The Scripture behind the Scripture

The Tabernacle of David

Amos 9:11 promises that God will rebuild the fallen tabernacle of David so that the remnant of men and the Gentiles might seek the Lord. James cites it at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15:16, following the Greek Septuagint.

“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:”Amos 9:11

“After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:”Acts 15:16

In its own place

In its own place. Amos was a shepherd from Judah who prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel in the eighth century before Christ, mostly a message of severe judgment against a prosperous but unjust and complacent nation. Yet the book ends with a promise of restoration. In Amos 9:11 to 12 God says, In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the heathen, which are called by my name. In its original setting the fallen tabernacle, or booth, of David refers to the collapsed royal house and kingdom of David, which had declined and would fall. God promises to restore the Davidic dynasty and kingdom to its former glory, and to extend its rule over the surrounding nations, including Edom. This is a promise of the rebuilding of David's fallen dynasty and the ingathering of the nations under it. After chapters of judgment, Amos closes with hope that God will not utterly destroy his people but will raise up David's house again and bring the nations who bear his name within its reach, a restoration of the kingdom and an extension of God's rule to the peoples.

Where the New Testament takes it up

This is a direct quotation, and it follows the Greek Septuagint at a decisive point. At the Jerusalem council, where the church debates whether Gentile believers must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, James rises to support welcoming the Gentiles. In Acts 15:16 to 17 he quotes Amos, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down, and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up, that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called. Here the wording follows the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew, and the difference matters. Where the Hebrew speaks of possessing the remnant of Edom, the Greek reads that the residue, or remnant, of men might seek the Lord, turning a promise of dominion over Edom into a promise that the rest of mankind and the Gentiles would seek God. James uses this Septuagint reading to prove from Scripture that God always intended to gather Gentiles to himself, so they need not become Jews to belong to God's people. The rebuilding of David's tabernacle is understood as fulfilled in the raising up of Jesus, the son of David, and the ingathering of the nations into the church that follows.