹלָ֖ם לְפָנֶ֑יךָ כִּֽי־אַתָּ֞ה אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱהֹוִה֙ דִּבַּ֔רְתָּ וּמִבִּרְכָ֣תְךָ֔ יְבֹרַ֥ךְ בֵּֽית־עַבְדְּךָ֖ לְעוֹלָֽם׃ {פ}

English:

Be pleased, therefore, to bless Your servant’s house, that it abide before You forever; for You, O Sovereign GOD, have spoken. May Your servant’s house be blessed forever by Your blessing.”

Navigation

← II Samuel 6 | II Samuel 8 →

Back to II Samuel | Back to Nach Yomi