NT Text: Acts 7:46
OT Source(s):
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Typology (Providential Type, Forward-Looking) + Promise-Fulfillment
Anchor Text: Ps 132 — The Davidic Temple Promise
Significance: Stephen describes David as having "found favor in the sight of God and asked to provide a dwelling place [skēnōma] for the God of Jacob" (Acts 7:46), which closely reflects Ps 132:2-5 where David vows: "I will not give sleep to my eyes... until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place [mishkan] for the Mighty One of Jacob." Stephen's use of skēnōma (dwelling place, tabernacle) rather than oikos (house) is significant — it ties David's desire to the skēnē (tabernacle) tradition rather than the permanent temple. Stephen's broader argument in Acts 7 is that God cannot be confined to a human-made house (7:48-50); David's unfulfilled desire for a skēnōma thus serves as evidence that even the greatest king recognized God's transcendence, anticipating the argument that the true dwelling of God is not Solomon's temple but the risen Christ and his Spirit-indwelled community.