Isaiah 7:2

7:2 It was reported to the family ¹  of David, “Syria has allied with ²  Ephraim.” They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. ³ 

Isaiah 7:13

7:13 So Isaiah replied, ⁴  “Pay attention, ⁵  family ⁶  of David. ⁷  Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God?

Jeremiah 33:26

33:26 Just as surely as I have done this, so surely will I never reject the descendants of Jacob. Nor will I ever refuse to choose one of my servant David’s descendants to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, ⁸  I will restore them ⁹  and show mercy to them.”

Luke 2:4

2:4 So ¹⁰  Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth ¹¹  in Galilee to Judea, to the city ¹²  of David called Bethlehem, ¹³  because he was of the house ¹⁴  and family line ¹⁵  of David.

¹ tn Heb “house.” In this context the “house of David” includes King Ahaz, his family, and the royal court. See also Jer 21:12; Zech 12:7-8, 10, 12, for a similar use of the phrase.

² tn Heb “rests upon.” Most understand the verb as נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”), but HALOT 685 s.v. II נחה proposes that this is a hapax legomenon which means “stand by.”

³ tn Heb “and his heart shook and the heart of his people shook, like the shaking of the trees of the forest before the wind.” The singular pronoun “his” is collective, referring to the Davidic house/family. לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) here refers to the seat of the emotions.

⁴ tn Heb “and he said.” The subject is unexpressed, but the reference to “my God” at the end of the verse indicates the prophet is speaking.

⁵ tn The verb is second plural in form, because the prophet addresses the whole family of David. He continues to use the plural in v. 14 (with one exception, see the notes on that verse), but then switches back to the second singular (addressing Ahaz specifically) in vv. 16-17.

⁶ tn Heb “house.” See the note at v. 2.

⁷ sn The address to the “house of David” is designed to remind Ahaz and his royal court of the protection promised to them through the Davidic covenant. The king’s refusal to claim God’s promise magnifies his lack of faith.

⁸ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is probably intensive here as it has been on a number of occasions in the book of Jeremiah (see BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e for the category).

⁹ tn Or “I will make them prosperous once again,” or “I will bring them back from captivity.”

¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

¹¹ sn On Nazareth see Luke 1:26.

¹² tn Or “town.” The translation “city” is used here because of its collocation with “of David,” suggesting its importance, though not its size.

¹³ sn The journey from Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem was a journey of about 90 mi (150 km). Bethlehem was a small village located about 7 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem.

¹⁴ sn Luke’s use of the term “house” probably alludes to the original promise made to David outlined in the Nathan oracle of 2 Sam 7:12-16, especially in light of earlier connections between Jesus and David made in Luke 1:32. Further, the mention of Bethlehem reminds one of the promise of Mic 5:2, namely, that a great king would emerge from Bethlehem to rule over God’s people.

¹⁵ tn Or “family,” “lineage.”