View source for Nathan (prophet)

{{Short description|Prophet in the Hebrew Bible}}
{{for|a later prophet|Nathan of Gaza}}
{{Infobox saint
|name=Nathan
|image=Jacopo Negretti, gen. Palma il Giovane und Werkstatt - Prophet Nathan ermahnt König David - GG 3816 - Kunsthistorisches Museum (cropped).jpg
|caption=Detail from ''The prophet Nathan admonishes King David'' by [[Palma il Giovane]], c. 1600s
|titles=Prophet
|feast_day=[[Sunday of the Holy Forefathers]]
|honored_in=[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<br>[[Roman Catholic Church]]
}}

'''Nathan''' ({{langx|he|נָתָן}} {{translit|he|Nāṯān}} 'given'; {{floruit|{{c.|1000 BC}}}}) is a [[Biblical prophet|prophet]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. His actions are described in the Books of [[Book of Samuel|Samuel]], [[Books of Kings|Kings]], and [[Books of Chronicles|Chronicles]] (especially {{Bibleverse|2|Samuel|7:2-17|HE}}, {{Bibleverse-nb|2|Samuel|12:1-25|HE}}).

==Biblical accounts==
Nathan was a court [[prophet]] in the time of [[King David]]. He is introduced in {{Bibleverse|2|Samuel|7:2|HE}} and {{Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|17:1|HE}} as an advisor to David, with whom David reflects on the contrast between his own comfortable home and the tent in which the [[Ark of the Covenant]] is accommodated. Nathan then announces to David the [[Covenant (biblical)#Davidic covenant|covenant]] God was making with him ({{bibleverse|2|Samuel|7:4-17|NKJV}}, a passage known as ''Nathan's Oracle''),<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/27821018.pdf The Composition of Nathan's Oracle to David (2 Samuel 7:1-17) as a Reflection of Royal Judahite Ideology], ''Journal of Biblical Literature'', Vol. 129, No. 2 (Summer 2010), pp. 261-279, accessed 15 July 2017</ref> contrasting David's proposal to build a house (i.e. a building) for the Ark with God's plan to build a house (i.e. a [[Davidic line|dynasty]]) for David. Later, he comes to David to reprimand him for committing [[adultery]] with [[Bathsheba]] while she was the wife of [[Uriah the Hittite]], whose death the King had also arranged to hide his previous transgression ({{Bibleverse|2|Samuel|12:7-14|ESV}}).<ref> Holman Bible Editorial Staff, ''Holman Concise Bible Dictionary'', B&H Publishing Group, USA, 2011, p. 446</ref>

According to [[Books of Chronicles|Chronicles]], Nathan wrote histories of the reigns of both David ({{Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|29:29|ESV}}) and [[Solomon]] ({{Bibleverse|2|Chronicles|9:29|ESV}}), and was involved in the music of the temple (see {{Bibleverse|2|Chronicles|29:25|ESV}}).

In {{Bibleverse|1|Kings|1:8-45|HE}} it is Nathan who tells the dying David of the plot of [[Adonijah]] to become king, resulting in [[King Solomon|Solomon]] being proclaimed king instead.<ref> J. D. Douglas, Merrill C. Tenney, ''Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', Zondervan Academic, USA, 2011, p. 998 </ref> Nathan presides at the anointing of King Solomon. The [[Midrash]] teaches that two honorary seats flanked the throne of King Solomon, one for Nathan and the other for [[Gad the Seer]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nathan the Prophet - Jewish History |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4397291/jewish/Nathan-the-Prophet.htm |access-date=March 14, 2022}}</ref>

A lost [[Book of Nathan the Prophet]] is mentioned in 1 and 2 Chronicles. Although the work appears to have been lost, some speculate that some of its content have been incorporated into the books of Samuel or Kings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Was Nathan the Prophet So Important to King David? |url=https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/why-was-nathan-the-prophet-so-important-to-king-david.html |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=biblestudytools.com |language=en}}</ref> The 15th century Jewish scholar, [[Isaac Abarbanel]], proposed that Samuel started his book, but Nathan completed the work.<ref>Haas, Jair. “Isaac Abarbanel’s Defense of the Authority, Reliability and Coherence of Biblical Historiography.” ''Hebrew Union College Annual'', vol. 82–83, 2012, pp. 212f. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.15650/hebruniocollannu.82-83.203 JSTOR website]. Retrieved 2 Oct. 2023.</ref>

David had promised the succession to Solomon, his son by Bath-sheba. Nathan advises Bath-sheba to remonstrate with the king against the pretensions of Adonijah, promising to give timely confirmation to her words. The plan succeeds, and, by order of David, Nathan and Zadok the priest proclaim and anoint Solomon the successor to the throne (I Kings i. 5-39).

In addition to these passages, Nathan is mentioned in (1) II Sam. xii. 25, as giving to Solomon the name of Jedidiah ("friend of God"); (2) Ps. li. (in the title); (3) I Chron. xvii. 2-15, which is a repetition of II Sam. vii.; (4) I Chron. xxix. 29; and (5) II Chron. ix. 29. In the last two passages Nathan is named as the historian of the reigns of David and Solomon. He is not mentioned in Chronicles in connection with the Bath-sheba episode or with the anointment of Solomon. A grave at Halhul, near Hebron, is pointed out as that of Nathan, but this is doubtful. Two sons of Nathan, Azariah and Zabud, are mentioned as princes and officers under Solomon (I Kings iv. 5).

About Nathan the Rabbis are all silent, saving in but one passage, in which R. Judah remarks that the "threefold cord that is not easily broken" was the joint effort of Bath-sheba, David, and Nathan to save the throne for Solomon against Adonijah (Eccl. R. iv. 12). An echo of Nathan's parable of the rich man with many flocks and the poor man with but one lamb is found in Islamic tradition (Koran, sura xxxviii. 20-25).<ref>[https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11343-nathan Jewish encyclopedia Nathan] {{PD-notice}}</ref>

==Feast day==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2021}}
In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], and those [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] which follow the [[Byzantine Rite]], he is commemorated as a [[saint]] on the Sunday of the [[Holy Fathers]] (i.e., the Sunday before the [[Great Feast]] of the [[Christmas|Nativity of the Lord]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sunday of the Forefathers |url=https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2024/12/15/80-sunday-of-the-forefathers |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=www.oca.org}}</ref>

==As a name==
 {{see| Nathan (given name)}}

Derived from this biblical character, "Nathan" is used as a male first name in various languages.
==See also==
*[[Nathan (son of David)|Natan (son of David)]]

==References==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{reflist}}

{{Prophets of the Tanakh}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:10th-century BCE Hebrew people]]
[[Category:11th-century BCE Hebrew people]]
[[Category:Christian saints from the Old Testament]]
[[Category:People from the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)]]
[[Category:10th-century BC religious leaders]]