Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary

Adam Clarke Commentary

He shall build - That is, Solomon shall build my temple, not thou, because thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars. See 1 Chronicles 22:8; (note); and see also the observations at the end, 2 Samuel 7:25; (note).

The throne of his kingdom for ever - This is a reference to the government of the spiritual kingdom, the kingdom of the Messiah, agreeably to the predictions of the prophet long after, and by which this passage is illustrated: "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it, with judgment and with justice, from henceforth even For Ever." Isaiah 9:7.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

He shall build an house … - For the fulfillment of this in the person of Solomon, see 1 Kings 8:16-20. For its application to Christ, see John 1:12; Ephesians 1:20-22; 1 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 3:6; etc.; and Zechariah 6:12-13.

I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever - The words forever, emphatically twice repeated in 2 Samuel 7:16, show very distinctly that this prophecy looks beyond the succession of the kings of Judah of the house of David, and embraces the throne of Christ according to the Angel‘s interpretation given in Luke 1:31-33, where the reference to this passage cannot be mistaken. This is also brought out fully in Psalm 89:29, Psalm 89:36-37. See also Daniel 7:13-14; Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Jeremiah 33:14-21; Ezekiel 34:24; Zechariah 12:7-8; Hosea 3:5, etc.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

He shall build an house for my name,.... For the honour of it, for the worship and service of God, as it is well known Solomon did; and so his antitype the Messiah, Zechariah 6:12,

and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever; that is, for a long time. Solomon's reign was forty years, and the kingdom of Judah continued in his posterity until the Babylonish captivity, and a prince that descended from him was the ruler of the people when they returned: this has its fulfilment more eminently in Christ, who was of his seed, to whom God has given "the throne of his father David", and who "shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever", Luke 1:32.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever — This declaration referred, in its primary application, to Solomon, and to the temporal kingdom of David‘s family. But in a larger and sublimer sense, it was meant of David‘s Son of another nature (Hebrews 1:8). [See on 1 Chronicles 17:14.]

Wesley's Explanatory Notes

He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

He shall — This is meant literally of Solomon, who alone did build the material house or temple; but ultimately of Christ, who is the builder of God's spiritual house or temple.

For my name — That is, for my service, and glory.

For ever — This is not meant of Solomon, for his kingdom was not for ever. But it is to be understood of David's posterity, in general, and with special respect to Christ, in whose person the kingdom was to be lodged for ever.

John Trapp Complete Commentary

2 Samuel 7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

Ver. 13. He shall build an house for my name.] Solomon, a material temple; Christ, a mystical - that is, the Church, which is the house of God. [1 Timothy 3:15] The Jews say that the Messiah is to build a temple, but then it must be a material one: and therefore in their daily prayers they call hard for his coming, and they cry altogether to God, Templum tuum brevi, valde cito, valde cito in diebus nostris, citissime nunc aedefica templum tuum brevi, (a) &c. Build thy temple, Lord, quickly, quickly, quickly, even in our days, &c. Oh that we would be as earnest for the building up of the mystical temple, and the speedy doing of it, that the topstone were once laid! &c.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

He shall build an house: this is meant literally and immediately of Solomon, who alone did build the material house or temple; but mystically and ultimately of Christ, who is the builder of God’s spiritual house or temple, Hebrews 3:3,6 1 Peter 2:5.

For my name, i. e. for my service, and worship, and glory.

I will stablish the throne of his kingdom: this is not meant of Solomon, for his kingdom was not for ever. And though the phrase for ever is sometimes used of the time of a man’s life, yet it cannot be so understood here, because the mercy here promised to David’s son is of another nature, and of far longer continuance, than that which was given to Saul, 2 Samuel 7:15, who yet enjoyed the kingdom as long as he lived. But it is to be understood of David’s posterity in general, but with special respect to Christ in whose person the kingdom was to be lodged for ever, Isaiah 9:7 Daniel 2:44 Luke 1:32,33.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

13.He shall build a house — Here, again, the subject is primarily Solomon, for so Solomon himself explained it. 1 Kings 5:5; but the for ever with which the verse ends points unmistakably to a greater than Solomon. The house which Solomon built continued till the time of the Babylonish exile, when it was burned by Nebuchadnezzar, (2 Kings 25:8;) but it was rebuilt at the close of the exile, (Ezra 6:15,) and of it then the prophet Haggai said, (Haggai 2:9:) “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former;” for this second temple was the connecting link between the Jews of Haggai’s time and the Messiah, who said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” He spake of the temple of his body, (John 2:19,) and by the resurrection from the dead he became, in his own sacred person, the foundation of a far more glorious building — a spiritual house, built up of living stones, for a habitation of God through the Spirit. Ephesians 2:22; 1 Peter 2:5.

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments

2 Samuel 7:13. He shall build a house for my name — This is meant literally of Solomon, who alone did build the material house or temple; but ultimately of Christ, who is the builder of God’s spiritual house or temple. For my name — That is, for my service and glory. For ever — This is not meant of Solomon, for his kingdom was not for ever. But it is to be understood of David’s posterity in general, and with special respect to Christ, in whose person the kingdom was to be lodged for ever.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged

He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. This declaration referred, in its primary application, to Solomon, and to the temporal kingdom of David's family. The first clause of the verse refers to the building of the temple. 'The general establishment of the royal house of David precedes the building of the temple; the eternal establishment, mentioned in the last clause of 2 Samuel 7:13, follows the, building of the temple, or is coincident with it (Hengstenberg).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

He shall

1 Kings 5:5; 6:12; 8:19; 1 Chronicles 17:11,12; 22:9,10; 28:6,10; Zechariah 6:13; Matthew 16:18; Luke 1:31-33; Hebrews 3:3; 1 Peter 2:5

I will stablish

16; 1 Chronicles 28:7; Psalms 89:4,21,29,36,37; Isaiah 9:7; 49:8; Luke 1:32,33

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 2:10 - he shall;  2 Samuel 22:51 - seed;  1 Kings 2:4 - fail;  1 Kings 2:12 - his kingdom;  1 Kings 8:13 - surely built;  2 Kings 8:19 - for David;  2 Kings 21:4 - In Jerusalem;  2 Kings 21:7 - In this house;  1 Chronicles 18:12 - slew of the Edomites;  2 Chronicles 6:2 - I have built;  2 Chronicles 6:9 - thy son;  2 Chronicles 7:18 - stablish;  2 Chronicles 22:11 - she slew him not;  Job 36:7 - he doth;  Psalm 18:50 - to his;  Psalm 28:5 - not build;  Psalm 89:33 - Nevertheless;  Jeremiah 30:21 - governor;  Matthew 1:1 - the son of David;  John 12:34 - Christ;  Acts 7:47 - General;  Acts 26:6 - the promise