2 Samuel 7:2

Unto Nathan. This is the first mention of Nathan the prophet, but he was evidently already a confidential counselor of the king, to be consulted on important matters in which David desired specific directions from God. Nathan became a prominent figure in David’s reign and also in the reign of Solomon (see 2 Sam. 12; 1 Kings 1:10–12, 34, 38).

Within curtains. The word for “curtains” is that used in Ex. 26 and 36 for the covering of the tabernacle. The tent in which the ark was housed was a temporary structure probably similar to the Mosaic tabernacle. The original tabernacle and the altar of burnt offering were at Gibeon (1 Chron. 21:29; 2 Chron. 1:3–6). With the ark in a tent in Jerusalem, there were now two national shrines. It was the Lord’s purpose, however, that there should be only one central place of worship (Deut. 12:13, 14), and it was David’s plan to establish one great national shrine in Jerusalem.