Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 85 No. 2, 2015.
Review article
Nathan’s Prophecy to David. The Rise of the Monarchy and the Idealized Figure of David (2 Sam 7)
Božo Odobašić
orcid.org/0000-0002-0420-0849
; Catholic Theological Faculty in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosna and Herzegovina
Abstract
David’s role in history is established. After the Babylonian exile, priestly descendants of Zadok and Nathan’s successors depicted David as the ideal of Deuteronomist history, as explained in the First and Second Book of Kings and in the Chronicles. In this sense, 2 Sam 7 is not strictly a messianic text which focuses on the arrival of an individual person who would save Israel; rather it stresses the eschatological aspect of the permanence of the dynasty, reflecting the Jewish concept of messiahship which is not limited to one person but which includes God’s blessing meant for the whole of Israel in messianic time (see Ps 72). Nathan’s prophecy does not present what would constitute this messiahship but establishes the foundation for the durability of David’s dynasty and the circumstances within which will be created the conditions for the implementation of Yahweh’s promise through David’s descendant. St. Luke in Acts 13,22-23 keeps in mind these messianic promises when he writes: »Then he removed him (Saul) and raised up David as their king; of him he testified, ‛I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish’. From thisman’s descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a saviour, Jesus.« According to St. Luke, the idealized figure of David has been realized in Jesus, who is the new David.
Keywords
King David; Nathan’s prophecy; bêt/bājit – home/temple; zera‛ – seed; descendant; posterity; my servant David – ‛abdî Dāvid; divine affiliation; messiahship; idealized David
Hrčak ID:
141162
URI
Publication date:
10.7.2015.
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