Nathan the Prophet

In short

After the death of Samuel, it seems like Nathan was the go-to prophet for David.

Why he is important

Like any good prophet, he spoke truth to power, even righteous David.

Stories about Nathan

2Sa 7:1-17 – Nathan relays God’s message to David about building a temple (you’re nuts, but OK). In verse 3 (before the speech), Nathan says the LORD is with David, and to me it is unclear if Nathan was right in that assessment or not.

2Sa 12:1-15, 25 – Nathan confronts David about Bathsheba, using an ingenious morality story to get David to see his own sad state. “You are the man” (verse 7) is a legendary phrase.

1Ki 1:11-45 – Another rebellion against David’s family. As David is about to die, Adonijah usurps the throne, “But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and David’s mighty men were not with Adonijah” (1Ki 1:8). So Nathan enlists Bathsheba (Solomon’s mom) to talk to David and get Solomon installed as king ASAP.

Theology and doctrine

Apparently, Nathan wrote a book.

1Ch 29:29, “Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of Gad the seer.”

2Ch 9:29, “Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?”

This implies there are many historical books that the Jews considered legitimate for factual knowledge, even if they don’t necessarily rise to the status of Scripture.

And on a completely unrelated note, it seems that Nathan had something to do with musical temple worship. See 2Ch 29:25.