The second passage comes from Nathan’s prophecy in 2 Sam 7:11b–16, the prophecy by which God instituted the enduring office of kingship in Israel. In it God promised to establish and maintain the house of David as Israel’s royal family in perpetuity. What’s more, in 1 Sam 7:12–14 he declared that David’s seed, his own offspring, would be God’s Son (cf. 1 Chr 22:9–10; 28:6). Since in Hebrew the imperfect39 may refer either to the present or the future, this declaration could function either as God’s