Now David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour; and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer;
Chronicles closes David's reign with a list of books: three men wrote down what he did, from first to last. That raises three questions — what a "seer" was, who wrote the books we call Samuel, and why the writings named here are lost today.
Two of the three men here are called seers; the third is called a prophet. The older word for a prophet was "seer."
Morrish Bible DictionaryIn the days of Samuel it is said that today's "prophet" was formerly called a seer (1 Sam. 9:9). They were called this, it seems, because God gave them the ability to foresee events or to see visions. Isaiah 30:10 confirms this. There rebellious Israel said to the seers, in effect, "Do not see." They did not want to hear what God had to say to them. Ezekiel also says, "Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!" (Ezek. 13:3).
The verse covers David's acts "from first to last." Gad's own story with David stretches just as far.
Morrish Bible DictionaryHe was with David when he fled from Saul, and gave him counsel (1 Sam. 22:5). Whether he stayed with David through his rejection is not recorded. He was with him at the end of his reign, and he was given the painful task of announcing God's judgements on David for counting the people. He is called David's "seer," which suggests he had been with him all along. The acts of David were written in "the book of Gad the seer." There is no further record of it, and it has not been handed down to us.
Samuel dies partway through the book that bears his name, so he cannot have written all of it. This verse is the one place Scripture points to the writers.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinAncient Jewish tradition says that Samuel wrote the first twenty-four chapters of the first book of Samuel. These chapters cover the life of Samuel up to the time of his death. The twenty-fifth chapter begins with the record of his death. It is reasonable that Samuel wrote these opening chapters of the first book that bears his name. Chapter 10:25 puts it beyond doubt that Samuel did write... The same Jewish tradition credits Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer with writing the rest of the two books. The passage in the first book of Chronicles seems to support this view.
The sources named here set Chronicles apart from the books of Kings.
C KnappAnother clear difference between these two interesting books is where their writers got their material. In Kings it always comes from state records, as we can see from "the book of the acts of Solomon" (1 Kings 11:41)... Chronicles draws more on the writings of individual men (or selections from them), such as "Samuel the seer," "Nathan the prophet," "Gad the seer," "the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite," "the visions of Iddo the seer"...
No book of Gad has come down to us. That loss is not a hole in the Bible, and the same thing happened with the apostles' letters.
William KellyIt is a mistake to suppose that the apostles never wrote other letters than those we have. God made sure that the letters meant for the lasting blessing of the believer were not lost. He inspired them for ongoing use, so He watched over them to that end... There is no doubt that inspired men wrote messages that were not necessarily inspired to be part of the Scriptures. We find a similar fact in the Old Testament, as for instance books by Solomon and others. If God has not preserved the whole amount, He has secured what was inspired for lasting use.
Scripture tells of David's end more than once, and the tone differs. Chronicles closes his story in honor.
H. L. RossierThe last verses of our chapter (1 Chron. 29:26-30) repeat 1 Kings 2:10-12 in order at last to close David's history. The Holy Spirit mentions his old age, "full of days, riches, and honor," which fits the purpose of this book. It stands in contrast with his end as recorded for us in 2 Samuel 23:1-6 and in 1 Kings 1.
- Seen — a seer had that name because God gave him the ability to foresee events or see visions. Rebellious Israel's answer to such men was "Do not see."
- Sourced — Kings draws its material from state records. Chronicles draws on the writings of prophets: Samuel, Nathan, Gad and Iddo.
- Shadowed — Gad advised David when he fled from Saul. He was still there at the end, which suggests he had been with him all along.
- Signposted — this verse is Scripture's own pointer to who wrote the books of Samuel. Tradition gives the opening chapters to Samuel and the rest to Nathan and Gad.
- Secured — God did not keep every line inspired men wrote. He kept everything He inspired for lasting use, right down to David's end "full of days, riches, and honor."
with all his reign and his might, and the times that passed over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.