What Does 2 Samuel 7:26 Mean in the King James?
And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The name grows great as David’s house is made firm before God, binding revealed nature to an enduring household.
THE MEANING
The verse places you inside a spoken confession: the LORD’s nature is made great through the ages as the God over Israel. David’s house is pictured as becoming firm before God, while David is named as a servant. Enduring authority and service belong to the same household.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that enduring authority rests on the house’s own power: the house is established before God, and its head is named servant.
THE ROOT
יִגְדַּל
yigdal
GROWS FROM
גדל
g-d-l
Grow; become great.
“magnified” in this verse is yigdal. The verb holds magnification as something that unfolds: the name becomes visible through the confession that follows. Since shem means name as nature, the verse speaks of that nature becoming publicly legible.
ALSO GROWS
gadol: Great, large.
גָּדוֹל
It names the quality this verb says is becoming manifest.
migdal: Tower.
מִגְדָּל
A tower rises into view, echoing the way greatness becomes visible.
נָכוֹן
nakhon
GROWS FROM
כון
k-w-n
Be firm, set in place, prepared.
“established” in this verse is nakhon. The house is described as firm “before thee,” so its permanence is located in God’s presence. A related word can mean a fixed dwelling, bringing the idea of establishment close to the image of a settled house.
ALSO GROWS
mekhon: A fixed place or dwelling.
מָכוֹן
It links firmness with a place made stable enough to dwell in.
hekin: Prepare, make ready.
הֵכִין
It carries the sense of something set in readiness, not merely named as permanent.
עֶבֶד
eved
GROWS FROM
עבד
ʿ-b-d
Work, serve.
The household singled out for establishment belongs to one who names himself God’s servant. The root keeps the promise from floating as royal status alone: the house is held within service.
ALSO GROWS
avad: Serve, work, cultivate.
עָבַד
It shows the action contained in the title servant.
avodah: Service, work.
עֲבוֹדָה
It makes service the household’s underlying posture, even as the house is established.
THE PATTERN
God’s name becomes great as his people voice his greatness and the house he promises is made firm.
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:THE THREAD
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.Both verses use יִגְדַּל (yigdal), “let … become great,” so the same root magnifies the LORD’s name here and the LORD himself in the Psalm. There, the words are joined to God’s pleasure in the well-being of his servant, deepening this verse’s link between God’s name and David’s household.
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