- Theology and Identity
- Season 1
- Episode 7
- Airdate: 2 Feb 2024
- Please note this is a script, and not a transcript. There may be slight differences between this text and the actual broadcast.
- All Bible quotations taken from the English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016)
Audio Links:
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I'm doctor David Clarke and I want to thank you for tuning into this podcast theology and identity. This is my 7th episode, and or the best couple of months I've been learning a lot about how this process of podcasting works. Overall I've had a good response to this programme and I plan to keep it going. My kids tell me that I need to be more conversational. They've even suggested that perhaps I should bring my wife into the studio and pretend that I'm talking to her. But I really don't want to put her through that. So for my part I will work on trying not to sound too scripted or monotone.
Another thing I've learned is that listeners are attracted to a catchy or perhaps even controversial sounding title. Now of course I can't always deliver on this, because I need to be true to the content of the episode. And this is not always controversial or shocking. But I when I can – I’ll certainly try to put an intriguing twist on the episode title.
So the the title of this episode is a question: Is one of the Bible’s greatest promises being missed in translation? And of course, I believe that in part, it is. There is a very significant promise found in the Old Testament that was given to king David. The Hebrew text around this promise makes it very clear that this is one of the most important words ever spoken by God to a human being. But unfortunately, our English translations fail to capture this important dynamic.
Now before we get too far into this, I will alert you all that this promise has nothing to do with gaining wealth, or finding the stone tablets with the 10 commandments. Its not that kind of promise. This promise has more to do with understanding God’s purposes in history. This is to say, that if you can interpret the meaning of this promise correctly, you’ll have a much clearer picture of what the Bible presents as God’s plan for humanity.
So our aim in this episode is to look at the texts where the promise is found, place it within its historical context, to do some light exegetical work, and then unpack the fullness of what this passage is really saying.
The key passage s 2 Samuel ch 7. The promise has to do with king David and his descendants. But before we can dig into what this promise is saying, and how certain elements of this promise are being lost in translation, we need to do some background work.
So let’s go to the beginning of 2 Sameul. The historical background is that David is on the rise. The failed reign of king saul has come to an end, after Saul and his son were slain on mount gilboa. David was initially crowned as king over the tribe of Judah, where he ruled for seven years from Hebron. The other tribes of Israel were ruled by saul's son ish bosheth. There ensued however a civil war in Israel. Ish boseth Was killed, and David became king over all the tribes of Israel. One of David's 1st accomplishments as king was to conquer the city of Jerusalem, which at that moment was occupied by the jebusites. David conquered the city, and renamed it ir david, the city of david.
David’s next feat was to defeat the arch-enemies of Israel – the Phillistines. Having accomplished this, he turned his attention toward the city of Jerusalem. This is was an ideal location for Israel’s capital city. Being technically within the boundaries of Benjamin, but very close to the territory of Judah, Jerusalem was a place that all the tribes would perceive of as being a neutral location. All David had to do was bring the ark and the tabernacle to the city – and the 12 twelve tribes would have their capital. So this he did.
Everything was in place now for David. He had been wating 13 years for this moment. He was just 17 when Samuel had anointed him as the next king of Israel, but it wasn’t until he was 30 that he finally became king over the entire nation.
2 Sam ch 7 begins by stating how great life was for David. He was living in his, in his new capital, all of his enemies had been defeated. Life was good. But in David’s mind, there was still one thing missing. So he invited his friend the prophet Samuel in for a consultation. Here's my paraphrase of their conversation. David says to Nathan here I am living in a beautiful house in a beautiful city. We've brought the ark into the city, and the priests are offering sacrifices. But the ark of God is located inside a tent, and surrounded by mirror curtains. We need to build a beautiful permanent place for the ark and for the sacrifices. The Tabernacle needs to become a proper temple.
So Nathan says to the king God is with you and you've always had brilliant insights. I say go for it.
But that night God speaks to the prophet Nathan through a dream and says, I want you to deliver a message 2 King David. And here it is. God said, building a temple was not my idea. I've never told anyone to do this, and I've never asked anyone, why haven't you built me a permanent house? This was something that never occurred to me and I have been happy for my presence to move around inside of a tent.
Now David let's look at your life. You were just a shepherd watching your sheep and I made you a ruler over my people Israel. I've been with you through all the struggles and challenges of these past 13 years, and now I have put you in a place of security. I am going to make your name great, and you will be counted as one of the greatest men on earth. And I I'm going to establish my people Israel in this land.
Now you said that you want to build a house for me, but it's going to be the other way around. I am going to build a house for you.
Then verses 12- 16 read:
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’
So this is what God what said to David. In sum:
- You’ve told me that you want to build me a house.
- I’ve never told anyone to this, and the idea never occurred to me.
- I like this idea, and its going to happen. But your not going to be the one to do it.
- This is what will happen:
- I’m going to make your name great on the earth.
- You will have a son who will build this temple that you’ve proposed to build
- I will establish the throne of your family forever. I may discipline your offspring when they sin – but I will never cut off your house like I did to Saul.
- Your descendants shall have a sure kingdom, and they will rule on the throne of Israel forever.
So, our first question is: is this where the mistranslation happens? The answer is no. We don’t get that until the next section of this chapter. So let’s go back to the text.
Starting in 2 Sam 17, the text reads:
In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God!
And lo and behold, we come upon that phrase that is oh so difficult to translate in vs 19: David is reflecting on this amazing promise that he has received: Who am I and what is family that you have been so good to me. And if this weren’t enough, you have spoken a great promise over my descendants. And then in the height of his exuberance, he cries out O Lord God – this is instruction for mankind!’
And that’s the part that seems a little off. Is that really something to get excited about? Instruction for mankind? Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, you’ve spoken to me an instruction.
It just seems like something is missing there.
So let’s look to see if any of the other major translations capture this more effectively.
The RSV and the NIV read: Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord?[1]
The new American standard reads: and this is the custom of man, o Lord God.
Wow, that really sounds words of praise: Praise God – this is the custom of man!
They all seem to miss the point.
So let’s take a quick look at the Hebrew to see why this phrase seems so difficult to translate.
Its actually quite simple: vezot torat haadam Its 3 compound words
Vezot – and this
Torat – which is the grammatical rendering of Torah, a word we all know.
Haadam – of mankind.
So the first tricky part of this is whether this is a declaration or a question. As the Hebrew text doesn’t questions marks and periods, we don’t really know with certainty which one it is. Some translations frame it as a question, others a statement. But that’s not really the key issue.
The hard part is the word Torah. What does it mean here?
The word torah appears 221 times in the OT, and it’s most often translated as law or laws, and then less frequently as commandments or instructions. So what we’re finding in most of our English translations is that the translators have been very conservative about not venturing too far from these ideas. The problem is, that David is using the word Torah in a more nuanced way that unfortunately is getting lost in our translations. And thus, were left this very wooden and uncompelling rendition of his exclamation.
There’s a dimension of this word Torah that goes beyond simple laws or rules. In a more nuanced fashion, the word Torah expresses the idea of a way or a path. For example in Ps 25:12 it says that YHWH instructs mankind in the torah or path he should choose.
In Ps 27:11 David says ‘teach me your way, (your torah) or Lord and lead me on a level path.
In ps 86 11 he says ‘teach me your way, your torah, so that I may walk in your truth’
In this sense, torah is not just about God’s commandments. Its about understanding God’s character. Who he is and how he works.
David doesn’t just want to know God’s rules. He wants to know God as a person, as a friend. And when he knows God in this intimate fashion, he will be able to discern how God operates, how he functions in his relationship with humanity.
David’s exclamation of excitement in 2 Sam 7: 19 is not about some new understanding of God’s commandments or instructions. Rather shouts out in excitement because he has just received insight into the way God deals with humanity.
Vezot torat ha adam is not about praising God for his laws. Its about praising God for the beautiful and merciful ways that God deals with humanity.
In this moment, David realises that his family has been grafted into the promise that God made to Abrham.
God had told Abraham –
David now realises that he is the next link in that chain. It is now through him that God's purposes for the human race will be accomplished. David's family will carry on the promise that was made to Abraham. Through David’s seed will come blessing to all the nations of the earth.
So by linking the promise that he had received with the promise that had been given to Abraham, David realises that he and his family are now part of God’s overarching promise for the human race. Through the seed of Abraham, which is now carried on in the family of David, - all the of the nations of the earth will receive blessing and salvation.
This isn’t just God’s purpose for David and his descendants. It’s God’s purpose for all of humanity.
And this isn’t just about a moment in history or even a series of generations. This is something that will affect humanity forever.
A plan for all of humanity that endures forever.
Now we understand why David was so excited.
So can we capture this in a translation? Probably not, but I think the best way to translate
Vezot torat haadam might be something like: Lord God – this is your master plan and purpose for all of humanity forever!
And that is exciting.
So let’s reflect on how all this ties in with the theme of our podcast: theology and identity.
The resounding message of this story is that David is the kind of person that YHWH the God of Israel likes to honour. David is a man to whom God can reveal his deepest secrets and purposes, and who he can use to bring this about.
As we read through the story of David, we realise that he had a lot of character flaws. But in spite of these God loved David deeply and blessed him in amazing ways.
Over the past few episodes, we’ve had a glimpse into the character of David. We’ve seen that his motivation for serving YHWH wasn’t about what he could get from his God, rather it was about what he could give. We’ve seen that he was patient with the promises that God had given him. He waited 13 years to become king, and during this long season of testing and trial, he never tried to force God’s hand. He never tried to move things himself.
But this doesn’t mean that David wasn’t a man of initiative. He had ideas of his own that he presented to God, and some of these even seemed to take YHWH by surprise. David is not just a servant who waits for instructions on what he should do. He comes with own ideas on he can honour God and do things that will please him. In many ways, David sees his relationship with God as partnership, and YHWH certainly reciprocates.
This is the kind of relationship with YHWH that the Hebrew Scriptures are setting up as a model. It’s a challenge to know YHWH not just as a master, but as a friend and a partner. It was because David had chosen to relate to God in this way that God honoured him with such a central role in the unfolding of his plans for humanity.
And with that thought we will bring this episode to a close.
In our next episode we will look at life of David’s son Solomon, and we will ask ourselves the question: is the son of whom YWHH had spoken?
[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), 2 Sa 7:19.