1 Chronicles 17 is the Chronicler’s account of the Davidic covenant, Yahweh’s commitment to the Davidic dynasty. In his response to the Lord’s pledge, David summarizes the aims of the exodus (v. 21). Following the Hebrew word order, we can see a somewhat irregular chiasm:
A. And what one nation (goy) in the earth is like Your people Israel
B. which Elohim went to redeem (padah) for Yourself a people
C. to set for Yourself a Name great and fearful
B’/A’. To drive out from before Your people which you redeemed (padah) from Egypt nations (goyim)?
Yahweh’s goal in going to redeem His people was to establish a great name. His Name is associated with Israel, so Israel’s deliverance and prosperity enhances the repute of Israel’s God.
That sounds like an ancient-heroic sort of thing: Yahweh acts to buttress His glory. But the following verse offers a different angle that complicates both the Davidic covenant and the theology underlying it:
A. And you gave
B. Your people Israel
A’. to Yourself
B’. as a people forever.
Yahweh redeemed Israel from slavery and drove out the nations of Canaan to make Himself a name; He also redeemed Israel so that He could give Israel to Himself as a people forever. That is: He redeemed Israel to gain a name; at the same time He redeemed Israel to give. The One who gained a name through Israel gives Israel to Himself, and thus confers a name on Himself. Yahweh both is Himself and somehow other than Himself. He is both Giver and Recipient.
To a Christian ear, that’s a whisper of Trinity, perhaps especially of Edwards on the Trinity, who claimed that God the Father made the world so that He would have a bride to give to His Son.
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