2 Samuel 7:2

A house of cedar; Hebrew, cedars. As these trees were sent by Hiram, and as the house was built, and David now settled in it, some considerable time must have elapsed since his accession. Moreover, the league with Hiram would be the result of David's successes recorded in 2 Samuel 8:1 ; for the bond of union between the two was their mutual fear of the Philistines. As we have seen before, the alliance with Tyro had a very civilizing effect upon the Hebrews, who were far inferior to the Tyrians in the mechanical arts; and David's house of hewn cedar logs was marvellous in the eyes of a people who still dwelt chiefly in tents. David purposed to build even a more sumptuous palace for Jehovah, and advised with Nathan as his chief counsellor, and the person to whom subsequently the education of Solomon was confided. Within curtains; Hebrew, the curtain; that is, the tent. The tabernacle prepared by Moses for the ark was formed of ten curtains ( Exodus 26:1 ), but the significance lay, not in their number, hut in the dwelling of Jehovah still being a mere temporary lodging, though his people had received from him a settled land.