II Samuel 7:23 · Bible study
2 Samuel 7:23 Commentary: The God Who Redeems and Makes a Name
Hebrew · 6 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the unique redemption of Israel in II Samuel 7:23, the plural verb 'went' for God, and the theological depth of God making a name for Himself.
Research Summary
- Meaning: No nation is like Israel because God alone redeemed them from Egypt, making a name for Himself through great and awesome deeds.
- Key words: halekhu (they went), plural verb for God; padah (redeem), to ransom or deliver; shem (name), reputation or glory.
- Main debate: Why is the verb ‘went’ plural? Interpretations range from a textual error to a deliberate inclusion of the divine council or a hint at the Trinity.
- Theological theme: God’s unique redemption establishes His name and His people’s identity; election and covenant are grounded in His sovereign act.
- Best use: A foundation for teaching on God’s saving acts, Israel’s election, and the believer’s identity as a redeemed people.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
And who is like Your people Israel—the one nation on earth whom God went out to redeem as a people for Himself and to make a name for Himself? You performed great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt.
WEB World English Bible 2000
What one nation in the earth is like your people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem to himself for a people, and to make himself a name, and to do great things for you, and awesome things for your land, before your people, whom you redeemed to yourself out of Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
KJV King James Version 1769
And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem unto himself for a people, and to make him a name, and to do great things for you, and terrible things for thy land, before thy people, whom thou redeemedst to thee out of Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
`And who is as Thy people, as Israel--one nation in the earth, whom God hath gone to redeem to Him for a people, and to make for Him a name--and to do for you the greatness--even fearful things for Thy land, at the presence of Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed to Thee out of Egypt-- among the nations and their gods?
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And who is like thy people, like Israel, the one nation in the earth that God went to redeem to be a people to himself, and to make himself a name, and to do for them great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thyself from Egypt, from the nations and theirgods?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And what nation is there upon earth, as thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for them great and terrible things, upon the earth, before the face of thy people, whom thou redeemedst to thyself out of Egypt, from the nations and their gods.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
¿ Y quién como tu pueblo, como Israel, en la tierra? una gente por amor de la cual Dios fuese á redimírsela por pueblo, y le pusiese nombre, é hiciese por vosotros, oh Israel, grandes y espantosas obras en tu tierra, por amor de tu pueblo, oh Dios, que tú redimiste de Egipto, de las gentes y de sus dioses?
E quem como teu povo, como Israel, na terra? Uma gente por causa da qual Deus fosse a resgatá-la por povo, e lhe pusesse nome, e fizesse por vós, ó Israel, grandes e espantosas obras em tua terra, por causa de teu povo, ó Deus, que tu resgataste do Egito, das nações e de seus deuses?
Est-il sur la terre une seule nation qui soit comme ton peuple, comme Israël, que Dieu est venu racheter pour en former son peuple, pour se faire un nom et pour accomplir en sa faveur, en faveur de ton pays, des miracles et des prodiges, en chassant devant ton peuple, que tu as racheté d’ Égypte, des nations et leurs dieux?
Denn wo ist ein Volk auf Erden wie dein Volk Israel, um welches willen Gott ist hingegangen, sich ein Volk zu erlösen und sich einen Namen zu machen und solch große und schreckliche Dinge zu tun in deinem Lande vor deinem Volk, welches du dir erlöst hast von Ägypten, von den Heiden und ihren Göttern?
En wie is, gelijk Uw volk, gelijk Israel, een enig volk op aarde, hetwelk God is heengegaan Zich tot een volk te verlossen, en om Zich een Naam te zetten, en om voor ulieden deze grote en verschrikkelijke dingen te doen aan Uw land, voor het aangezicht Uws volks, dat Gij U uit Egypte verlost hebt, de heidenen en hun goden verdrijvende.
E qual popolo è come il tuo popolo, come Israele, l’unica nazione sulla terra che Dio sia venuto a redimere per formare il suo popolo, e per farsi un nome, e per compiere a suo pro cose grandi e tremende, cacciando d’innanzi al tuo popolo che ti sei redento dall’Egitto, delle nazioni coi loro dèi?
I gdzież jest taki lud na ziemi, jako Izrael? dla któregoby Bóg szedł aby go sobie odkupił za lud, i uczynił sobie imię, i sprawił wam wielkie i straszne rzeczy w ziemi twojej, przed obliczem ludu twego, któryś sobie wykupił z Egiptu, z pogaństw a i z bogów ich;
И кто подобен народу Твоему, Израилю, единственному народу на земле, для которого приходил Бог, чтобы приобрести его Себе в народ и прославить Свое имя и совершить великое и страшное пред народом Твоим, который Ты приобрел Себе от Египтян, изгнав народы и богов их?
世上 有何 民 能比你的民 以色列呢？ 你 從埃及 救贖 他們 作自己的子民，又在你贖出來 的 民 面前 行 大 而可畏的事，驅逐列邦人和他們的 神，顯出 你的 大名。
And what other nation in the earth, like your people Israel, did a god go out to take for himself, to be his people, and to make a name for himself, and to do great and strange things for them, driving out a nation and its gods from before his people?
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · II Samuel 7:23
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse magnifies God’s unique act of redeeming Israel from Egypt, an event with no parallel among the nations. The rhetorical question, what nation is like Israel?, is rooted in the exodus, where God ‘went to redeem’ a people for Himself and to make a name for Himself (Barnes, Matthew Henry). The verse echoes Deuteronomy 4:7,32, 38, which celebrates Israel’s singular relationship with the living God. There is a pointed contrast: the gods of the nations could not deliver their worshippers, but Yahweh redeemed His people from Egypt and drove out nations and their gods before them (Barnes, Cambridge Bible). The consensus holds that the verse is a confession of God’s sovereign grace, election, redemption, and covenant-making all belong to Him alone.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Grammatical anomaly / scribal error: The plural verb 'went' is irregular; some emend to singular based on 1 Chronicles 17:21.
- Inclusion of the gods of the nations: Cambridge Bible: the plural indicates that the gods of the nations are included in the comparison — each nation's god went to redeem them.
- Trinitarian hint: Gill: the three divine Persons were involved in redemption (Isaiah 63:9), thus the plural verb reflects the plural nature of God.
What is clear: God single-handedly redeemed Israel from Egypt through great and awesome deeds, making a name for Himself, and this remains the foundational confession of Israel’s unique identity.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The plural verb 'went' (halekhu) referring to God | The verb is grammatically plural, which is unusual for references to the one true God. | Cambridge Bible argues it includes the gods of the nations as a contrast; Gill sees it as a reference to the Trinity; others view it as a scribal anomaly best emended by comparison with 1 Chronicles 17:21. |
| Textual emendations in the second half of the verse | The phrase 'for thy land' is difficult and the final clause lacks clear construction in the Masoretic Text. | Cambridge Bible, following the LXX and 1 Chronicles 17:21, proposes reading 'to drive out nations' instead of 'for thy land,' a change not supported by all traditions. |
| The uniqueness of Israel as 'one nation' | The verse celebrates Israel's unique relationship with God, established by redemption. | Some traditions (e.g., dispensational) see this as permanently defining Israel’s identity; others (supersessionist) apply the language of a redeemed people primarily to the church. |
Historical & Cultural Context
David speaks this prayer after receiving the Davidic covenant through the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 7:4, 17). Sitting before the Lord (v.18), David responds with astonishment: God has promised an everlasting dynasty. In verse 23, David reaches back to the founding story of Israel, the exodus, as the ultimate proof of God’s incomparability. The cultural backdrop is the ancient Near Eastern world where each nation had its own patron deity; a nation’s power was tied to its god’s ability to rescue and establish them. Against this, Israel’s God did what no other god could: He ‘went’ (halekhu) to redeem a people for Himself, deliberately acting as a warrior going into battle (Exodus 3:7, 8, 12:12). The phrase ‘great things and awesome’ recalls the plagues, the Red Sea crossing, the wilderness provision, and the conquest of Canaan (Deuteronomy 10:21; Cambridge Bible). The mention of ‘nations and their gods’ (Barnes notes these are the people and idols of Canaan) underscores that the exodus was also a judgment on all false gods (Exodus 12:12). David’s prayer thus roots his own house in the larger story of redemption, the covenant with David fulfills the covenant made at Sinai.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note several textual difficulties in this verse. The verb ‘went’ appears in the plural, though it refers to God (Cambridge Bible). Some manuscripts of the Septuagint and the parallel in 1 Chronicles 17:21 suggest a smoother reading. The phrase ‘for you’ (v.23) shifts to second person plural, which seems out of place in David’s address to God; Cambridge Bible proposes emending to ‘for them’ with the Vulgate, or omitting it. Additionally, ‘for thy land’ yields an unsatisfactory sense, and the close of the verse lacks a proper construction. Following the LXX and 1 Chronicles 17:21, some scholars read ‘to drive out nations’ in place of ‘for thy land.’ These variants affect the flow but do not change the core meaning: God redeemed Israel from Egypt with great and awesome deeds.
Reception History
This verse has been treasured in both Jewish and Christian traditions as a concise summary of God’s saving acts. In Jewish liturgy, it echoes the praise of the Exodus, God’s unmatched redemption of His people. Early Christian writers, noticing the plural verb ‘went,’ occasionally saw a foreshadowing of the Trinity, a view later echoed by Gill (Baptist, 1748). The Reformed tradition (Matthew Henry, Calvin) emphasized the verse as a testimony to God’s sovereign election: no nation was like Israel because God chose them. In modern scholarship, attention has focused on the textual and grammatical difficulties, with many favoring the emendation suggested by the Cambridge Bible. Across all eras, the verse has been used to magnify God’s grace and to assure believers that they belong to a God who redeems for His own name’s sake.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God’s Unique People: Israel is the one nation on earth whom God chose and redeemed. This election is not based on merit but on God’s own purpose (Deuteronomy 7:7, 8).
- God’s Unique Action: God ‘went’ to redeem, a verb that emphasizes His personal initiative. The exodus is the pattern of all future redemption.
- God’s Unique Name: The redemption made ‘a name’ for God. His reputation among the nations is tied to His saving acts.
Five-point outline
- Rhetorical question: ‘What one nation is like your people?’, intended to provoke awe.
- The act of redemption: ‘whom God went to redeem for a people to himself.’
- The purpose: ‘to make himself a name’, glory through salvation.
- The deeds: ‘great things and awesome’, the exodus miracles and conquest.
- The result: ‘before your people, whom you redeemed out of Egypt, from the nations and their gods’, complete deliverance.
Illustration hooks
- A community rescue. When a town rallies to save a family from a house fire, the story spreads, the rescuers’ names are honored. God’s rescue of Israel made His name known.
- A passport or citizenship ceremony. A nation grants identity and protection to someone from another land. That is what God did for Israel, He made them His own people.
- A team that wins against all odds. People remember the upset, and the winning team’s name becomes famous. Israel’s deliverance from Egypt was the upset of the ancient world.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does David repeat that God redeemed Israel ‘for Himself’? What does that mean for us today?
- What does it mean that God ‘made a name’ for Himself through the exodus, is God concerned about His reputation?
- Are we still ‘God’s people’ in the same way as Israel, or does this apply differently to the church?
Leading a Discussion
David’s prayer in 2 Samuel 7 is his response to God’s covenant promise. In verse 23, he looks back to the exodus as the foundation of Israel’s identity. This small group study will help you reflect on God’s saving acts and what they mean for our own identity as God’s people.
Discussion questions
- Read 2 Samuel 7:18, 29. What emotions does David express in his prayer? How does verse 23 fit into the larger prayer?
- ‘What one nation in the earth is like your people, even like Israel?’ What makes this question so powerful in the context of the ancient world?
- The Hebrew verb ‘went’ (halekhu) is plural though referring to God. How do the commentaries explain this? What are the different possible interpretations?
- God redeemed Israel ‘for a people to himself’ and ‘to make him a name.’ What does this teach us about God’s motives in salvation?
- How does the exodus, the great and awesome deeds, shape Israel’s understanding of God? Look up Exodus 3:7, 8, 12:12, and Deuteronomy 4:32, 38.
- David applies this history to his own situation. How does remembering past redemption give us confidence for God’s promises today?
- In what ways do we, as the church, share in the identity of being a people God redeemed for Himself? What does it mean for us to bring God a ‘name’ in our own context?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 3:7 | Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. |
| Exodus 3:8 | I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. |
| Exodus 9:16 | but indeed for this cause I have made you stand: to show you my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth, |
| Exodus 12:12 | For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal. I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh. |
| Exodus 19:5 | Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine; |
| Exodus 19:6 | and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” |
| Numbers 14:13 | Moses said to Yahweh, “Then the Egyptians will hear it; for you brought up this people in your might from among them. |
| Numbers 14:14 | They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you Yahweh are among this people; for you Yahweh are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them, and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
6 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes identifies the phrase as a specific reference to the Canaanite peoples and their idols, not a general statement about all nations and their gods. For him the text pinpoints the actual inhabitants of the land and the false deities they worshiped.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary notes a grammatical oddity: the Hebrew verb "went" is plural, suggesting the text compares Israel's God with the gods of other nations. It also proposes that later verses have a textual corruption, and suggests reading "to drive out nations and their gods before thy people" for a smoother sense.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes stress that no other nation ever had God personally intervene to redeem and claim them as his own. This unique act of delivering Israel from Egypt and its gods made them incomparable among all peoples and brought fame to God's name.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill sees the plural verb "went to redeem" as pointing specifically to the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—all involved in rescuing Israel from Egypt. He rejects Jewish interpretations that the plural is merely honorific or refers to Moses and Aaron, insisting that Scripture shows all three divine Persons at work together in redemption.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange emphasizes that God’s refusal to let David build a temple is not a rejection of the project itself. Instead, God reverses the plan: He will first build David a lasting house—an established dynasty—before a permanent dwelling for God can be built. The timing depends on securing peace and stability, which will come through David’s successor.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry focuses on David's amazement that God's promise reaches far beyond his own lifetime and earthly reign. David sees the covenant as entirely unearned, a gift flowing from God's own heart and purpose, not from any human merit. This humbles him deeply.