2 Samuel 7
2 Samuel 7 is the seventh chapter of the Second Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the second part of Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter contains the account of David's reign in Jerusalem. This is within a section comprising 2 Samuel 2–8 which deals with  the period when David set up his kingdom. Text. This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 29 verses. Textual witnesses. Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q51 (4QSam; 100–50 BCE) with extant verses 6–7, 22–29. Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (originally was made in the  last few centuries BCE) include Codex Vaticanus (B; formula_1; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; formula_1; 5th century). Analysis. This chapter deals with two important issues, building a temple and succession to David's throne; an introduction to succession narratives in 2 Samuel 9–10 and 1 Kings 1–2. It is one of the most important section in the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) and has been subject to intense research. There are three scenes in this chapter: The second and third scenes are in parallel, with the first section of each scene recalling God's redemptive acts (specifically referring to  the Exodus from Egypt), and the second section, introduced with "wě‘attâ" (could be rendered as "and now" or "now therefore"; 2 Samuel 7:8, 25), signaling a consequence based on the premise in the first section. Oracles on the House for God and House of David (7:1–17). Verses 1–17 appear to be one unit, although it contains two separate oracles concerning two different issues: King David consulted Nathan, a court-prophet and king's advisor, about his intention to build a temple to house the Ark of the Covenant; similar divine consultations for building temples were found in extra-biblical parallels , such as in the Egyptian "Königsnovelle". Nathan then conveyed the first oracle of YHWH (verses 5 and 7) that David was prohibited from building a temple for YHWH in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 22:8; 28:3; 1 Kings 5:17). Nathan later support Solomon, son of David, to be king (1 Kings 1–2) and to build a Solomonic temple. The second oracle (verses 8–16) addresses a different issue, succession to David's throne, linked to the first by the same historical setting (verses 1–3) and by employing the word "bayit" ("house") in two different ways: David was not allowed to build for YHWH  a 'house' ("bayit", verses 5, 6, 13), but YHWH was going to establish for David a 'dynasty' ("bayit", verses 11, 16; thus, "house" of David). The core message of the second oracle is as follows: David had been called by God (verse 9) and protected against his enemies and made into a great name (verse 10); God would raise up his son to succeed him and would establish his kingdom (verse 12) and he would enjoy the status of God's son (verse 14). Additional elements are God's care of the people of Israel (verses 10–11), the eternity of  David's kingdom (verses 13,16) and the contrast between David and Saul (verses 14b–15). The combined theme of David's greatness and the certainty of succession can be found in between this oracle and other texts, such as Psalm 89 by Ethan the Ezrahite. In 1 Kings 5:3–4, Solomon explained that while David was given "rest" from his enemies, it was not to the higher degree of "rest" given to Solomon, with neither "adversary nor misfortune" to impede the Temple's construction, as the fulfillment of God's covenant to 'give Israel rest from its adversaries' (Deuteronomy 12:10 and 25:19 ), to 'fight Israel's battles' (Deuteronomy 3:22), and to 'bestow on them the Promised Land'. The prayer of David (7:18–29). The second half of the chapter contains David's prayer, which could be connected with bringing the ark to Jerusalem (6:1–19) rather than with the dynastic oracle in 7:1–7. In addition there were allusions to God's promise and its 'eternal' nature (verses 22, 28–29), God's redemption of his people from Egypt (verses 23–24), and several Deuteronomistic themes (verses 22b–26).