2 Samuel 23 Bible study: The last words of David

"Now these are the last words of David" (23:1). They open the way two of Balaam's oracles open: "David the son of Jesse says, the man who was raised on high says" (23:1) (tap says), and "Balaam the son of Beor says, the man whose eyes are open says" (Numbers 24:3, and again at 24:15). In Hebrew, the man says is ne'um haggever, and those two words come only four times in the Hebrew Bible: Balaam's two, David's here, and Proverbs 30:1. David names himself four ways: the son of Jesse, the man raised on high, "the anointed of the God of Jacob" (23:1) (tap anointed), and "the sweet psalmist of Israel" (23:1). Then he says where the words come from: "The LORD’s Spirit spoke by me. His word was on my tongue" (23:2) (tap Spirit), and "The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me" (23:3). The LORD's Spirit had come on him the day Samuel anointed him: "Then the LORD’s Spirit came mightily on David from that day forward" (1 Samuel 16:13).

2 Samuel 23:2→leads toActs 2:30

"The LORD’s Spirit spoke by me. His word was on my tongue" (23:2). In Acts, Peter (Acts 1:15) speaks of David the same way, of a Scripture "which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas" (Acts 1:16), "written in the book of Psalms" (Acts 1:20). On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1), standing up with the eleven (Acts 2:14), he calls David a prophet: "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne" (Acts 2:30), "he foreseeing this, spoke about the resurrection of the Christ" (Acts 2:31). Acts doesn't quote 2 Samuel 23; it is set beside 23:2 for what both say of David: God's Spirit spoke by him.

מָשִׁיחַmashiachsay ma-SHEE-akh

Strong's: "anointed; usually a consecrated person (as a king, priest, or saint); specifically, the Messiah". Brown-Driver-Briggs lists among its uses "king of Israel anointed by divine command". David calls himself "the anointed of the God of Jacob" (23:1). 2 Samuel uses the word six times, and this is the last. The first was David's question to the Amalekite, "Why were you not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?" (1:14). Abishai used it of David himself: "because he cursed the LORD’s anointed" (19:21). David's song ends with it: "shows loving kindness to his anointed, to David and to his offspring, forever more" (22:51). In John's Gospel, Andrew tells his brother Simon, "We have found the Messiah!" (John 1:41), and John adds, "which is, being interpreted, Christ" (John 1:41).