The early Christians read the promise to David in 2 Samuel 7 as a pun: I will raise up a son for David that will build my house. The hint is of resurrection. Thats why Paul says Jesus has been constituted as Davidic messiah in virtue of his resurrection from the dead at the beginning of Romans. At the end of Romans, the root of Jesse rises to rule the nations. So I looked up all the instances of raise up in the Hebrew Bible and its actually kind of interesting how well the pun works: (Genesis 38:8) Then Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brothers wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother. The context here is explaining how the line of Judah continued. In Genesis 49, the line of Judah is that which eventually brings forth the messianic king. (Deuteronomy 18:15) The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers--it is to him you shall listen-- (1 Samuel 2:35) And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever. (2 Samuel 7:12) When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. (Psalm 41:10-12) But you, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them! By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. (Isaiah 44:24-28) Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish, who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited, and of the cities of Judah, They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins; who says to the deep, Be dry; I will dry up your rivers; who says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose; saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built, and of the temple, Your foundation shall be laid. (Isaiah 49:6) he says: It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. (Isaiah 58:12) And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. (Jeremiah 23:5) Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (Jeremiah 30:9) But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. (Amos 9:11-12) In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name, declares the Lord who does this. The pun doesnt work for every use of the phrase in the Old Testament, but it works for most of them- in the future, I will have to pursue more ways in which the intent of the divine author goes above and beyond the intent of the human author.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 22:27:09 +0000
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