Psalms 2:7 always confused me. What does it mean when it says that god had begotten David?

Question

(KJV) I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
(NIV) I will proclaim the LORD's decree: He said to me, "You are my son; today I have become your father.

Particularly when this is contrasted with John 3:16.
(KJV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
(NIV) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I don't think "son" and "begotten" mean the same thing in the two verses, particularly in light of the two disparate stories of David and Jesus. However, I'm confused what about what it means in relation to David. Does anyone know the original, untranslated wording and the textures of meaning behind each? I'm thinking my curiosity will be answered there, rather than in the study of English translations.

FYI
I'm asking this in a sincere desire to figure out the difference, not as any point of theological debate. I'm not posing an anti-Christian trick question. I'd just like to know about begotten in relation to David.

Answer 1

I hope this might help you in your search:

One of the fundamental beliefs in Christianity is the literal sonship of Jesus Christ to God. This belief comes from the verse in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Also in I John 5:1 "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him." these verses clearly state that Jesus is the only begotten, and born Son of God.
Let us look at other verses from the Bible to find out whether Jesus was the only begotten son of God, or that there were more than one. Also let us investigate whether Jesus was the only one born of God. Finally, let us investigate whether the word begotten is to be taken literally.

Was Jesus the only begotten son of God?

In the book of Psalms 2:7 we find "I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." David, in this verse, is saying that God had told him he was the son of God and God has begotten him. Clearly Jesus is not the only begotten son of God.

Of course, one could say that although Jesus was not the only begotten son of God, he had no human father in contrast to David who had a human father. That is true! Since Jesus had no human father it makes the relationship between him and God a closer one. The question is what about Adam? Adam had no human father nor a human mother, and according to the Bible he too was the son of God. The Bible says, "And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli." (Luke3:23) The Bible goes on to mention the supposed genealogy of Jesus Christ. At the end of this genealogy the Bible comes to Adam, and it says, "Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." (Luke 3:38). So Adam is also the son of God. According to the assumption: "because Jesus had no human father then he is closer to God than David who had a human father," we can safely conclude that Adam is better than Jesus because he did not have a human father or mother.

The truth is Jesus and Adam do not differ in God’s sight. They were a mere creation of God. The Holy Quran says in clear terms, "Verily, similitude of Jesus with God is as the similitude of Adam; He created him out of dust then said He unto him BE, and he became." (Ch 3: Vr 59).

Answer 2

In the Concordant Hebrew English Sublinear (CHES) in Psalm 2:7 translates the Hebrew words to mean "son of me you I the day I generated you."

The AV translates:"Thou (art) my Son; this day I have begotten thee."

Westcott-Hort text l881 (WHNA) John 3:16 in Greek reads: " the son the only generated." The Greek words here for 'the son' are 'ho hulos' and 'only generated' is 'monogenEs.'

The AV translates:"his only begotten Son."

Psalm 2 has a prophetic fulfillment in the greater David, Jesus Christ--Luke 1:32,33; Acts 2:34-36.

Answer 3

Begotten is like become or " taken as a son" and obvioulsy it is not the same.......he refers to David as in Son while Jesus is what HE is

Answer 4

Message Version of Bible:
7-9 Let me tell you what God said next.
He said, "You're my son,
And today is your birthday.
What do you want? Name it:
Nations as a present? continents as a prize?
You can command them all to dance for you,
Or throw them out with tomorrow's trash."
Try looking up verses on Biblegateway.com and you can choose from zillions of Bible translations which makes it easier to understand On this one we are all children of God and God was saying " I have created you and am so pleased with your allegiance to me and your devotion and your respect.

Answer 5

I just read the entire chapter and can only give you my first impression but it seems as this is a prophecy about Christ. Again, that is only my first impression so take it for what it's worth.

Answer 6

I want to add one more layer of nuance to all of this. We see this same conundrum come up when Hebrews 11:15-17, speaks of Abraham offering up his "only begotten son" - Isaac. If, that is the case, then of whom was Ishmael begotten? I borrow this question from the following website: http://www.babylonforsaken.com/monogenes.html

As I was asking the very same question that you are today, I found this to be more complete that the answer of the person whom you found most helpful. Why? Because every time I ask a question with this sort of openness to an answer, I do actually find an answer that draws upon ALL of the available information - I actually find an answer that harmonizes ALL of the concerns.

You are right to say that Adam was "begotten" of God. This word is used this way in Scripture. You are also right to say that we are all "begotten" of God. Because we are all descendants from the first human beings - Adam and Eve, whose lineage was God, from the dust of the earth and the life he breathed into their nostrils.

Now as a bit more pretext to Psalm 2, those who understand it as a Messianic Psalm also ascribe it to David. There is a sense in which that which is true as it applies to David, is true to a greater degree as it applies to the Messiah. This is called the "sensus plenior" or "fuller" meaning of the text. A former professor of mine, Robert Stein, he wrote, "The willed meaning of the prophet is accessilbe to the reader because of the context the author has provided...but wut what about the alleeged fuller meaning of God? How can we know this?...From a pragmatic point of view, since we can only perceive such a deeper fulfillment after the facet, seeking such deeper meanings is of littlevalue....however, it may be wiser to see fi the supposed 'sensus plenior' is in reality an implication ofthe author's conscious meaning....Perhaps such prophecies as Matthew `1:22-23 and 2:15 are best understood as revealing implications of the original propheciesin Isaiah 7:14 and Hosea 11:1. whereas in Isaiah's day the prophet meant that a maiden would give birth to a soun who was named "immanuel," that willed meaning also allows for a a virgin one dy to give birth to a son who would bbe Immanuel." (A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible, pp. 96-97). There's much more in that book if you care to get it from Amazon - it makes interpretation less guesswork, more hard work, but simple enough.

Now, let's take it back to Psalm 2. Applying the same sort of logic. In what sense do we have the implication that the original auther did not intend for this to just be about David. Well, could David, a mere human "8 Ask of Me, and [receive] the nations for thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for thy possession?" Could David, a human, "break them with a rod of iron; ... dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel"? Even in a coronation, which this Psalm is perhaps written for,there is certainly reason to believe that the poetic language is more about the greater one to come than about David himself.

Now to explore, "Son". In what way David truly the Son of God? He is the only one through whom the Messiah is going to be born. It's HIS lineage.

Is it reasonable to expect the Messiah to be different as a Son of God than David? To actually be able to have the same power to judge the nations as God Himself, a power which God in no other place in the Bible gives to someone outside of Himself, then that substance other than human is divine. For David did not judge the nations with such a scepter as to be able to dash them into pieces. And in no other place are humans (or angels or demons) given that power. Just to the Messiah.


And in a "sensus plenior" or fuller meaning of the text, how can the Messiah be to God the
(בְּ נִ י) (bn·i) son-of·me [and the] (אַ תָּ ה) (athe) you
[+] (אֲנִ י) (ani) I [on the day when] (יְ לִ דְ תִּ י0) (ildthi·k) I-generated·you?

Or without the Hebrew...how can the Messiah be to God the "Son of Me [and the] you [+(?)] I [on the day when] I generated you" in a different way than David, or the others who are mentioned as being sons of God could ever ber (aka Adam, Eve, and humanity in general are excluded from being Sons of God in the way the Messiah was in John 3:16)?

This I think is where the "you" "I' comes in. It is something that I am not a scholar about, but it is something which seems utterly lacking in the Hebrew/English translation. I think you picked up on this yourself.

As I go through the OT, I look for times when God says He is going to be the Redeemer of the Israelites, and when God says He is going to send a Son of Adam to be the Redeemer of mankind. It's happens often enough that I pick up on it, and I'm not a scholar. It's a promise from the curse of the Snake in the Garden of Eden ("he (son of Eve) will crush your (Serpent) head, and you will strike his heel). What He says a mere mortal will do - crush the evil of the Deceiver - Satan himself - is too lofty for one of us. So I see in this chapter something of the same thing.

What a mere mortal should not be able to do, God says the Messiah will do.

"you" "I"

Here are some quotes from the very helpful article regarding John 3:16, "Monogenes" from the website, babylonforsaken.com.

While studying some of the writings of the pre-nicean church "fathers" I noticed that they repeatedly quoted the following verses to prove that Christ was indeed begotten. The true meaning of these verses are almost lost today because of the sloppy modern translations.

PSALMS 45:1-6 (LXX) For the end, for alternate strains by the sons of Core; for instruction, a Song concerning the beloved. My heart has uttered an excellent word (logos):

Isn't it an awesome thought to think that Jesus originated in the heart of GOD as his 'wisdom', and before creation he was made audible and thus begotten, as a true Son, not a sound without substance. A true person, with his own intellect! This ensures the eternity of Christ, for if he existed in the heart of GOD before his birth, then he is eternal. The next few verses of this Psalm clears up any question concerning who the speaker has in mind.


PSLAMS 45:2 I declare my works to the king: my tongue is the pen of a quick writer. Thou art more beautiful than the sons of men: grace has been shed forth on thy lips: therefore God has blessed thee for ever.3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O Mighty One, in thy comeliness, and in thy beauty; 4 and bend thy bow, and prosper, and reign, because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall guide thee wonderfully. Thy weapons are sharpened, Mighty One, (the nations shall fall under thee) they are in the heart of the king’s enemies. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness beyond thy fellows."

So here is what I am left with:

MESSIAH = Son of God AND Son of Man - God himself and yet distinct - a person with an intellect - logos/words/wisdom... from God and of Him...mediator,..Savior...who had no sins, yet died for the sins of many...and rose from the dead, now seated at God's right-hand interceding for those whose sins kept him nailed to the cross...ABLE TO JUDGE THE NATIONS, BUT WILLING TO DISPLAY HIS LOVE FOR ALL TO SEE LIFTED UP ON A CROSS...talked about 2000 years later...faith that he would come during the generations of Genesis...mystery of mysteries...resurrection available to me?! by faith, not anything I did myself...love wells up...desire to follow Him a result...joy in following Him the satisfying effect.