Rock of Israel

“The spirit of HASHEM spoke through me; His word is upon my tongue. The G-d of Israel has said – the Rock of Israel has spoken to me – “[Become a] ruler over men; a righteous one, who rules through the fear of G-d, like the morning light when the sun shines – a morning without clouds, from the shine out of the rain, grass [sprouts froth] from the earth. (2 Samuel 23:2-4)”

Many Christians believe that the term “Rock of Israel” refers to their human deity. They therefore divide One G-d into separate parts, thinking the Rock of Israel is not only separate from the G-d of Israel, but speaking to Him. They feel the multiple mention of G-d reveals a multiplicity of G-d entities, but this is really a misunderstanding of basic Hebrew poetic form identifying the G-d of Israel as their Rock. King David uses a literary technique of theme repetition to communicate importance and emphasis. Another example of this poetic technique can be found in Psalm 130:5, "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits," and in numerous other instances.

In addition to the misinterpretation above, Christians also call their deity the “morning light” and assume David is describing their deity based on their misunderstanding of Who spoke to David. It is HASHEM alone, the G-d of Israel, the Rock of Israel, talking to King David about his reign.

These verses are part of the last words spoken by King David, a poetic description of his rule over Israel. When the anticipated messiah will rule the Jewish people he will be like David, a normal man appointed by G-d to be a righteous ruler, who fears G-d and whose reign is pleasant like King David’s reign, “like the morning light when the sun shines…”