Bible Strands
2 Samuel 12:25
and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David sends a message through Nathan the prophet immediately after Bathsheba gives birth to their son. The act occurs at the moment the child is initially named Solomon and the narrative notes divine favor.
The words — יְדִ֣ידְיָ֑הּ (ye.Di.de.Yah) translates literally to Jedidiah, meaning "beloved of Yahweh." וַ/יִּקְרָ֥א (va/i.yik.Ra') denotes the formal act of calling or assigning a name.
The thread — The naming event connects to Nathan's earlier royal oracle in 2 Samuel 7:4, Solomon's later moral failure cited in Nehemiah 13:26, and Nathan's direct confrontation with Bathsheba in 1 Kings 1:11. These passages track the prophet's continuous role in legitimizing and correcting the Davidic succession.
Why it lands — The text records a prophetic renaming that explicitly grounds the child's identity in divine love rather than human lineage or parental action. It requires the reader to accept that God's designation carries authoritative weight over subsequent events and human judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 7:4 But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,
- Nehemiah 13:26 Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin.
- 1 Kings 1:11 Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king, and our lord David does not know it?
- 2 Samuel 12:1 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.
- 1 Kings 1:23 So the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” And Nathan went in and bowed facedown before the king.
- Matthew 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”
- Matthew 17:5 While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”