2 Samuel 7:6
in 2 Samuel 7For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
KJV
Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhereas I have not dwelt in any house,.... Fixed, stated, habitation: since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day; a space of five or six hundred years, though he might before: but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle; moving from place to place while in the wilderness, and since in the land of Canaan, first at Gilgal, then at Shiloh, afterwards at Nob, and now at Gibeon.
This site's exposition
the word of the LORD came to Nathan
on 2 Samuel 7:4-7
That same night the word of the Lord overturns Nathan's daytime answer. God has asked for no house; he has walked in a tent and a tabernacle from the wilderness to Shiloh to this day. The ark's years under curtains were never a lack David needed to fix.
This site's exposition
I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling
The Hebrew pairs a tent with a dwelling, and Barnes takes the tent as its covering of skins and the dwelling as its frame. Gill counts five or six hundred years since Egypt. Henry holds that God dwelt with Israel as surely in a tent as in a house.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), a tabernacle had served hitherto, and it might serve awhile longer. God regards not outward pomp in his service; his presence was as surely with his people when the ark was in a tent as when it was in a temple.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
A very humble prayer which David offered up to God in return to that gracious message, thankfully accepting God's promises to him, and earnestly praying for the performance of them,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Have walked - Implying the frequent moving of the tabernacle, in the times of the Judges, as opposed to a settled resting in one place. The word tent, refers especially to the outward covering of skins, etc.: the tabernacle denotes the framework of beards and bars. Observe the constant reference to the Exodus and to the details as given in the books of Moses.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan--The command was given to the prophet on the night immediately following; that is, before David could either take any measures or incur any expenses.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָשַׁ֙בְתִּי֙ | yashavti | I have dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְּבַ֔יִת | bevayit | in a house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| לְ֠מִיּוֹם | lemiyom | <to> from [the] day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַעֲלֹתִ֞י | haaloti | brought up I | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵ֤י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם | mimitzrayim | from Egypt | H4714 → | |
| וְעַ֖ד | vead | and until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיּ֣וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וָאֶֽהְיֶה֙ | vaehyeh | and I have been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִתְהַלֵּ֔ךְ | mithalekh | going about | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּאֹ֖הֶל | beohel | in a tent | H168 → | 345 times |
| וּבְמִשְׁכָּֽן׃ | uvemishkan | and in a tabernacle | H4908 → |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָשַׁ֙בְתִּי֙I have dwelt
yashavtiH3427 →1079 times
בְּבַ֔יִתin a house
bevayitH1004 →2046 times
לְ֠מִיּוֹם<to> from [the] day
lemiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַעֲלֹתִ֞יbrought up I
haalotiH5927 →890 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵ֤י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מִמִּצְרַ֔יִםfrom Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →
וְעַ֖דand until
veadH5704 →1261 times
הַיּ֣וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וָאֶֽהְיֶה֙and I have been
vaehyehH1961 →3559 times
מִתְהַלֵּ֔ךְgoing about
mithalekhH1980 →1546 times
בְּאֹ֖הֶלin a tent
beohelH168 →345 times
וּבְמִשְׁכָּֽן׃and in a tabernacle
uvemishkanH4908 →
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
Joshua 18:1Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,
it leads to
- Joshua 19:51
These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families distributed by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh before the LORD at the entrance…
- Joshua 21:2
at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said to them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities in which to live, together with pasturelands for our livestock.”
- 1 Samuel 1:3
Year after year Elkanah would go up from his city to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Hosts at Shiloh, where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the LORD.
- Jeremiah 26:6
then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.’”
- Joshua 19:51
Through
1 Kings 8:16‘Since the day I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name would be…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 16:1
Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending…
- 2 Samuel 7:4–8
But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,
- 1 Chronicles 28:4
Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me out of all my father’s house to be king over Israel forever. For He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah He…
- 1 Kings 8:29
May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays…
- 1 Samuel 16:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.