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1 Kings 15 says God kept David a lasting dynasty in Jerusalem despite an unfaithful king, echoing Psalm 132, where God swears to keep a lamp burning for David’s family. Both express the same promise that David’s line never goes dark.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1 Kings 15:4
Hebrew Bible
3 He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been. 4 Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty in Jerusalem by giving him a son to succeed him and by protecting Jerusalem. 5 He did this because David had done what he approved and had not disregarded any of his commandments his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite.
Psalm 132:17
Hebrew Bible
14 He said, “This will be my resting place forever; I will live here, for I have chosen it. 15 I will abundantly supply what she needs; I will give her poor all the food they need. 16 I will protect her priests, and her godly people will shout exuberantly. 17 There I will make David strong; I have arranged a lamp for my anointed one.28 18 I will humiliate his enemies, and his crown will shine.”
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Notes and References
“... Finally, the promise of a “lamp” for David finds its late reflection in Psalm 132, in which Deuteronomistic echoes are patent: “I have arranged a lamp (nēr) for my anointed one” (verse 17). and his offspring. It is not necessary to emend wlbnyw to lpnyw, “before him” (as does Klostermann), for the notion of continuity through “offspring” is found in 1 Kings 15:4. ...”
Cogan, Mordechai; Tadmor, Hayim
II Kings: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Bible 11)
(p. 95) Doubleday, 1988
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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