Prophet: Nathan

Nathan, son of Attai of Judah, was the grandson of Jarha the Egyptian. Nathan fathered two sons, Azariah and Zabad (also spelled Zabud) who became officers in the court of King David. Zabad is said to have been a friend of David's, indicating that the two had probably grown up together. This would have made Nathan at least 20 years older than David. Judging from this, Nathan was born in the days of Samuel's long tenure as traveling judge of Israel.

The tribe of Judah, with Benjamin to the north and Philistia to the west, was often a battleground upon which many of Israel's finest soldiers bled and died in attempts to keep back the Philistine invasion. Border towns like Bethlehem, only about twenty miles from Saul's capitol Gibeah. Between the two towns was the Jebusite stronghold of Jerusalem. Landowners such as Jesse of the house of Obed often would seek guidance from the priests at nearby Kirjath-Jearim, where the ark of the covenant had been since the days of Eli the high priest. Sometimes, though, a prophet would come to town. After Saul had been king for about thirty years. Samuel the prophet had come to town to announce that David, Jesse's youngest son, would be the next king of Israel. But then, Samuel died leading to David seeking a new prophet.

Born in the days of Samuel, Nathan was not heard from in the Biblical record until David approached him with the idea that it was unacceprtable for the ark of the covenant, the "footstool" of God, to rest in a tent. The king suggested that the LORD deserved a house at least as grand as the palace he had made in Jerusalem. At first, Nathan gave his blessings, but after he had gone to bed, he had a vision from the Lord. Nathan was asked why anyone would want to build a house for God since the Law had been written specifically to provide a place of worship ideally designed to house the ark. The tabernacle, the Lord pointed out, was to be in the midst of the people, where He wished to reside. That house, He continued, would not be made of cedar, or even of stone, but rather it would consist of an everlasting kingdom with a descendant of David on a throne. After being informed of this by Nathan, David sought to build the kingdom that was promised to come through his son.

The next message Nathan heard from Lord revealed a dark secret. David's friend Uriah had died as a result of orders from the king himself, and David's wedding of the widow, Bathsheba, had been to hide an adulterous affair.

Nathan went to David, bringing him a tale of two men, one rich and one poor. The rich man had taken the poor man's pet lamb to feed to a visitor. He asked David what should be done to the rich man. David was very angry and demanded that the man be executed for the crime, after giving the poor man four sheep to replace the one stolen. This judgment was harsh, going beyond what the Law required, but Nathan had put David on the spot. He looked right at the king and said: "You are that man." Furthermore, Nathan told him, four sons of David would be required for the life of Uriah. David's life would never be the same after that. The first son to die was Bathsheba's firstborn son. Years later, David's first three sons, at the time young princes of Israel, would die violent deaths.

Nathan had less to do with David after that. However, David did entrust his son Solomon, the child that would be his successor, into the instruction of the older man. When it came time for Solomon to become king, Nathan worked with Bathsheba to assure that the chosen son would be declared king by David himself. When Nathan joined the high priest Zadok in anointing Solomon, the plans of David's son Adonijah, the heir apparent by regular rules of succession, were thwarted.

Nathan would remain on in the court after David's death, assisting Solomon in setting up the worship in the new Temple that was built according to the plans that David had received from the Lord Himself. It is reasonable to assume that since David was not a prophet or a priest, these plans had come through the instrumentality of Nathan himself. In his later days, Nathan would write of what he had known or was shown by the Lord in a book that became source material for the inspired author of the books of the Chronicles of the Kings.