Hebrew word · H5416

נָתָן

natan

Nathan

A personal name from the verb natan, "to give": "He [God] has given" or "Gift."

Appears 42 times in 39 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A prophet living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Sa.7.2;

father of: Azariah (H5838H), Zabud (H2071)

§ Nathan = "giver"

1) a son of David by Bathsheba

2) the eminent prophet in the time of David and Solomon

3) a man of Zobah, father of one of David's mighty warriors

4) father of Azariah who was over the officers of Solomon

5) son of Attai and father of Zabad of the tribe of Judah

6) brother of Joel of the tribe of Judah

7) one of the head men who returned from Babylon with Ezra

8) a man with a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

9) head of a family of Israel who shall mourn when they look on Him whom they pierced

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Samuel 12:1

Range of meaning

A personal name from the verb natan, "to give": "He [God] has given" or "Gift."

Against the English

English readers meet only a name. Hebrew hearers would have heard the verb "give" inside it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Nathan delivers the dynastic promise in 2 Samuel 7 and later steers Solomon's succession in 1 Kings 1. In Nathan's own speech the verb natan is prominent: "I gave you your master's house ... and I gave you the house of Israel" (12:8), and "I will give your wives to your neighbor" (12:11).

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 13
  1. 2 Samuel 5:14 וְנָתָ֖ן and Nathan

    These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

  2. 2 Samuel 7:2 נָתָ֣ן Nathan

    he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

    Here: First appearance of Nathan, whose name means 'he gave' (or 'gift'). He becomes a key figure in David's court (2 Sam 12; 1 Kgs 1).

  3. 2 Samuel 7:3 נָתָן֙ Nathan

    And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”

  4. 2 Samuel 7:4 נָתָ֖ן Nathan

    But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,

  5. 2 Samuel 7:17 נָתָ֖ן Nathan

    So Nathan relayed to David all the words of this entire revelation.

  6. 2 Samuel 12:1 נָתָ֖ן Nathan

    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.

    Here: The court prophet who brought David the promise of a lasting dynasty in 2 Samuel 7. His name means "he has given" or "gift." The same messenger who carried God's promise now carries God's rebuke.

  7. 2 Samuel 12:5 נָתָ֔ן Nathan

    David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

    Here: The court prophet. Yahweh sent him (v. 1), and David thinks he is passing on a complaint from a wronged subject.

  8. 2 Samuel 12:7 נָתָ֛ן Nathan

    Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

    Here: The court prophet who earlier brought David God's promise of a lasting dynasty (2 Sam 7). His name means "he gave", and giving is exactly the theme of vv. 7–8: God gave David everything.

  9. 2 Samuel 12:13 נָתָ֔ן נָתָ֜ן Nathan

    Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.

    Here: The court prophet. His name means “he gave,” which fits a chapter where Yahweh reminds David of everything he “gave” him (v. 8).

  10. 2 Samuel 12:15 נָתָ֖ן Nathan

    After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.

  11. 2 Samuel 12:25 נָתָ֣ן Nathan

    and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.

  12. 2 Samuel 23:36 נָתָן֙ Nathan

    Igal son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,

1 Kings · 13
  1. 1 Kings 1:8 וְנָתָ֤ן and Nathan

    But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s mighty men would not join Adonijah.

  2. 1 Kings 1:10 נָתָן֩ Nathan

    But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or his brother Solomon.

  3. 1 Kings 1:11 נָתָ֗ן Nathan

    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?

  4. 1 Kings 1:22 וְנָתָ֥ן and Nathan

    And just then, while Bathsheba was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived.

  5. 1 Kings 1:23 נָתָ֣ן Nathan

    So the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” And Nathan went in and bowed facedown before the king.

    Here: The prophet who brought David the dynasty promise (2 Sam 7) and confronted him over Bathsheba (2 Sam 12). Here he works with Bathsheba to secure the throne for Solomon.

  6. 1 Kings 1:24 נָתָן֒ Nathan

    “My lord the king,” said Nathan, “did you say, ‘Adonijah will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne’?

  7. 1 Kings 1:32 וּלְנָתָ֣ן and <to> Nathan

    Then King David said, “Call in for me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king.

  8. 1 Kings 1:34 וְנָתָ֧ן and Nathan

    There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

    Here: The court prophet who gave the dynastic promise to David (2 Samuel 7) and who started the move to put Solomon on the throne (vv. 11–27).

  9. 1 Kings 1:38 וְנָתָ֨ן and Nathan

    Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, went down and set Solomon on King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon.

  10. 1 Kings 1:44 נָתָ֣ן Nathan

    And with Solomon, the king has sent Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, and they have set him on the king’s mule.

    Here: The court prophet who gave David the promise of a lasting dynasty (2 Samuel 7) and later confronted him over Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12). He planned the move that got Solomon declared king (1 Kings 1:11-27).

  11. 1 Kings 1:45 וְנָתָן֩ and Nathan

    Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there with rejoicing that rings out in the city. That is the noise you hear.

  12. 1 Kings 4:5 נָתָ֖ן נָתָ֛ן Nathan

    Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king;

1 Chronicles · 10
  1. 1 Chronicles 2:36 נָתָ֔ן וְנָתָ֖ן Nathan, and Nathan

    Attai was the father of Nathan, Nathan was the father of Zabad,

  2. 1 Chronicles 3:5 וְנָתָ֤ן and Nathan

    and these sons were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. These four were born to him by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel.

  3. 1 Chronicles 11:38 נָתָ֔ן Nathan

    Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar son of Hagri,

  4. 1 Chronicles 14:4 נָתָ֖ן Nathan

    These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

  5. 1 Chronicles 17:1 נָתָ֣ן Nathan

    After David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent.”

    Here: Nathan the court prophet appears here for the first time in Chronicles. The name means "he has given" (God has given).

  6. 1 Chronicles 17:2 נָתָן֙ Nathan

    And Nathan replied to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

  7. 1 Chronicles 17:3 נָתָ֖ן Nathan

    But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

  8. 1 Chronicles 17:15 נָתָ֖ן Nathan

    So Nathan relayed to David all the words of this entire revelation.

  9. 1 Chronicles 29:29 נָתָ֣ן Nathan

    Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are indeed written in the Chronicles of Samuel the Seer, the Chronicles of Nathan the Prophet, and the Chronicles of Gad the Seer,

2 Chronicles · 2
  1. 2 Chronicles 9:29 נָתָ֣ן Nathan

    As for the rest of the acts of Solomon, from beginning to end, are they not written in the Records of Nathan the Prophet, in the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the Visions of Iddo the Seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat?

  2. 2 Chronicles 29:25 וְנָתָ֣ן and Nathan

    Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet. For the command had come from the LORD through His prophets.

    Here: "And Nathan": the prophet who gave David the promise of a lasting dynasty (2 Sam 7), confronted him over Bathsheba (2 Sam 12), and helped bring Solomon to the throne (1 Kgs 1).

Ezra · 2
  1. Ezra 8:16 וּלְנָתָ֛ן and for Nathan

    Then I summoned the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, as well as the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan.

  2. Ezra 10:39 וְנָתָ֖ן and Nathan

    Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,

Psalms · 1
Zechariah · 1
  1. Zechariah 12:12 נָתָן֙ Nathan

    The land will mourn, each clan on its own: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives,

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.