2 Samuel 7:18
in 2 Samuel 7Then King David went in, sat before the LORD, and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then David the king went in, and sat before Jehovah; and he said, Who am I, O Lord Jehovah, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far?
KJV
Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?
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This verse in 2 Samuel 7
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThen went King David in,.... Into the tabernacle where the ark was, which he had prepared for it, 2Sa 6:17, and sat before the Lord; before the ark, the symbol of his presence, and prayed, and gave thanks, as follows: from whence it appears that a sitting posture was sometimes used in prayer, of which we have other instances, Exo 17:11. It is said (y) that Pythagoras, and also Numa, ordered that worshippers should sit.
This site's exposition
Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house
on 2 Samuel 7:18-19
David's prayer opens on a question, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house”, that God has brought him this far. He says what God has done was “a small thing in Your eyes”, since God has also spoken of the future of his house.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
David, understanding this, says in the second book of Kings [Samuel] … "You did also speak of the house of your servant for a long time to come." And, further on, "And now begin and bless the house of your servant that it may endure forever," etc. At that time, David was about to beget his son through whom his lineage would be carried down to Christ; through whom, in turn, his house was to be everlasting—indeed, identified with the house of God. It was to be called the "house of David" because [it was] of David's stock and, simultaneously, the "house of God" because it was a temple to God made not of stones but of people. In this house God's people shall everlastingly dwell with their God and in their God, and God with his people and in his people, God filling his people, his people filled with their God, so that "God may be all in all"—the very same God being their prize in peace who was their strength in battle.It was with this in view that, when Nathan had said, "And the Lord said to you, that you shall build him a house," David said further on, "Because you, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed to the ear of your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house.' " This is a house which we build by living virtuously and which God builds by helping us to live virtuously, for "unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." Only, however, when this house receives its final consecration will the words God spoke by Nathan's lips come true: "And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them, and they shall dwell therein, and shall be disturbed no more: neither shall the children of iniquity afflict them any more as they did before, from the day that I appointed judges over my people Israel."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In - Into the tabernacle. Sat - He might sit for a season whilst he was meditating upon these things, and then alter his posture and betake himself to prayer.
And, in both these, there is an eye to the Messiah and his kingdom. 1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the L ORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
DAVID was overwhelmed with the mercy of God! Nathan's message was too much for him. He felt emotions in his bosom which he could not express. Like a wise man, he went at once, while under the impulse of gratitude, into the place of nearness to God.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord--Sitting was anciently an attitude for worship (Ex 17:12; As to the particular attitude David sat, most probably, upon his heels. It was the posture of the ancient Egyptians before the shrines; it is the posture of deepest respect before a superior in the East.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
DAVID was overwhelmed with the mercy of God! Nathan's message was too much for him. He felt emotions in his bosom which he could not express. Like a wise man, he went at once, while under the impulse of gratitude, into the place of nearness to God. It was not everyone who might go in and sit before the Lord as he did, but he felt he had a special call to draw near unto the Most High—and there he sat down in the posture of waiting to receive the fulfillment of what was promised, in the posture of rest—as one who had, now, all that he could desire and was pressed down under the weight of blessing. Yet the Psalmist's sitting was also a posture of worship and surely of all passages of Scripture none can be said to contain more true adoration than that which is now before us. The king sat, however, before the Lord. The mercy had all come from God and therefore to God all his praise was offered. His soul waited only upon the Lord, because his expectation was alone from Him. He was conscious of being in the sacred Presence and he sat there, feeling that by the Covenant Blessing he had been brought very near, and his spirit exulted in that nearness! Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the mercies which God has shown to us are as great as those which He manifested to His servant David! And if the Spirit of God has opened our eyes to see and understand them, we may, this morning, ardently wish to do precisely what David did.
Sat before the Lord - Sometimes, when a Hindoo seeks a favor from a superior, he sits down in his presence in silence; or if he solicits some favor of a god, as riches, children, etc., he places himself before the idol, and remains in a waiting posture, or repeats the name of the god, counting the beads in his necklace. - Ward.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Sat before the Lord - In the tent where the ark was. Standing or kneeling was the usual attitude of prayer (1Ki 8:22, 1Ki 8:54-55; but compare Exo 17:12). Modern commentators mostly take the word here in the sense of waiting, abiding, not sitting: but sat is the natural rendering. David sat down to meditate, and then rose up to pray.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹא֙ | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he sat | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אָנֹכִ֞י | ʾanokhi | [am] I | H595 → | 359 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֤י | ʾadonai | O Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| וּמִ֣י | umi | and who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| בֵיתִ֔י | veiti | [is] house my | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הֲבִיאֹתַ֖נִי | haviotani | you have brought me | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הֲלֹֽם׃ | halom | here | H1988 → |
וַיָּבֹא֙and he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וַיֵּ֖שֶׁבand he sat
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
אָנֹכִ֞י[am] I
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
אֲדֹנָ֤יO Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
וּמִ֣יand who?
umiH4310 →423 times
בֵיתִ֔י[is] house my
veitiH1004 →2046 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
הֲבִיאֹתַ֖נִיyou have brought me
haviotaniH935 →2568 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הֲלֹֽם׃here
halomH1988 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 8:4what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
it leads to
- Psalms 144:3
O LORD, what is man, that You regard him, the son of man that You think of him?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 7:17
What is man that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart upon him,
- Hebrews 2:6–9
But somewhere it is testified in these words: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
- Psalms 146:3
Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
- Luke 1:68
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.
- Psalms 144:3
Through
Exodus 3:11But Moses asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:6
“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 18:18
And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel, that I should become the son-in-law of the king?”
- Exodus 6:12
But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?”
- Jeremiah 1:6
Where this verse is studied
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1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 17.12; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1166: “Marrow and Fatness” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.