Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Chronicles 17:17
And [yet] this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast [also] spoken of thy servant’s house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O LORD God.
17. and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree ] Better as in 2Sa 7:19, and this too after the manner of men (an exclamation). The Heb. phrase is not quite the same in the two passages, and there is nothing in Sam. corresponding with the words of high degree, but the text of Chron. seems to be derived from that of Sam. David says that God deals with him with the sympathy with which one man might deal with another. No satisfactory translation or explanation has yet been given of the Heb. word translated of high degree.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Hast regarded me … – i. e., Thou hast elevated me above other men, by making my kingdom perpetual, regarding me as if I were a man of high degree. Compare the 2Sa 7:19 note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Ch 17:17-22
And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O Lord.
A model of devout thanksgiving
I. Over what he rejoices.
1. Over great blessings received.
2. Over yet greater blessings promised.
II. In what spirit he regards these favours.
1. As utterly undeserved by himself.
2. As the gift of Gods sovereign grace. (J. P. Lange.)
Gods relation to His people
Consider
I.
The relation God bears to His people.
1. He has chosen them out of the world.
2. He has given Himself to them in a peculiar way.
3. He avows that relation to them before the whole universe.
II. What under that relation we may expect at his hands.
1. The care of His providence.
3. The communications of His grace.
3. The manifestations of His love.
4. The possession of His glory.
III. What under that relation He is entitled to expect from us.
1. That we be a people to Him.
2. That we give ourselves to Him. (C. Simeon, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
i.e. Thou hast treated me as if I had been born the son of a great monarch, and not a poor shepherd, as indeed I was, O Lord God. Otherwise thus, Thou hast regarded or respected me as the type or figure, or according to the rank or order of that excellent man, or man of high degree, who is also the Lord God, i.e. of the Messiah, who is God-man, i.e. Thou hast given to me and my house an everlasting kingdom, which is the peculiar privilege of that great person the Messiah, Dan 2:44; 7:13,14.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
See Gill “1Ch 17:1”.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Instead of the words (2Sa 7:19), the Chronicle has , and sawest me (or, that thou sawest me) after the manner of men; being a contraction of = . , to see, may denote to visit (cf. 2Sa 13:5; 2Ki 8:29), or look upon in the sense of regard, respicere . But the word remains obscure in any case, for elsewhere it occurs only as a substantive, in the significations, “the act of going up” (or drawing up) (Ezr 7:9), “that which goes up” (Eze 11:5), “the step;” while for the signification “height” (locus superior) only this passage is adduced by Gesenius in Thes. But even had the word this signification, the word could not signify in loco excelso = in coelis in its present connection; and further, even were this possible, the translation et me intuitus es more hominum in coelis gives no tolerable sense. But neither can be the vocative of address, and a predicate of God, “Thou height, Jahve God,” as Hgstb. Christol. i. p. 378 trans., takes it, with many older commentators. The passage Psa 92:9, “Thou art , height, sublimity for ever, Jahve,” is not sufficient to prove that in our verse is predicated of God. Without doubt, should go with , and appears to correspond to the of the preceding clause, in the signification: as regards the elevation, in reference to the going upwards, i.e., the exaltation of my race (seed) on high. The thought would then be this: After the manner of men, so condescendingly and graciously, as men have intercourse with each other, hast Thou looked upon or visited me in reference to the elevation of myself or my race, – the text of the Chronicle giving an explanation of the parallel narrative.
(Note: This interpretation of this extremely difficult word corresponds in sense to the not less obscure words in 2nd Samuel, and gives us, with any alteration of the text, a more fitting thought than the alterations in the reading proposed by the moderns. Ewald and Berth. would alter into (hiph.), and into , in order to get the meaning, “ Thou hast caused me to see like the series of men upwards, ” i.e., the line of men who stretch from David outward into the far future in unbroken series, which Thenius rightly calls a thoroughly modern idea. Bttcher ‘ s attempt at explanation is much more artificial. He proposes, in N. k. Aehrenlese, iii. S. 225, to read … , and translates: “ so that I saw myself, as the series of men who follow upwards shall see me, i.e., so that I could see myself as posterity will see me, at the head of a continuous family of rulers: ” where the main idea has to be supplied.)
The divergence in 1Ch 17:18, instead of (2Sa 7:20), which cannot be an explanation or interpretation of Samuel’s text, is less difficult of explanation. The words in Samuel, “What can David say more unto Thee?” have in this connection the very easily understood signification, What more can I say of the promise given me? and needed no explanation. When, instead of this, we read in the Chronicle, “What more can Thy servant add to Thee in regard to the honour to Thy servant?” an unprejudiced criticism must hold this text for the original, because it is the more difficult. It is the more difficult, not only on account of the omission of , which indeed is not absolutely necessary, though serving to explain , but mainly on account of the unusual construction of the nomen with , honour towards Thy servant. The construction is not quite analogous, for is not a nomen actionis like ; is rather connected with the practice which begins to obtain in the later language of employing as a general casus obliquus , instead of any more definite preposition (Ew. 277, d, S. 683f., der 7 Aufl.), and is to be translated: “honour concerning Thy servant.” The assertion that is to be erased as a later gloss which has crept into the text, cuts the knots, but does not untie them. That the lxx have not these words, only proves that these translators did not know what to make of them, and so just omitted them, as they have omitted the first clause of 1Ch 17:19. In 1Ch 17:19 also there is no valid ground for altering the of the Chronicle to make it correspond to in Samuel; for the words, “for Thy servant’s sake,” i.e., because Thou hast chosen Thy servant, give a quite suitable sense; cf. the discussion on 2Sa 7:21. In the second half of the verse, however, the more extended phrases of 2nd Samuel are greatly contracted.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(17) And yet.Samuel has the word here supplied in italics. David says, My unlooked-for exaltation was not enough: thou hast also revealed to me the far future of my offspring.
O God.Here and at the end of the verse Samuel again has my Lord, Jehovah.
Also.Samuel has this word in the text.
And hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree.The Hebrew is obscure. Samuel has simply, and this [is] the law of man, my Lord Jehovah. The word law (trh) has been supposed to mean manner or custom in this place, but it is not used in that sense elsewhere. Its strict sense is teaching. (Comp. Isa. 8:16; Isa. 8:20, where the oracles delivered to the prophet are called trh.) The rendering therefore is, and this (thy gracious revelation) is a lesson to mankind. Our text demands one slight alteration, in accordance with this. Read trh for tr, and then we may translate: and thou regardest me (LXX., : comp. Luk. 1:48) like mans teaching (Psa. 32:8) that bringeth up (same verb, Eze. 19:2), O Lord God; that is to say, Thy revelation is a part of my moral discipline, like the instruction which men give their children. David was not allowed to build the Temple, which was so far a check; but encouragement was added to the prohibition by the wisdom of his heavenly Teacher. If we might assume the other sense of trh, we might render: and thou regardest me after the manner of men that exalteth, that is, as human benefactors help on those whom they favour. The old versions give no help.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
regarded. Compare “art mindful” of Psa 8:4.
estate. Hebrew. tor, abbreviation of torah = law. See note on 2Sa 7:19.
a man. Hebrew. ha-adam = the Man, of Psa 8:5, Psa 8:6, Who is to have dominion over all the earth.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a small thing: 1Ch 17:7, 1Ch 17:8, 2Sa 7:19, 2Sa 12:8, 2Ki 3:18, Isa 49:6
thou hast: 1Ch 17:11-15, Eph 3:20
hast regarded: 1Ch 17:8, 1Ki 3:13, Psa 78:70-72, Psa 89:19-37, Phi 2:8-11
Reciprocal: Num 23:19 – or hath he Deu 33:9 – I have not 1Ki 1:48 – which 1Ki 2:24 – made me 1Ch 14:2 – the Lord
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
17:17 And [yet] this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast [also] spoken of thy servant’s house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of {o} high degree, O LORD God.
(o) You have promised a kingdom that will continue to me and my posterity and that Christ will proceed from me.