2nd Samuel Chapter 7 verse 23 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 23. - And what one nation, etc.? The translation should be, And who is like thy people, like Israel, the one nation upon earth which God went to redeem for himself to be his people, and to make for him a name, etc.? Israel both was and remains to this day a nation unique in its history, both in those early dealings of God with it, and also in its later history and its marvellous preservation unto this day. It is remarkable that in this place the word for "God," Elohim, is followed by a verb plural, the almost invariable rule in Hebrew being that, though Elohim is itself plural, it takes a verb singular whenever it refers to the true God. In the corresponding passage (1 Chronicles 17:21) the verb is in the singular. No adequate reason has been given for this deviation, but probably the usage in these early times was not so strict as it became subsequently. It is the influence of writing, and of the eye becoming conversant with writing, that makes men correct in their use of language and in the spelling of words. In the Syriac Church, God the Word and God the Holy Ghost were at first spoken of in the feminine gender, because "Word" and "Spirit" are both feminine nouns; but grammar soon gave way to soundness of thought and feeling. So probably in colloquial language Elohim was often used with a verb plural, but correct thinking forbade and overruled grammar. We may regard this, then, as one of the few passages in which the colloquial usage has escaped correction, and attach no further importance to it. For you. "You" is plural, and refers to the people. The Vulgate has "for them," which is in accordance with the greater exactness of modern grammar. But sudden changes of person are very common in Hebrew, which follows the rules of thought rather than of written composition; and so David speaks of Israel as you, because they seemed to him to be present. We must note, however, that in the words that follow, for thy land, and thy people, the pronoun is singular, and refers to God. From the nations and their gods. Both the Authorized Version and the Revised Version, by inserting "from," which is not in the Hebrew, take "nations" as in apposition with "Egypt;" but a moment's consideration shows that this is untenable, as "nations" is plural. But the whole verse is so full of grammatical difficulties as to make it extremely probable that the text is corrupt, and that we ought to supply the verb "to drive out," which is actually read in 1 Chronicles 17:21, or even to substitute it in the place of "for thy land," which is omitted in the parallel passage. The nations which God drove out had nothing to do with Egypt, but were the seven dominant tribes of Canaan; and the bestowal upon Israel of their territories was as essential a part of Jehovah's dealings with his people as the Exodus itself. Thus the reading will be, To drive out before thy people, whom thou purchasedst for thee from Egypt, nations and their gods.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(23) Whom God went to redeem.--The word here used for God in this its usual plural form is always construed with a singular verb when it refers to the true God. Here the verb is plural, because the thought is, "What nation is there whom its gods went to redeem?"For you.--These words, which can only refer to Israel, seem strange in a prayer to God. They are omitted by the LXX., and changed into for them by the Vulg. If they are retained as they are, it must be understood that David for the moment turns in thought to the people, instead of to God whom he is immediately addressing.For thy land.--The LXX. and the parallel passage (1Chronicles 17:21), instead of this have, "by driving out." If the text here may be corrected in this way, there will be no occasion for inserting from before the nations, which is not in the Hebrew. This part of the verse will then read, to do great things and terrible, by driving out before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, nations and their gods. The phrase, "great things and terrible," in reference to the Exodus, is taken from Deuteronomy 10:21. The whole of this part of the prayer is evidently founded upon Deuteronomy 4:7; Deuteronomy 4:32-34.