Ezra 4:20

4:20 Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates ¹  and who were the beneficiaries of ²  tribute, custom, and toll.

Psalms 2:6-10

2:6 “I myself ³  have installed ⁴  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

2:7 The king says, ⁵  “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: ⁶ 

‘You are my son! ⁷  This very day I have become your father!

2:8 Ask me,

and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, ⁸ 

the ends of the earth as your personal property.

2:9 You will break them ⁹  with an iron scepter; ¹⁰ 

you will smash them like a potter’s jar!’” ¹¹ 

2:10 So now, you kings, do what is wise; ¹² 

you rulers of the earth, submit to correction! ¹³ 

Psalms 18:43

18:43 You rescue me from a hostile army; ¹⁴ 

you make me ¹⁵  a leader of nations;

people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. ¹⁶ 

John 1:49

1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king ¹⁷  of Israel!” ¹⁸ 

Philippians 2:10-11

2:10 so that at the name of Jesus

every knee will bow

– in heaven and on earth and under the earth –

2:11 and every tongue confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father.

Revelation 19:16

19:16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

[4:20]  ¹ sn The statement that prior Jewish kings ruled over the entire Trans-Euphrates is an overstatement. Not even in the days of David and Solomon did the kingdom of Israel extend its borders to such an extent.

[4:20]  ² tn Aram “were being given to them.”

[2:6]  ³ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[2:7]  ⁵ tn The words “the king says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The speaker is the Lord’s chosen king.

[2:7]  ⁶ tn Or “I will relate the decree. The Lord said to me” (in accordance with the Masoretic accentuation).

[2:7]  ⁷ sn ‘You are my son!’ The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26-27). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.

[2:8]  ⁸ sn I will give you the nations. The Lord promises the Davidic king universal dominion.

[2:9]  ⁹ tc The LXX reads “you will shepherd them.” This reading, quoted in the Greek text of the NT in Rev 2:27; 12:5; 19:15, assumes a different vocalization of the consonantal Hebrew text and understands the verb as רָעָה (ra’ah, “to shepherd”) rather than רָעָע (ra’a’, “to break”). But the presence of נָפַץ (nafats, “to smash”) in the next line strongly favors the MT vocalization.

[2:9]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term שֵׁבֶט (shevet) can refer to a “staff” or “rod,” but here it probably refers to the Davidic king’s royal scepter, symbolizing his sovereignty.

[2:9]  ¹¹ sn Like a potter’s jar. Before the Davidic king’s awesome power, the rebellious nations are like fragile pottery.

[2:10]  ¹² sn The speaker here is either the psalmist or the Davidic king, who now addresses the rebellious kings.

[2:10]  ¹³ tn The Niphal has here a tolerative nuance; the kings are urged to submit themselves to the advice being offered.

[18:43]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from the strivings of a people.” In this context the Hebrew term רִיב (riv, “striving”) probably has a militaristic sense (as in Judg 12:2; Isa 41:11), and עָם (’am, “people”) probably refers more specifically to an army (for other examples, see the verses listed in BDB 766 s.v. I עַם, עָם 2.d). Some understand the phrase as referring to attacks by the psalmist’s own countrymen, the “nation” being Israel. However, foreign enemies appear to be in view; note the reference to “nations” in the following line.

[18:43]  ¹⁵ tn 2 Sam 22:44 reads, “you keep me.”

[18:43]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a people whom I did not know serve me.” In this context “know” (יָדַע, yada’) probably refers to formal recognition by treaty. People who were once not under the psalmist’s authority now willingly submit to his rulership to avoid being conquered militarily (see vv. 44-45). The language may recall the events recorded in 2 Sam 8:9-10 and 10:19.

[1:49]  ¹⁷ tn Although βασιλεύς (basileus) lacks the article it is definite due to contextual and syntactical considerations. See ExSyn 263.

[1:49]  ¹⁸ sn Nathanael’s confession – You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel – is best understood as a confession of Jesus’ messiahship. It has strong allusions to Ps 2:6-7, a well-known messianic psalm. What Nathanael’s exact understanding was at this point is hard to determine, but “son of God” was a designation for the Davidic king in the OT, and Nathanael parallels it with King of Israel here.