2 Samuel 7:6

2Sa 7:6 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.

Ver. 6. But have walked in a tent and in a tubernacle.] By tent, some understand the hangings made of goats’ hair; and by tabernacle or habitacle, the sanctuary itself. See Exo 26:6. The ark was transportative hitherto, till settled in Solomon’s temple: so till we come to heaven, we are in continual motion.

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.

7:6 never lived in a house: Prior to the building of the Temple in one fixed location, God’s dwelling was the Tabernacle, a mobile, tentlike structure. The text here uses language of human experience to describe a truth about God (see study notes on Exod 29:18; Deut 8:2). Although God is omnipresent, he chose the Tabernacle and Temple as his “dwelling place” in ancient Israel (see study note on 2 Chr 2:5-6; cp. Acts 17:24).

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

Whereas 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. "Tent" and "tabernacle" are distinguished, though they were but one building and habitation; the tent was the curtains of goats' hair, and the tabernacle the linen curtains, see Exo 26:1. In Ch1 17:5 it is "from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another"; which does not intend variety of tabernacles, but change of place.

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

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.

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

These two seem thus to be distinguished; the one may note the curtains and hangings within, the other the frame of boards, and coverings upon it.

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

I have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle; literally, I have walked continually; that is, I have ever been a wanderer, first, in the wilderness, and subsequently at Gilgal, Shiloh, Nob, and Gibeon. Instead of a "tabernacle," the Hebrew has a "dwelling." This may refer to the houses of Abinadab and Obed-Edom, but the words more probably signify "a tent that was my dwelling."

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

Tent and tabernacle - These two seem thus to be distinguished, the one may note the curtains and hangings within, the other the frame of boards, and coverings upon it.

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

The reason assigned for this answer: "I have not dwelt in a house from the day of the bringing up of Israel out of Egypt even to this day, but I was wandering about in a tent and in a dwelling." "And in a dwelling" (mishcan) is to be taken as explanatory, viz., in a tent which was my dwelling. As a tent is a traveller's dwelling, so, as long as God's dwelling was a tent, He himself appeared as if travelling or going from place to place. "In the whole of the time that I walked among all the children of Israel, ... have I spoken a word to one of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Wherefore have ye not built me a cedar house?" A "cedar house" is equivalent to a palace built of costly materials. The expression ישׂראל שׁבטי אחד ("one of the tribes of Israel") is a striking one, as the feeding of the nation does not appear to be a duty belonging to the "tribes," and in the Chronicles we have שׁפטי (judges) instead of שׁבטי (tribes). But if שׁפטי had been the original expression used in the text, it would be impossible to explain the origin and general acceptance of the word שׁבטי. For this very reason, therefore, we must regard שׁבטי as the original word, and understand it as referring to the tribes, which had supplied the nation with judges and leaders before the tie of David, since the feeding, i.e., the government of Israel, which was in the hands of the judges, was transferred to the tribes to which the judges belonged. This view is confirmed by Psa 78:67-68, where the election of David as prince, and of Zion as the site of the sanctuary, is described as the election of the tribe of Judah and the rejection of the tribe of Ephraim. On the other hand, the assumption of Thenius, that שׁבטי, "shepherd-staffs," is used poetically for shepherds, cannot be established on the ground of Lev 27:32 and Mic 7:14. Jehovah gave two reasons why David's proposal to build Him a temple should not be carried out: (1) He had hitherto lived in a tent in the midst of His people; (2) He had not commanded any former prince or tribe to build a temple. This did not involve any blame, as though there had been something presumptuous in David's proposal, or in the fact that he had thought of undertaking such a work without an express command from God, but simply showed that it was not because of any negligence on the part of the former leaders of the people that they had not thought of erecting a temple, and that even now the time for carrying out such a work as that had not yet come.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

did I ever say anything to any of Israel's leaders whom I appointed to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"

This has a quotation within a quotation. The direct quotation can be stated as an indirect quotation. AT: "did I ever ask any of Israel's leaders, whom I appointed to shepherd my people Israel, why they had not built me a house of cedar?" (See: Quotes Within Quotes and Direct and Indirect Quotations)

did I ever say anything to any of Israel's leaders

Yahweh uses a question to emphasize that he never asked any of Israel's leaders to build him a house. AT: "I never said anything to any of Israel's leaders" (See: Rhetorical Question)

whom I appointed to shepherd my people Israel

Those who are leaders of the people of Israel are spoken of as if they were shepherds and the people were sheep. (See: Metaphor)

Why have you not built me a house of cedar?

If Yahweh had asked the leaders this question, he would have been using a question to scold them for not building him a house of cedar. But, Yahweh said previously that he did not ask them this question. AT: "You should have built me a house of cedar." (See: Rhetorical Question)

translationWords

people group

Israel

Egypt

tabernacle

appoint

shepherd

people of God

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Within a tent and the Mishkan. The Mishkan of Shiloh had no roof, it had walls made of stone underneath and curtains on top [as its covering].

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.