Nathan the Prophet נתן הנביא
prophet in David's court: the promise of an everlasting house, and the parable of the poor man's ewe
Nathan first appears when David says: I live in a house of cedar, and the Ark stands under a curtain. The prophet agrees at first—"go, do it"—and in the night receives a word he must take back: the Temple will be built not by you but by your son; and rather than your building Me a house, I will build you a house, and your throne shall be established forever. On this promise rests all the later expectation of a kingdom from the house of David.
He comes a second time after Bathsheba. He does not accuse—he tells a story about a rich man with flocks and a poor man with one ewe lamb that grew up with his children, and how the rich man took it for a guest. David flares up: the man deserves to die. And he hears: "you are the man." The rebuke of a king is built so that the king pronounces his own sentence—a device Jewish tradition still analyses.
The third time is at the end. When Adonijah holds his feast and proclaims himself king, Nathan moves fast and indirectly: he sends Bathsheba to remind the king of his oath, comes in behind her himself—and Solomon is anointed at Gihon.
Chronicles names him among those whose records preserved the acts of David: "the records of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer."
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Sources
Tanakh
- Shmuel II 7:11–16 — the promise of an everlasting house to David
- Shmuel II 12:1–7 — the parable of the ewe lamb and “you are the man”
- Melachim I 1:11–40 — Natan and Batsheva secure Shlomo's anointing
- Divrei HaYamim I 29:29 — Natan's records as a source for David
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.