Illustration created for this project.
Nathan
The court prophet who rebuked David with the parable of the ewe lamb and confirmed Solomon's succession.
What we know — and how we know it
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1
Life, role & deeds
ScholarlyThe court prophet who rebuked David and secured Solomon's succession is known only from the biblical record; no inscription names him. His oracle promising David an everlasting house became the seed of messianic hope.
Known from the biblical record; cf. 2 Samuel 7
Where in scripture
2 SamuelFamily
In their own words — 6 recorded sayings
“And Nathan said to the king, Go and do whatever is in your heart; for the Lord is with you.” — 2 Samuel 7:3
“And the Lord sent Nathan to David. And Nathan came to him and said, There were two men in the same town: one a man of great wealth, and the other a poor man. The man of wealth had great numbers of flocks and herds; But the poor man had only one little she-lamb, which he had got and taken care of: from its birth it had been with him like one of his children; his meat was its food, and from his cup it took its drink, resting in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now a traveller came to the house of the man of wealth, but he would not take anything from his flock or his herd to make a…” — 2 Samuel 12:1-4
“And Nathan said to David, You are that man. The Lord God of Israel says, I made you king over Israel, putting holy oil on you, and I kept you safe from the hands of Saul; I gave you your master's daughter and your master's wives for yourself, and I gave you the daughters of Israel and Judah; and if that had not been enough, I would have given you such and such things. Why then have you had no respect for the word of the Lord, doing what is evil in his eyes? You have put Uriah the Hittite to death with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife; you have put him to death with the sword…” — 2 Samuel 12:7-12
“And David said to Nathan, Great is my sin against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord has put away your sin; death will not come on you. But still, because you have had no respect for the Lord, death will certainly overtake the child who has newly come to birth.” — 2 Samuel 12:13-14
“Then Nathan said to Bath-sheba, the mother of Solomon, Has it not come to your ears that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has made himself king without the knowledge of David our lord? So now, let me make a suggestion, so that you may keep your life safe and the life of your son Solomon. Come now, go to King David and say to him, Did you not, O my lord, take an oath to me, your servant, saying, Truly Solomon your son will be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom? why then is Adonijah acting as king? And while you are still talking there with the king, see, I will come in after you and…” — 1 Kings 1:11-14
“And Nathan said, O my lord king, have you said, Adonijah is to be king after me, seated on the seat of my kingdom? Because today he has gone down and has put to death oxen and fat beasts and sheep in great numbers, and has sent for all the king's sons to come to him, with the captains of the army and Abiathar the priest; and they are feasting before him and crying, Long life to King Adonijah! But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, he has not sent for. Has this thing been done by my lord the king, without giving word to your…” — 1 Kings 1:24-27
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
In art
