2 Samuel 7:19

2Sa 7:19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And [is] this the manner of man, O Lord GOD?

Ver. 19. And this was yet a small thing in thy sight.] We should make the most of God’s mercies unto us in our thankful acknowledgments, instancing the particulars.

For a great while to come.] In longinquum, for as far as Christ’s time, and to all perpetuity.

And is this the manner of man, O Lord God?] q.d., I think not. Men do not use to deal so liberally with their servants; they think it kindness enough to give them a pension, or some copyhold, {A kind of tenure in England of ancient origin: tenure of lands being parcel of a manor} to maintain them while they live; but take no care for their children after them, or how it shall fare with them in later ages.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Sa 7:19. This — Which thou hast already done for me, that thou hast brought me hitherto to this pitch of honour, and peace, and prosperity in which, through thy favour, I now stand. Was small — Though it was more than I deserved, or could expect, yet thou didst not think it enough for thee to give to me. A great while — For many future ages, and indeed to all eternity. Is this, &c. — Do men use to deal so kindly with their inferiors as thou hast done with me? No; this is the prerogative of divine grace.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7:19 God’s plan to give David a lasting dynasty stretched well beyond his lifetime. The promise is fulfilled forever in the eternal reign of Christ (Rev 11:15).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hebrew, is this the law of man?

Cometh not this rather of thy free mercy, than of any worthiness that can be in man?

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

is this the manner of man, O Lord God?--that is, is it customary for men to show such condescension to persons so humble as I am? (See Ch1 17:17.)

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 19. And is this the manner of man] Literally: And this, O Lord God, is the law of Adam. Does he refer to the promise made to Adam, The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent? From my line shall the Messiah spring, and be the spiritual and triumphant King, for ever and ever. See the additions at the end. 2Sa 7:25.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(19) Is this the manner of man?—This clause is very obscure in the original, and little help in determining its meaning can be had from the ancient versions. The word translated “manner” is a very common one, and never has this sense elsewhere; its well established meaning is law. Neither is there any reason to suppose that a question is intended. Translate, “And this is a law for man!” David expresses his surprise that so great a promise, even a decree of an eternal kingdom, should be given to such as himself and his posterity. The same thought is far less strikingly expressed in the parallel passage (1Ch_17:18), “Thou hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. And is this the manner of man] It is best to understand these difficult words as David’s expression of humble astonishment at the greatness of the honour destined for him and his house. Render, And this is a law for men! i.e. this decree that my kingdom shall be established for ever, is to be valid for weak human beings, such as myself and my posterity! Another explanation very commonly adopted is, And this is the manner of man, viz. to speak so familiarly and condescendingly as thou hast done to me; but the Heb. word is used nowhere else in the sense of manner, and the whole context requires a reference to the substance rather than to the manner of the communication.

The reading in 1 Chron. is quite different: “thou hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree.” One or other of the texts is perhaps corrupt.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God,.... This of raising him to the throne, and settling him on it, was but a small thing in comparison of what he promised to do for him and his:

but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come; since he had not only spoken of a son that should succeed him in the kingdom, but that he would make him an house, and establish his kingdom; yea, that the throne of his kingdom should be established for ever, that a race of kings should spring from him, and especially the King Messiah, of whose kingdom there would be no end; and so the Targum,"thou hast spoken of the house of thy servant unto the world to come,''a phrase often used by the Jews for the times of the Messiah; see Heb 2:5; and so Abarbinel thinks this clause has respect to Messiah the son of David:

and is this the manner of man, O Lord God? to bestow their favours on their inferiors, persons of no worth and merit, and is a profuse manner? it is not; and yet to one so much below thee, and so undeserving, hast thou most largely and liberally given such great and unmerited mercies: or is it the manner, or customary to deal thus with men mean and abject, though it may with great personages that make a great figure in the world? it is not: and yet I am regarded by thee as if I was one of the greatest monarchs on earth: this sense agrees with the parallel text in Ch1 17:17; "and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree"; or, "this is the law", or "doctrine of the man who is the Lord God" (c). This doctrine contained in the promise now made respects the seed of the woman, the promised Shiloh, the illustrious man, Jehovah's fellow, the incarnate God, the Messiah, who is Jehovah our righteousness, the true God and eternal life.

(c) So Luther and Osiander; or "this is the delineation of the man who is the Lord", &c. So Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 447.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Is this the manner of man - Compare 1Ch 17:17. Our passage may be thus understood: But this is the law (or prerogative) of a great man to found dynasties which are to last into the far future. David expresses his astonishment that he, of such humble birth, and one so little in his own eyes, should not only be raised to the throne, but be assured of the perpetuity of the succession in his descendants, as if he were a man of high degree.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

God. Thus man wishes to be treated. This maxim prevails universally. People seek for their own and their children’s happiness; a favour which thou hast graciously promised unto me. (Calmet) --- Thus immortality, and all happiness, were proposed unto the first man. (Menochius) --- Some use an interrogation; "Is this the law of Adam?" (Calmet) --- Protestants, "manner of man." Can this felicity attend a man in his fallen state? Does the greatest friend treat his companion with so much condescension and regard? (Haydock) --- In 1 Paralipomenon xvii. 17, it is thus expressed, and hast made me remarkable above all men, O Lord God. Osiander translates, "Behold the law of man, of the Lord God." I now discern the mysterious union of the godhead with our humanity, in the person of the Son. (Calmet) --- Luther attributes this version, Hæc est ratio hominis, qui Daomius Deus est, to Zisgler; and hence proves the incarnation. Amama and Tarnovius shew the weakness of the proof, though the article of faith be otherwise indubitable. (Haydock) --- David is full of admiration that God should treat a weak mortal in such a manner. (Du Hamel)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

This, to wit, which thou hast already done for me, as he now said, that thou hast brought me hitherto, i.e. to that pitch of honour, and peace, and prosperity, in which through thy favour I now stand. This was yet a small thing in thy sight; though it was more than I deserved, or could expect, yet thou didst not think it enough for thee to give me.

For a great while to come; for many future ages and indeed to all eternity.

Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? do men use to deal so freely and kindly with their inferiors, as thou hast, done with me? No: this is the prerogative of Divine grace, to give such promises and largesses as this. So these are words of admiration; which very well suit with the foregoing and following words. Or, Is this the manner, or law, or custom, of mean or obscure men, &c, as the Hebrew adam is confessed and sometimes to signify as Psa 49:2; 62:9; Isa 2:9; i.e. Is this the manner of men’s dealing with mean and obscure persons, such as I am? So the Hebrew haadam is the genitive case of the object, which is frequent in the Hebrew and other languages. And this seems more probable, because it exactly agrees with the parallel place, 1Ch 17:17, where the words are, thou hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, i.e. thou hast dealt with me as if I had been not a poor mean shepherd, but the son of some great monarch, to whom such honours best agree.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19. For a great while to come — Reference to the for ever of 2Sa_7:13; 2Sa_7:16.

Is this the manner of man — Rather, This is the law of man. This gracious condescension of God in bestowing these promised blessings upon his servant David and his house is a sublime illustration of that law of love which should ever govern man — that law which says, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Lev_19:18. As God dealt with David in his infinite grace, let man do unto his neighbour according to the ability which he may have. “When God the Lord,” says Hengstenberg, “in his treatment of poor mortals, follows the rule which he has laid down for the conduct of men one towards another — when he shows himself kind and affectionate — this must fill with adoring amazement those who know themselves and God.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And is this the manner of man, O Lord God? Hebrew, and this is the law of man, O Lord Jehovah. In the parallel passage (1Ch_17:17) the Hebrew has, "And thou hast regarded me according to the law of a man of high degree." The rendering of the Authorized Version here, which, by making the clause interrogative, implies a negative, gives absolutely no sense; but some commentators render, "And this is the manner of men, O Lord Jehovah," understanding thereby that God was acting towards David in a human manner, that is, as an earthly friend and benefactor would do. But though the Revised Version favours this rendering, the Hebrew word torah never has this meaning, and, unless, the attempt be made to amend the text, for which the versions give no help, we must take torah in its usual sense, and understand that this continuance of David"s house into the distant future has now become a human law, that is, a divinely constituted ordinance, which must now take its place among the laws which govern human affairs. The words are undoubtedly difficult, and we feel that David was speaking in an ejaculatory manner, in sentences but half expressed, breaking forth from him bit by bit, under the pressure of deep excitement within. We notice too that, while there is no direct reference to the Messiah in David"s words, yet that the Psalms indicate that he did connect the duration of his house with the Messiah"s advent; and this ejaculation may have sprung forth, if not from a fully formed conviction, yet from the feeling that the permanence of his house was for the purpose of a higher kingdom than that of Jerusalem; and so the promise was a "law of man" and the promulgation of a decree which affected the whole human race. This may be the meaning of the Vulgate, which renders "a law of Adam," that is, one embracing within its scope all Adam"s race,

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This - Which thou hast already done for me, that thou hast brought me hitherto, to that pitch of honour, and peace, and prosperity, in which through thy favour I now stand. Was small - Though it was more than I deserved, or could expect, yet thou didst not think it enough for thee to give to me. A great while - For many future ages, and indeed to all eternity. Is this, &c. - Do men use to deal so kindly with their inferiors, as thou hast done with me? No: this is the prerogative of divine grace.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Also, about the house of your servant. To have my son reign after me.

Is this anouncent [fitting] for [mere] man? A wonderment. Is it fitting to announce such to [mere] flesh and blood Another explanation: You have done for me as you did for Odom Horishon that you had shown him the future generations that were to come from him.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.