Category:Son of David (subject)

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Son of David is a phrase that in some Second Temple Jewish (and Christian) circles came to be used in a messianic context as a title denoting the Messiah as a descendant of King David.

Overview

The ancient Biblical tradition recorded the prophecy of Nathan to the descendants of the House of David. They will rule for ever. When the Davidic dinasty was interrupted, the Zadokite priests (and then the Maccabean priests) claimes to have inherited their prerogatives. But not everybody agreed. The Pharisees applied the prophecy of Nathan to the final Messiah at the end of times.

Christian sources show some ambiguity in labeling Jesus of the Son of David. The phrase never appears in the mouth of Jesus, and is only occasionally used by his followers. When asked whether the Messiah is the son of David, Jesus seems to dismiss the title, claiming that the messiah should be rather called the Lord of David. Only in the Infancy narrative of Matthew and Luke, the connection between Jesus and the Son of David become more prominent so much so that Bethlehem is made the birthplace of Jesus. Mark and John, however, are unaware or dismiss the connection.

The Son of David in ancient sources

Ancient Jewish sources

Book of Samuel

2 Samuel 7:4-17 -- "[4] The word of the Lord came to Nathan: [5] Go and tell my servant David: "Thus says the Lord: ... [11] The Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. [12] When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who shall come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness will not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed before you. And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever." [17] In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

[18] 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. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God! 20 And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. 22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another[e] nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out[g] before his people nations and their gods?[h] 24 And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever; and you, O Lord, became their God. 25 And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. 26 Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel’; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house’; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; 29 now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

Psalms of Solomon

Psalm 17:

23 (21) Behold, O Lord, and raise up unto them their king, the son of David,

At the time in the which Thou seest, O God,that he may reign over Israel Thy servant

24 (22) And gird him with strength, that he may shatter unrighteous rulers,

25 And that he may purge Jerusalem from nations that trample (her) down to destruction.

(23) Wisely, righteously 26 he shall thrust out sinners from (the) inheritance,

He shall destroy the pride of the sinner as a potter's vessel.

(24) With a rod of iron he shall break in pieces all their substance,

21 He shall destroy the godless nations with the word of his mouth;

(25) At his rebuke nations shall flee before him,

And he shall reprove sinners for the thoughts of their heart.

28 (26) And he shall gather together a holy people, whom he shall lead in righteousness,

And he shall judge the tribes of the people that has been sanctified by the Lord his God.

29 (21) And he shall not suffer unrighteousness to lodge any more in their midst,

Nor shall there dwell with them any man that knoweth wickedness,

30 For he shall know them, that they are all sons of their God.

(28) And he shall divide them according to their tribes upon the land,

31 And neither sojourner nor alien shall sojourn with them any more.

(29) He shall judge peoples and nations in the wisdom of his righteousness. Selah.

32 (30) And he shall have the heathen nations to serve him under his yoke;

And he shall glorify the Lord in a place to be seen of () all the earth;

33 And he shall purge Jerusalem, making it holy as of old:

34 (31) So that nations shall come from the ends of the earth to see his glory,

Bringing as gifts her sons who had fainted,

35 And to see the glory of the Lord, wherewith God hath glorified her.

(32) And he (shall be) a righteous king, taught of God, over them,

36 And there shall be no unrighteousness in his days in their midst,

For all shall be holy and their king the anointed of the Lord.

37 (33) For he shall not put his trust in horse and rider and bow,

Nor shall he multiply for himself gold and silver for war,

Nor shall he gather confidence from () a multitude () for the day of battle.

38 (34) The Lord Himself is his king, the hope of him that is mighty through (his) hope in God.

< > All nations (shall be) in fear before him,

39 (35) For he will smite the earth with the word of his mouth for ever.

40 He will bless the people of the Lord with wisdom and gladness,

41 (36) And he himself (will be) pure from sin, so that he may rule a great people.

He will rebuke rulers, and remove sinners by the might of his word;

42 (37) And (relying) upon his God, throughout his days he will not stumble;

For God will make him mighty by means of (His) holy spirit,

And wise by means of the spirit of understanding, with strength and righteousness.

43 (38) And the blessing of the Lord (will be) with him: he will be strong and stumble not;

44 (39) His hope (will be) in the Lord: who then can prevail against him

(40) (He will be) mighty in his works, and strong in the fear of God,

45 (He will be) shepherding the flock of the Lord faithfully and righteously,

And will suffer none among them to stumble in their pasture.

46 (41) He will lead them all aright,

And there will be no pride among them that any among them should be oppressed.

47 (42) This (will be) the majesty of the king of Israel whom God knoweth;

He will raise him up over the house of Israel to correct him.

48 (43) His words (shall be) more refined than costly gold, the choicest;

In the assemblies he will judge the peoples, the tribes of the sanctified.

49 His words (shall be) like the words of the holy ones in the midst of sanctified peoples.

50 Blessed be they that shall be in those days,

In that they shall see the good fortune of Israel which God shall bring to pass in the gathering together of the tribes.

51 May the Lord hasten His mercy upon Israel!

May He deliver us from the uncleanness of unholy enemies!

The Lord Himself is our king for ever and ever.

Early Christian sources

Gospel of Mark

Mark 10:47-48 -- [47] And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” [48] And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Mark 11:10 -- Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

Mark 12:35-37 -- And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? [36] David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “ ‘ The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.’ [37] David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.

Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 1:1 -- The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham... Matt.1.6 and Jesse the father of David the king.And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah... Matt.1.17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Matthew 1:20 -- But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Matt.9.27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

Matt.12.23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”

Matt.15.22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

Matt.20.30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” Matt.20.31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”

Matt.21.9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Matt.21.15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant,

Matt.22.42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” Matt.22.43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, Matt.22.45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”

Gospel of Luke

Luke.1.27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. Luke.1.32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

Luke.1.69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

Luke.2.4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

Luke.2.11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke.3.31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

Luke.18.38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Luke.18.39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Luke.20.41 But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? Luke.20.42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, “ ‘ The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, Luke.20.44 David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”

Gospel of John

John.7.42 -- Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”

Acts of Apostles

Acts.2.25 For David says concerning him, “ ‘ I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; Acts.2.29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Acts.2.34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “ ‘ The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,

Acts.13.22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’

Acts.13.34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, “ ‘ I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ Acts.13.36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption,

Acts.15.16 “ ‘ After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it,

Romans

Romans 1:3 -- ...concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh...

2 Timothy

2Tim.2.8 -- Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,

Hebrews

Heb.4.7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “ Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Heb.11.32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—

Revelation

Rev.3.7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

Rev.5.5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Rev.22.16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

The Son of David in scholarship

The Son of David in fiction

External links

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