Nathan-the-Prophet
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Colour coded
details of our beloved TaNaKh:
1. Torah = History & Law, 2. Nevi’im = The Prophets. 3. *Ketuvim = all other Writings.
*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical books - Psalms, Proverbs, Job,
the Megillot, or
Scrolls - Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of
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of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles I & II.
Please Note: Some alterations or (additions) have
been made relating to ‘Names’ and ‘Attributes’ of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God), having been corrected
like it once was pre the “Masoretic Text”.
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Remember the following truth from our beloved Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM IT, that ye may
keep the commandments of אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloleichem,
which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Please Note: Scriptures and verses in this study are all based on the JPS-1917 version of the Tanakh.
The history of
Many such royal prophets are merely passing through. Gad, for instance, is more an answer to a trivia question than a well-known figure. Some, however, have earned a significant place in the history of scriptural interpretation. Nathan is one such prophet.
Like all royal prophets, Nathan’s
personal story, ‘his birth’, ‘family’ and
‘death’ is of no importance. What matters is not who he is, but
what he says and to whom. Nathan has the honour of delivering two of the most
famous prophetic speeches in the history of
The first is in 2 Samuel Chapter 7, when
King David expresses his desire to build a house for אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, what would have been the first
Let us read 2 Samuel 7:16.
וְנֶאְמַן בֵּיתְךָ וּמַמְלַכְתְּךָ עַד-עוֹלָם, לְפָנֶיךָ: כִּסְאֲךָ, יִהְיֶה נָכוֹן עַד-עוֹלָם
“And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for ever before thee; thy throne shall be established for ever”.
Nathan also proclaims that David’s son
the as-yet unborn, Solomon will be the one who builds the
Nathan’s second great speech comes a few chapters later, in the wake of David sleeping with Bathsheba and having her husband ‘Uriah killed in battle’. אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, we are told, is not pleased with David’s ‘adulterous and murderous behaviour’. Nathan is sent to deliver the message. He does so in the form of the most famous parable in the Hebrew Scriptures, that of the poor man’s lamb:
יְהוָה - the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, in 2 Samuel 12:1-4.
וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהוָה אֶת-נָתָן, אֶל-דָּוִד; וַיָּבֹא אֵלָיו, וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ שְׁנֵי אֲנָשִׁים הָיוּ בְּעִיר אֶחָת, אֶחָד עָשִׁיר, וְאֶחָד רָאשׁ
לְעָשִׁיר, הָיָה צֹאן וּבָקָר-הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד
וְלָרָשׁ אֵין-כֹּל, כִּי אִם-כִּבְשָׂה אַחַת קְטַנָּה אֲשֶׁר קָנָה, וַיְחַיֶּהָ, וַתִּגְדַּל עִמּוֹ וְעִם-בָּנָיו יַחְדָּו; מִפִּתּוֹ תֹאכַל וּמִכֹּסוֹ תִשְׁתֶּה, וּבְחֵיקוֹ תִשְׁכָּב, וַתְּהִי-לוֹ, כְּבַת
וַיָּבֹא הֵלֶךְ, לְאִישׁ הֶעָשִׁיר, וַיַּחְמֹל לָקַחַת מִצֹּאנוֹ וּמִבְּקָרוֹ, לַעֲשׂוֹת לָאֹרֵחַ הַבָּא-לוֹ; וַיִּקַּח, אֶת-כִּבְשַׂת הָאִישׁ הָרָאשׁ, וַיַּעֲשֶׂהָ, לָאִישׁ הַבָּא אֵלָיו
“And יְהוָה - the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him: ‘There were two men in one city: the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and reared; and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own morsel, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him, but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him’”.
The pathos of Nathan’s story drives
David to vow vengeance against the rich man of the parable, which gives Nathan
the opportunity to deliver one of the great lines of the Tanakh: “You are
the man!” He follows this with the Divine resolution that David would
spend his days at war, that he would have his wives taken from him by a
usurper, and that the child born of this illicit tryst with Bathsheba would
die. Once that child has died, however, David and Bathsheba have another son,
this one favoured by אֱלֹהִים - Elohim. Nathan names the child Jedidiah, but he is better known by the name Bathsheba
gives him: Solomon.
Nathan’s third and final appearance in
the narrative does not entail a major speech, but does contain another
confrontation with David and another shift in the course of
In only three scriptural passages, Nathan’s words are so memorable, and his speeches so influential, that his place in scriptural history is secure. Nathan acts as a stand-in for the reader: rooting for the establishment of David’s dynasty, angry at David’s treatment of Bathsheba and Uriah, and concerned that it will be Solomon who ascends the throne. For the reader who knows how the story is supposed to go, it is Nathan who ensures that it gets there.
Nathan also serves, especially in his second appearance, as the moral voice. His outrage at David’s actions is palpable; he accuses David in a way that no one else in the story can. Indeed, throughout David’s kingship, it is perhaps only Nathan who can bend his will, as he does in each of his encounters with the king.
From the perspective of the story, then,
Nathan is essential. The observant reader may note, however, that
Nathan’s three appearances all have something else in common: They all
have to do with Solomon. Nathan first appears to predict that Solomon will be
the one to build the
We may go further: Nathan always makes sure that no one can take Solomon’s
rightful place. Nathan prevents David from building the
Though Nathan is known to us as David’s
prophet, he should perhaps better be known as Solomon’s. At the very
least, we may understand that Nathan’s prophetic mission was on
Solomon’s behalf first and foremost. This in no way lessens his status:
the successful transition from David to Solomon is at the center of the
scriptural ideas of the united monarchy, the Davidic line, and the
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