Text -- 2 Samuel 11:21 (NET)

11:21 Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone down on him from the wall so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ just say to him, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

TSK: 2Sa 11:21

Abimelech : Jdg 9:53

Jerubbesheth : Jdg 6:32, Jdg 7:1, Jerubbaal

Thy servant : 2Sa 3:27, 2Sa 3:34; Psa 39:8; Isa 14:10; Eze 16:51, Eze 16:52

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Sa 11:21

Who smote Abimelech ... - This reference indicates the existence in David’ s time of the national annals of that period in an accessible form, and the king’ s habit of reading, or having read to him, the history of his country. (Compare Est 6:1.)

Poole: 2Sa 11:21

Jerubbesheth called also Jerubbaal , Jud 9:1 . See Poole "2Sa 2:8" . Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also; which he knew would be acceptable news to the king, and therefore allay his wrath. This indeed might make the messenger suspect that David had a hand in Uriah’ s death; and possibly Joab might say so for that very reason, that these matters by degrees being known, David might be hardened in sin, and so Joab might have the greater interest in him.

Haydock: 2Sa 11:21

Jerobaal? Hebrews write Jeroboseth, to avoid the mention of Baal, as they also do with respect to the name of Isboseth, who was probably called Isbaal. (Calmet) See Judges, ix. 57. ---

Joab supposed that David might probably adduce this instance, to shew the danger of approaching too near the wall, as it had proved destructive to part of his army, and had been fatal to Abimelech. But it seems the messenger did not allow him time to express any resentment, before he told him the agreeable news, which he desired so much to hear, ver. 24. (Haydock)

Gill: 2Sa 11:21

Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth?.... The same with Jerubbaal, who was Gideon, Jdg 6:32; Baal, one part of his name, was the name of an idol, and sometimes called Bosheth or Besheth, which signifies shame, being a shameful idol; Gideon had a son called Abimelech, who was smitten, and it is here asked, by whom?

did not a woman cast a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? which should have been a warning not to go too near the wall of an enemy; the history is recorded in Jdg 9:52,

why went ye nigh the wall? exposing your lives to so much danger, and by which so many lives were lost:

then say thou, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also; the whole has not been told, the worst of all is, as the messenger was to represent it, that brave gallant soldier Uriah is dead; this Joab ordered to be told last, as knowing very well it would pacify the king's wrath, and was the agreeable news he wanted to hear.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Sa 11:21

¹ sn The upper millstone (Heb “millstone of riding”) refers to the heavy circular stone that was commonly rolled over a circular base in order to crush and grind such things as olives.

Geneva Bible: 2Sa 11:21

Who smote Abimelech the son of ^{( i )} Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

^{( i )} Meaning Gideon, (Jdg 9:52-53).

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Sa 11:1-27

1 While Joab besieges Rabbah, David commits adultery with Bath-sheba.

6 Uriah, sent for by David to cover the adultery, would not go home.

14 He carries to Joab the letter of his death.

18 Joab sends the news thereof to David.

26 David takes Bath-sheba to wife.

MHCC: 2Sa 11:14-27

Adulteries often occasion murders, and one wickedness is sought to be covered by another. The beginnings of sin are much to be dreaded; for who knows where they will end? Can a real believer ever tread this path? Can such a person be indeed a child of God? Though grace be not lost in such an awful case, the assurance and consolation of it must be suspended. All David's life, spirituality, and comfort in religion, we may be sure were lost. No man in such a case can have evidence to be satisfied that he is a believer. The higher a man's confidence is, who has sunk in wickedness, the greater his presumption and hypocrisy. Let not any one who resembles David in nothing but his transgressions, bolster up his confidence with this example. Let him follow David in his humiliation, repentance, and his other eminent graces, before he thinks himself only a backslider, and not a hypocrite. Let no opposer of the truth say, These are the fruits of faith! No; they are the effects of corrupt nature. Let us all watch against the beginnings of self-indulgence, and keep at the utmost distance from all evil. But with the Lord there is mercy and plenteous redemption. He will cast out no humble, penitent believer; nor will he suffer Satan to pluck his sheep out of his hand. Yet the Lord will recover his people, in such a way as will mark his abhorrence of their crimes, to hinder all who regard his word from abusing the encouragements of his mercy.

Matthew Henry: 2Sa 11:14-27

When David's project of fathering the child upon Uriah himself failed, so that, in process of time, Uriah would certainly know the wrong that had been done him, to prevent the fruits of his revenge, the devil put it into David's heart to take him off, and then neither he nor Bath-sheba would be in any danger (what prosecution could there be when there was no prosecutor?), suggesting further that, when Uriah was out of the way, Bath-sheba might, if he pleased, be his own for ever. Adulteries have often occasioned murders, and one wickedness must be covered and secured with another. The beginnings of sin are therefore to be dreaded; for who knows where they will end? It is resolved in David's breast (which one would think could never possibly have harboured so vile a thought) that Uriah must die. That innocent, valiant, gallant man, who was ready to die for his prince's honour, must die by his prince's hand. David has sinned, and Bath-sheba has sinned, and both against him, and therefore he must die; David determines he must. Is this the man whose heart smote him because he had cut off Saul's skirt? Quantum mutatus ab illo ! - But ah, how changed! Is this he that executed judgment and justice to all his people? How can he now do so unjust a thing? See how fleshly lusts war against the soul, and what devastations they make in that war; how they blink the eyes, harden the heart, sear the conscience, and deprive men of all sense of honour and justice. Whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding and quite loses it; he that doth it destroys his own soul, Pro 6:32. But, as the eye of the adulterer, so the hand of the murderer seeks concealment, Job 24:14, Job 24:15. Works of darkness hate the light. When David bravely slew Goliath it was done publicly, and he gloried in it; but, when he basely slew Uriah, it must be done clandestinely, for he is ashamed of it, and well he may. Who would do a thing that he dare not own? The devil, having as a poisonous serpent, put it into David's heart to murder Uriah, as a subtle serpent he puts it into his head how to do it. Not as Absalom slew Amnon, by commanding his servants to assassinate him, nor as Ahab slew Naboth by suborning witnesses to accuse him, but by exposing him to the enemy, a way of doing it which, perhaps, would not seem so odious to conscience and the world, because soldiers expose themselves of course. If Uriah had not been in that dangerous post, another must; he has (as we say) a chance for his life; if he fight stoutly, he may perhaps come off; and, if he die, it is in the field of honour, where a soldier would choose to die; and yet all this will not save it from being a wilful murder, of malice prepense.

I. Orders are sent to Joab to set Uriah in the front of the hottest battle, and then to desert him, and abandon him to the enemy, 2Sa 11:14, 2Sa 11:15. This was David's project to take off Uriah, and it succeeded, as he designed. Many were the aggravations of this murder. 1. It was deliberate. He took time to consider of it; and though he had time to consider of it, for he wrote a letter about it, and though he had time to have countermanded the order afterwards before it could be put in execution, yet he persisted in it. 2. He sent the letter by Uriah himself, than which nothing could be more base and barbarous, to make him accessory to his own death. And what a paradox was it that he could bear such a malice against him in whom yet he could repose such a confidence as that he would carry letters which he must not know the purport of. 3. Advantage must be taken of Uriah's own courage and zeal for his king and country, which deserve the greatest praise and recompence, to betray him the more easily to his fate. If he had not been forward to expose himself, perhaps he was a man of such importance that Joab could not have exposed him; and that this noble fire should be designedly turned upon himself was a most detestable instance of ingratitude. 4. Many must be involved in the guilt. Joab, the general, to whom the blood of his soldiers, especially the worthies, ought to be precious, must do it; he, and all that retire from Uriah when they ought in conscience to support and second him, become guilty of his death. 5. Uriah cannot thus die alone: the party he commands is in danger of being cut off with him; and it proved so: some of the people, even the servants of David (so they are called, to aggravate David's sin in being so prodigal of their lives), fell with him, 2Sa 11:17. Nay, this wilful misconduct by which Uriah must be betrayed might be of fatal consequence to the whole army, and might oblige them to raise the siege. 6. It will be the triumph and joy of the Ammonites, the sworn enemies of God and Israel; it will gratify them exceedingly. David prayed for himself, that he might not fall into the hands of man, nor flee from his enemies (2Sa 24:13, 2Sa 24:14); yet he sells his servant Uriah to the Ammonites, and not for any iniquity in his hand.

II. Joab executes these orders. In the next assault that is made upon the city Uriah has the most dangerous post assigned him, is encouraged to hope that if he be repulsed by the besieged he shall be relieved by Joab, in dependence on which he marches on with resolution, but, succours not coming on, the service proves too hot, and he is slain in it, 2Sa 11:16, 2Sa 11:17. It was strange that Joab would do such a thing merely upon a letter, without knowing the reason. But, 1. Perhaps he supposed Uriah had been guilty of some great crime, to enquire into which David had sent for him, and that, because he would not punish him openly, he took this course with him to put him to death. 2. Joab had been guilty of blood, and we may suppose it pleased him very well to see David himself falling into the same guilt, and he was willing enough to serve him in it, that he might continue to be favourable to him. It is common for those who have done ill themselves to desire to be countenanced therein by others doing ill likewise, especially by the sins of those that are eminent in the profession of religion. Or, perhaps, David knew that Joab had a pique against Uriah, and would gladly be avenged on him; otherwise Joab, when he saw cause, knew how to dispute the king's orders, as 2Sa 19:5; 2Sa 24:3.

III. He sends an account of it to David. An express is despatched away immediately with a report of this last disgrace and loss which they had sustained, 2Sa 11:18. And, to disguise the affair, 1. He supposes that David would appear to be angry at his bad conduct, would ask why they came so near the wall (2Sa 11:20), did they not know that Abimelech lost his life by doing do? 2Sa 11:21. We had the story (Jdg 9:53), which book, it is likely, was published as a part of the sacred history in Samuel's time; and (be it noted to their praise, and for imitation) even the soldiers were conversant with their bibles, and could readily quote the scripture-story, and make use of it for admonition to themselves not to run upon the same attempts which they found had been fatal. 2. He slyly orders the messenger to soothe it with telling him that Uriah the Hittite was dead also, which gave too broad an intimation to the messenger, and by him to others, that David would be secretly pleased to hear that; for murder will out. And, when men do such base things, they must expect to be bantered and upbraided with them, even by their inferiors. The messenger delivered his message agreeably to orders, 2Sa 11:22-24. He makes the besieged to sally out first upon the besiegers ( they came out unto us into the field ), represents the besiegers as doing their part with great bravery ( we were upon them even to the entering of the gate - we forced them to retire into the city with precipitation), and so concludes with a slight mention of the slaughter made among them by some shot from the wall: Some of the king's servants are dead, and particularly Uriah the Hittite, an officer of note, stood first in the list of the slain.

IV. David receives the account with a secret satisfaction, 2Sa 11:25. Let not Joab be displeased, for David is not. He blames not his conduct, nor thinks they did wrong in approaching so near the wall; all is well now that Uriah is put out of the way. This point being gained, he can make light of the loss, and turn it off easily with an excuse: The sword devours one as well as another; it was a chance of war, nothing more common. He orders Joab to make the battle more strong next time, while he, by his sin, was weakening it, and provoking God to blast the undertaking.

V. He marries the widow in a little time. She submitted to the ceremony of mourning for her husband as short a time as custom would admit (2Sa 11:26), and then David took her to his house as his wife, and she bore him a son. Uriah's revenge was prevented by his death, but the birth of the child so soon after the marriage published the crime. Sin will have shame. Yet that was not the worst of it: The thing that David had done displeased the Lord. The whole matter of Uriah (as it is called, 1Ki 15:5), the adultery, falsehood, murder, and this marriage at last, it was all displeasing to the Lord. He had pleased himself, but displeased God. Note, God sees and hates sin in his own people. Nay, the nearer any are to God in profession the more displeasing to him their sins are; for in them there is more ingratitude, treachery, and reproach, than in the sins of others. Let none therefore encourage themselves in sin by the example of David; for those that sin as he did will fall under the displeasure of God as he did. Let us therefore stand in awe and sin not, not sin after the similitude of his transgression.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Sa 11:2-27

David's Adultery. - David's deep fall forms a turning-point not only in the inner life of the great king, but also in the history of his reign. Hitherto David had kept free from the grosser sins, and had only exhibited such infirmities and failings as simulation, prevarication, etc., which clung to all the saints of the Old Covenant, and were hardly regarded as sins in the existing stage of religious culture at that time, although God never left them unpunished, but invariably visited them upon His servants with humiliations and chastisements of various kinds. Among the unacknowledged sins which God tolerated because of the hardness of Israel's heart was polygamy, which encouraged licentiousness and the tendency to sensual excesses, and to which but a weak barrier had been presented by the warning that had been given for the Israelitish kings against taking many wives (Deu 17:17), opposed as such a warning was to the notion so prevalent in the East both in ancient and modern times, that a well-filled harem is essential to the splendour of a princely court. The custom to which this notion gave rise opened a dangerous precipice in David's way, and led to a most grievous fall, that can only be explained, as O. v. Gerlach has said, from the intoxication consequent upon undisturbed prosperity and power, which grew with every year of his reign, and occasioned a long series of most severe humiliations and divine chastisements that marred the splendour of his reign, notwithstanding the fact that the great sin was followed by deep and sincere repentance.

2Sa 11:2-5

Towards evening David walked upon the roof of his palace, after rising from his couch, i.e., after taking his mid-day rest, and saw from the roof a woman bathing, namely in the uncovered court of a neighbouring house, where there was a spring with a pool of water, such as you still frequently meet with in the East. "The woman was beautiful to look upon." Her outward charms excited sensual desires.

2Sa 11:3

David ordered inquiry to be made about her, and found ( ויּאמר , "he , i.e., the messenger, said;" or indefinitely, "they said") that she was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hethite. הלוא , nonne , is used, as it frequently is, in the sense of an affirmation, "it is indeed so."Instead of Bathsheba the daughter of Eliam, we find the name given in the Chronicles (1Ch 3:5) as Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel. The form בּת־שׁוּע may be derived from בּת־שׁוע , in which ב is softened into ; for Bathsheba (with beth ) is the correct and original form, as we may see from 1Ki 1:11, 1Ki 1:15, 1Ki 1:28. Eliam and Ammiel have the same signification; the difference simply consists in the transposition of the component parts of the name. It is impossible to determine, however, which of the two forms was the original one.

2Sa 11:4

The information brought to him, that the beautiful woman was married, was not enough to stifle the sensual desires which arose in David's soul. "When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin"(Jam 1:15). David sent for the woman, and lay with her. In the expression "he took her, and she came to him,"there is no intimation whatever that David brought Bathsheba into his palace through craft or violence, but rather that she came at his request without any hesitation, and offered no resistance to his desires. Consequently Bathsheba is not to be regarded as free from blame. The very act of bathing in the uncovered court of a house in the heart of the city, into which it was possible for any one to look down from the roofs of the houses on higher ground, does not say much for her feminine modesty, even if it was not done with an ulterior purpose, as some commentators suppose. Nevertheless in any case the greatest guilt rests upon David, that he, a man upon whom the Lord had bestowed such grace, did not resist the temptation to the lust of the flesh, but sent to fetch the woman. "When she had sanctified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house." Defilement from sexual intercourse rendered unclean till the evening (Lev 15:18). Bathsheba thought it her duty to observe this statute most scrupulously, though she did not shrink from committing the sin of adultery.

2Sa 11:5

When she discovered that she was with child, she sent word to David. This involved an appeal to him to take the necessary steps to avert the evil consequences of the sin, inasmuch as the law required that both adulterer and adulteress should be put to death (Lev 20:10).

2Sa 11:6-8

David had Uriah the husband of Bathsheba sent to him by Joab, under whom he was serving in the army before Rabbah, upon some pretext or other, and asked him as soon as he arrived how it fared with Joab and the people (i.e., the army) and the war. This was probably the pretext under which David had had him sent to him. According to 2Sa 23:39, Uriah was one of the gibborim ("mighty men") of David, and therefore held some post of command in the army, although there is no historical foundation for the statement made by Josephus, viz., that he was Joab's armour-bearer or aide-de-camp. The king then said to him, "Go down to thy house (from the palace upon Mount Zion down to the lower city, where Uriah's house was situated), and wash thy feet;" and when he had gone out of the palace, he sent a royal present after him. The Israelites were accustomed to wash their feet when they returned home from work or from a journey, to take refreshment and rest themselves. Consequently these words contained an intimation that he was to go and refresh himself in his own home. David's wish was that Uriah should spend a night at home with his wife, that he might afterwards be regarded as the father of the child that had been begotten in adultery. משּׂאת , a present, as in Amo 5:11; Jer 50:4; Est 2:18.

2Sa 11:9

But Uriah had his suspicions aroused. The connection between his wife and David may not have remained altogether a secret, so that it may have reached his ears as soon as he arrived in Jerusalem. "He lay down to sleep before the king's house with all the servants of his lord (i.e., the retainers of the court), and went not down to his house." "Before, or at, the door of the king's house,"i.e., in the court of the palace, or in a building adjoining the king's palace, where the court servants lived.

2Sa 11:10-12

When this was told to David (the next morning), he said to Uriah, " Didst thou not come from the way (i.e., from a journey) ? why didst thou not go down (as men generally do when they return from a journey)?"Uriah replied (2Sa 11:11), "The ark (ark of the covenant), and Israel, and Judah, dwell in the huts, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord encamp in the field; and should I go to my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? By thy life, and by the life of thy soul, I do no such thing!" בּסּכּות ישׁב , to sit or sojourn in huts, is the same practically as being encamped in the field. Uriah meant to say: Whereas the ark, i.e., Jehovah with the ark, and all Israel, were engaged in conflict with the enemies of God and of His kingdom, and therefore encamped in the open country, it did not become a warrior to seek rest and pleasure in his own home. This answer expressed the feelings and the consciousness of duty which ought to animate one who was fighting for the cause of God, in such plain and unmistakeable terms, that it was well adapted to prick the king to the heart. But David's soul was so beclouded by the wish to keep clear of the consequences of his sin in the eyes of the world, that he did not feel the sting, but simply made a still further attempt to attain his purpose with Uriah. He commanded him to stop in Jerusalem all that day, as he did not intend to send him away till the morrow.

2Sa 11:13

The next day he invited him to his table and made him drunken, with the hope that when in this state he would give up his intention of not going home to his wife. But Uriah lay down again the next night to sleep with the king's servants, without going down to his house; for, according to the counsel and providence of God, David's sin was to be brought to lift to his deep humiliation.

2Sa 11:14-15

When the king saw that his plan was frustrated through Uriah's obstinacy, he resolved upon a fresh and still greater crime. He wrote a letter to Joab, with which he sent Uriah back to the army, and the contents of which were these: "Set ye Uriah opposite to the strongest contest, and then turn away behind him, that he may be slain, and die."

(Note: "We may see from this how deep a soul may fall when it turns away from God, and from the guidance of His grace. This David, who in the days of his persecution would not even resort to means that were really plausible in order to defend himself, was now not ashamed to resort to the greatest crimes in order to cover his sin. O God! how great is our strength when we lay firm hold of Thee! And how weak we become as soon as we turn away from Thee! The greatest saints would be ready for the worst of deeds, if Thou shouldst but leave them for a single moment without Thy protection. Whoever reflects upon this, will give up all thought of self-security and spiritual pride."- Berleburg Bible .)

David was so sure that his orders would be executed, that he did not think it necessary to specify any particular crime of which Uriah had been guilty.

2Sa 11:16

The king's wishes were fully carried out by Joab. "When Joab watched (i.e., blockaded) the city, he stationed Uriah just where he knew that there were brave men" (in the city).

2Sa 11:17

"And the men of the city came out (i.e., made a sally) and fought with Joab, and some of the people of the servants of David fell, and Uriah the Hethite died also." The literal fulfilment of the king's command does not warrant us in assuming that Joab suspected how the matter stood, or had heard a rumour concerning it. As a general, who was not accustomed to spare human life, he would be a faithful servant of his lord in this point, in order that his own interests might be served another time.

2Sa 11:18-21

Joab immediately despatched a messenger to the king, to give him a report of the events of the war, and with these instructions: "When thou hast told all the things of the war to the king to the end, in case the anger of the king should be excited ( תּעלה , ascend), and he should say to thee, Why did ye advance so near to the city to fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall? Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbosheth (i.e., Gideon, see at Jdg 6:32)? did not a woman throw down a millstone from the wall, that he died in Thebez (Jdg 9:53)? why went ye so nigh to the wall? then only say, Thy servant Uriah the Hethite has perished."Joab assumed that David might possibly be angry at what had occurred, or at any rate that he might express his displeasure at the fact that Joab had sacrificed a number of warriors by imprudently approaching close to the wall: he therefore instructed the messenger, if such should be the case, to announce Uriah's death to the king, for the purpose of mitigating his wrath. The messenger seems to have known that Uriah was in disgrace with the king. At the same time, the words "thy servant Uriah is dead also"might be understood or interpreted as meaning that it was without, or even in opposition to, Joab's command, that Uriah went so far with his men, and that he was therefore chargeable with his own death and that of the other warriors who had fallen.

2Sa 11:22-24

The messenger brought to David all the information with which Joab had charged him ( שׁלח with a double accusative, to send or charge a person with anything), but he so far condensed it as to mention Uriah's death at the same time. "When the men (of Rabbah) became strong against us, and came out to us into the field, and we prevailed against them even to the gate, the archers shot at thy servants down from the wall, so that some of the servants of the king died, and thy servant Uriah the Hethite is dead also."The א in the forms המּוראים ויּראוּ instead of המּורים ויּרוּ is an Aramaic mode of writing the words.

2Sa 11:25-27

David received with apparent composure the intelligence which he was naturally so anxious to hear, and sent this message back to Joab: "Let not this thing depress thee, for the sword devours thus and thus. Keep on with the battle against the city, and destroy it." The construction of אל־ירע with את obj . is analogous to the combination of a passive verb with את : "Do not look upon this affair as evil"(disastrous). David then sent the messenger away, saying, "Encourage thou him"( lit . strengthen him, put courage into him), to show his entire confidence in the bravery and stedfastness of Joab and the army, and their ultimate success in the capture of Rabbah. - In 2Sa 11:26 the account goes back to its starting-point. When Uriah's wife heard of her husband's death, she mourned for her husband. When her mourning was over, David took her home as his wife, after which she bore him a son (the one begotten in adultery). The ordinary mourning of the Israelites lasted seven days (Gen 50:10; 1Sa 31:13). Whether widows mourned any longer we do not know. In the case before us Bathsheba would hardly prolong her mourning beyond the ordinary period, and David would certainly not delay taking her as his wife, in order that she might be married to the king as long as possible before the time of childbirth. The account of these two grievous sins on the part of David is then closed with the assurance that "the thing that David had done displeased the Lord,"which prepares the way for the following chapter.

Constable: 2Sa 9:1--20:26

VI. DAVID'S TROUBLES chs. 9--20

Chapters 9-20 contrast with chapters 2-8 in that this later section is negative whereas the earlier one was positive. It records failure; the former records success. Compare the similar narrative of Saul's triumphs (1 Sam. 7-12) and his troubles (1 Sam. 13-31).

"The crumbling of the empire in these chapters is far from anticlimactic. It is an outworking of the fertility principle which the author has been presenting throughout the entire book. Even David, the successful king, is not above this principle. When he disobeyed the covenant he was judged, and since he was the king the whole nation was judged with him. Sexual sin (related to the fertility motif) was the cause of David's downfall, and his fall was followed by sexual sins in his family."¹⁴⁹

David got into trouble when he stopped being humble before God and became arrogant. He was not as bad as Eli and his sons or Saul in this respect. Had he been, God would have cut him off too instead of giving him the Davidic Covenant. Chapters 9-20 show the effects of being arrogant before God.

Scholars frequently refer to chapters 9-20 along with 1 Kings 1 and 2 as "the succession narrative."¹⁵⁰ The reason for this is that the passage deals with matters that lead up to Solomon's succession of David as Israel's king.¹⁵¹ Other scholars prefer to call this unit "court history" since it deals with a broader range of subjects than just Solomon's succession to the throne.¹⁵²

"Virtually all scholars agree that this is one of the finest examples of history writing from the ancient Near Eastern world. It is at the same time a masterpiece of biography and storytelling what with its ingenious interweaving of plots and subplots, its brilliant character sketches, and its attention to artistic touches such as climax and denouement."¹⁵³

Chapters 9-20 begin with information about the survivors in Saul's family (ch. 9) as does the next major section of the book, chapters 21-24 (21:1-14).

Constable: 2Sa 10:1--12:31

B. God's Faithfulness despite David's Unfaithfulness chs. 10-12

These chapters form a sub-section within the Court History portion of 2 Samuel.¹⁵⁷ The phrase "Now it happened" or "Now it was" (10:1; 13:1) always opens a new section.¹⁵⁸ Descriptions of Israel's victories over the Ammonites (10:1-11:1; 12:26-31) frame the David and Bathsheba story.¹⁵⁹ The parallel passage in 1 Chronicles (19:1-20:3) spans 2 Samuel 10-12 while omitting the David and Bathsheba incident. The motif word salah ("send") appears 23 times in this section but only 21 times in the rest of the Court History. Its occurrence may signal the development of a power motif here.¹⁶⁰

Constable: 2Sa 11:1--12:31

2. David's unfaithfulness to God chs. 11-12

These two chapters form a unit as is clear from their chiastic structure.

"A. David sends Joab to besiege Rabbah (11:1).

B. David sleeps with Bathsheba, who becomes pregnant (11:2-5).

C. David has Uriah killed (11:6-17).

D. Joab sends David a message (11:18-27a).

E. The Lord is displeased with David (11:27b).

D'. The Lord sends David a messenger (12:1-14).

C'. The Lord strikes David's infant son, who dies (12:15-23).

B'. David sleeps with Bathsheba, who becomes pregnant (12:24-25).

A'. Joab sends for David to besiege and capture Rabbah (12:26-31)."¹⁶⁷

Even though David had been faithful to Jonathan in keeping his covenant with him (ch. 9), he was not faithful to Jehovah in keeping His covenant with Israel (i.e., the Mosaic Covenant). The writer's main point in this section, I believe, was the following. Disobedience to God's revealed will in the Law of Moses resulted in lack of blessing symbolized by infertility and death. Another view is this.

"The Bathsheba interlude occurs in 2 Samuel 11-12 primarily to indicate the birth and choice of Solomon, but much is learned about God's covenant dealing with His king."¹⁶⁸

This is perhaps the second most notorious sin in the Bible, after the Fall. It has probably received the most attention from unbelievers in movies and other forms of entertainment. Unbelievers love to gloat over the sins of godly people.

Constable: 2Sa 11:6-25

David's murder of Uriah 11:6-25

David compounded his sin by trying to cover it up rather than confessing it. He tried three cover-ups: a "clean" one (vv. 6-11), a "dirty" one (vv. 12-13), and a "criminal" one (vv. 14-17).¹⁷⁸

David's suggestion that Uriah go home and "wash his feet" (v. 8) may have been an encouragement to enjoy his wife sexually since "feet" is sometimes a euphemistic reference to the genitals (cf. Exod. 4:25; Deut. 28:57; Isa. 7:20).¹⁷⁹ Whatever David intended, his hypocrisy is clear. Note the present that David sent home with Uriah. David was setting up this soldier to cover his own sin. However the king underestimated faithful Uriah's commitment to David for whom he had been fighting in Ammon. Though Bathsheba's husband was a Hittite, he appears to have been a godly believer in Yahweh as well as a dedicated warrior. He was one of David's best soldiers, one of his "mighty men" (cf. 23:39).

"Uriah's name ["Yahweh is my light"] turns out to be Yahwist, after all. In the heart of the imperial phalanges we find an orthodox Israelite, quietly observing the wartime soldier's ban against conjugal relations (cf. I Sam. 21:4-7)."¹⁸⁰

Uriah's reference to the ark being in a temporary shelter (v. 11) probably refers to its location at Kiriath-jearim. However some interpreters believe that "tents" should be left untranslated and that the reference is to Succoth.¹⁸¹

"Astonishingly, this Hittite mentions the covenant symbol before everything else that has influenced his behaviour. He is aware also of his solidarity with the fighting men at the front, over whom he will not steal an advantage. Both of these considerations applied even more forcibly to the king, who had final responsibility for the war, and had laid much stress on covenant loyalty himself, but now a foreigner is showing him to be despicably lax."¹⁸²

David's next plan was to get Uriah drunk hoping that in that condition he would return home to sleep with his wife (v. 13), but again David underestimated Uriah.

"The despicableness of the king's behaviour contrasts with the noble figure of the wronged Uriah, several times referred to as the Hittite' (vv. 3, 6, 17, 24), as if to emphasize that, whereas the king of Israel was so obviously lacking in principle, the same could not be said of this foreigner."¹⁸³

David's brazen rebellion against God's will comes out clearly in his third plan. He ordered Uriah to carry his own death warrant to Joab (vv. 14-15).¹⁸⁴ Joab's reply (vv. 19-21) mimicked David's instructions (v. 15).

"David, God's anointed and a great king, is otherwise poles apart from a petty thug like Abimelech [cf. v. 21; Judg. 9:50-54]. . . . [But] that David is likened to Abimelech has--because of the very distance between them--the effect of diminishing his image. The more so since Abimelech fell at a woman's hands while at the head of his army: David falls at a woman's hands precisely because he plays truant from war."¹⁸⁵

About seven years later David's son, Absalom, ordered his followers to strike down his brother, Amnon, for raping Absalom's sister, Tamar (13:28).

"It was ironic that David, the protector of justice, would so pervert justice in the Uriah-Bathsheba incident."¹⁸⁶

Some other innocent soldiers beside Uriah died because of David's orders concerning the battle strategy (v. 24). Thus he was really responsible for their deaths too.

Guzik: 2Sa 11:1-27

2 Samuel 11 - David's Adultery and Murder

"In the whole of the Old Testament literature there is no chapter more tragic or full of solemn and searching warning than this." (G. Campbell Morgan)

A. David's adultery.

1. (1) David stays home from the war against the Ammonites.

It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

a. In the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle: In that part of the world, wars were not normally fought during the winter months because rains and cold weather made travel and campaigning difficult. Fighting resumed in the spring.

b. David sent Joab . . . But David remained at Jerusalem: David should have been out at the battle but he remained behind. In 2 Samuel 10 Joab and the army of the mighty men were preserved against the Syrians and the Ammonites but they did not win a decisive victory. The decisive victory came when David led the battle at the end of 2 Samuel 10. Both through custom and experience God told David, "You need to be at the battle." But David remained at Jerusalem.

i. The principle of Galatians 5:16 rings true: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. If David had his attention where God wanted it, he would never put it where God didn't want it. "While Joab is busy in laying siege to Rabbah, Satan is to David, and far sooner prevailed." (Trapp)

ii. Nevertheless, it is wrong to think that this was the beginning of the chain of events David followed all the way down to adultery and murder. David showed his disregard God's plan for marriage many years before when he took more than one wife (1 Samuel 25:42-43, 2 Samuel 3:2-5). David's practice of adding wives showed a lack of romantic restraint and an indulgence of his passions. This corrupt seed, sown long ago, has grown unchecked long enough and will now begin to bear bitter fruit.

iii. "As I think of what happened, of this I am sure, that it did not happen all at once. This matter of Bathsheba was simply the climax of something that had been going on in his life for twenty years." (Redpath)

iv. Therefore, staying home from the battle merely provided opportunity for the long-standing lack of romantic restraint and indulgence of passion to display itself.

2. (2) David encounters temptation.

Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.

a. David arose from his bed and walked on the roof: The Hebrew verb form of walked suggests that David paced back and forth on the roof. He couldn't sleep and was uneasy - uneasy because he wasn't where God wanted him to be.

b. He saw a woman bathing: There is little doubt that this woman (later called by the name Bathsheba) acted immodestly. Though it was evening and apparently the time when most people were asleep, certainly she knew that her bath was visible from the roof of the palace. Any immodesty on Bathsheba's part did not excuse David's sin, but she was still responsible for her wrong.

i. We must be an occasion for sin in others, even in how we dress. Paul's word 1 Timothy 2:9 is relevant here: the women should adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation.

c. He saw a woman bathing: David's sin was not in seeing Bathsheba. It was unlikely that he expected or planned to see her. David's sin was in choosing to keep his eyes on an alluring image after the sight came before his eyes.

i. Christians - men, especially - must learn to never let their eyes (or their mind) rest on alluring images except for what "belongs" to them in marriage. Our eyes must "bounce" off of an alluring image that comes in sight.

ii. David's many wives did not satisfy his lust. This was because you can't satisfy lusts of the flesh, because they are primarily rebellious assertions of self. It wasn't so much that David wanted Bathsheba; it was that he could not be satisfied with what God gave him.

iii. The principle would be illustrated in an exaggerated way in the life of Solomon, David's son. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. David and Solomon show us that if one woman isn't enough, 1000 women aren't enough.

d. The woman was very beautiful to behold: Bathsheba's great beauty made the sight tempting. But the real strength of temptation often does not lie in the quality of the tempting object, but in the state of heart and mind of the one being tempted. David had long been "prepared" to stumble at this very point. Even so, this temptation was not too strong for David, no matter how beautiful Bathsheba was.

i. For example, Joseph was more severely tempted to commit sexual immorality than David was here, but he fled that temptation.

ii. David looked at Bathsheba and said "beauty" but God saw this as ugly. The pleasures of sin deceive us like the bait hides the hook. We must call it what God calls it - sin. We want to say, "affair" but God says "adultery." We want to say, "love" but God says "lust." We want to say "sexy" but God says "sin." We want to say, "romantic" but God says "ruin." We want to say, "destiny" but God says "destruction."

3. (3) David pursues the temptation.

So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

a. So David sent and inquired: David could have ended the temptation by leaving the scene at that time, even after entertaining the temptation for a while. Instead, David put himself into a more tempting situation.

b. Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam: From this David learned that the woman came from a notable family. She was from the upper classes. Her father was Eliam, one of David's Mighty Men (2 Samuel 23:34). Her grandfather was Ahithophel - one of David's chief counselors (2 Samuel 23:34, 2 Samuel 15:12).

c. The wife of Uriah the Hittite: From this David learned that Bathsheba was married, and the wife of another of David's Mighty Men (2 Samuel 23:8, 39). He also learned that this woman's husband was away, because the Mighty Men were away in battle against the Ammonites. This knowledge made the situation far more tempting. David began to think, "I could get away with this."

i. David committed adultery in his heart up on the roof. Now he knows that he has an opportunity to commit adultery in practice. Adultery in the heart and mind is bad; adultery in practice is far worse.

ii. David should have received the news of the woman's identity as a warning. He learned that this woman was related to men close to David. In taking Bathsheba David sinned against Uriah, Eliam, and Ahithophel - each men close and important to David.

4. (4) David embraces the temptation.

Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.

a. The David sent messengers, and took her: In this the man after God's heart went against his own heart, following through on a lustful impulse. David ignored every warning and way of escape God set before him.

i. "In the expression he took her, and she came to him there is no intimation whatever that David brought Bathsheba into his palace through craft or violence, but rather that she came at his request without any hesitation, and offered no resistance to his desires. Consequently Bathsheba is not to be regarded as free from blame." (Keil and Delitzsch)

ii. "We hear nothing of her reluctance, and there is no evidence that she was taken by force." (Clarke)

b. He lay with her: David knew this was wrong, yet he did it. It's hard to explain David's thinking here, because he wasn't thinking. He acted on feeling and impulse instead of thinking.

i. If David thought about all this, he would see that the cost was so much greater than he wanted to consider at the time. If David knew that this illicit pursuit of pleasure would directly or indirectly result in:

· An unwanted pregnancy

· The murder of a trusted friend

· A dead baby

· His daughter raped by his son

· One son murdered by another son

· A civil war led by one of his sons

· A son who imitates David's lack of self-control and it leads him and much of Israel away from God

ii. The same kind of ruin comes of adultery today. We think about all the children who went to bed without daddy at home because of the terrible attack on our country on September 11, 2001. But far more children go to bed every night without daddy in the house because of adultery.

iii. At this moment David agreed with the world's understanding of the purpose of sex, seeing it primarily as the pursuit of a pleasurable experience. With his many wives, David may have never really understood God's purpose for sex: to be the "cement" that helps bond together a one-flesh relationship.

c. She was cleansed from her impurity: This confirms that Bathsheba had recently had her menstrual period and was not already pregnant when David committed adultery with her.

i. It seemed like David "got away" with this sin. But he and we could only think that if we believed the sin was something good God wanted to keep from David. David did something harmful and destructive to himself and others and harm and destruction will come of it. Just because David wasn't caught at the moment doesn't mean that he got away with anything.

5. (5) Bathsheba's message to David.

And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child."

a. And the woman conceived: David and Bathsheba didn't plan on this. They were terrified both at the "problem" of the pregnancy itself and that it meant that their adultery would be found out.

b. So she sent and told David: Her message "involved an appeal to him to take the necessary steps to avert the evil consequences of the sin, inasmuch as the law required that both the adulterer and adulteress should be put to death" (Leviticus 20:10). (Keil and Delitzsch)

B. David murders Uriah.

1. (6-11) David attempts to cover his sin.

Then David sent to Joab, saying, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah departed from the king's house, and a gift of food from the king followed him. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. So when they told David, saying, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?" And Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing."

a. Send me Uriah the Hittite: When David heard the disastrous news of Bathsheba's pregnancy he should have used it as a prompting to repent. Instead, David did what most unrepentant sinners do: hide his sin. He wanted to draw Uriah back home to have relations with Bathsheba to give a reason for her pregnancy.

i. The whole concept of hiding our sin is deceptive. Our sin is never hidden before God and only hidden with difficulty from our conscience. Our hidden sin hinders our fellowship with God and others and is a barrier to spiritual life and power.

ii. "The real question for us all is: Are we prepared to face sin? Not to discuss someone else's sin, but to face our own." (Redpath)

iii. The answer to hidden sin is confession and repentance. To whom should we confess? The answer is in the question, "Whom have we sinned against?" "If you sin secretly, confess secretly, admitting publicly that you need the victory but keeping details to yourself. If you sin openly confess openly to remove stumbling blocks from those whom you have hindered. If you have sinned spiritually (prayerlessness, lovelessness, and unbelief as well as their offspring, criticism, etc.) then confess to the church that you have been a hindrance." (J. Edwin Orr)

iv. "As soon as ever we are conscious of sin, the right thing is not to begin to reason with the sin, or to wait until we have brought ourselves into a proper state of heart about it, but to go at once and confess the transgression unto the Lord, there and then." (Spurgeon)

b. David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war prospered: This was David's awkward attempt to pretend that nothing happened. David gave every appearance that things were normal when before God nothing was normal or right.

c. Go down to your house: "David's design was that he should go and lie with his wife, that the child now conceived should pass for his, the honour of Bath-sheba be screened, and his own crime concealed. At this time he had no design of the murder of Uriah, nor of taking Bath-sheba to wife." (Clarke)

d. The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents: This shows that Uriah had a passion for the glory of God, even though he was a Hittite and not a native Jew.

e. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife: This shows Uriah as a man of great integrity. He was a true "team player" who did not want to enjoy the comforts of home as long as his fellow soldiers endured hardship on the field of battle.

i. "David had expected and hoped that Uriah would prove to be like himself; instead he proved to be a man of integrity, whose first loyalty was to the king's interests rather than to his own pleasure." (Baldwin)

2. (12-13) David's second attempt to cover his sin fails.

Then David said to Uriah, "Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

a. Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart: David lied to Uriah, knowing that he wanted to get back to the battle front as soon as possible. He hopes that Uriah will treat the coming evening as his last before returning to battle and be with Bathsheba.

b. When David called him, he ate and drank before him: David hoped that getting Uriah drunk would weaken his resolve to identify with his fellow troops. Yet Uriah did not go down to his house, refusing to enjoy what his fellow soldiers could not while the battle still rages.

i. Uriah is a good example of how Christians should conduct themselves as fellow-soldiers in the spiritual battle. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. (Romans 12:15-16)

ii. David was drunk with lust when he slept with Bathsheba; he hoped that making Uriah drunk with wine would bring the same result.

c. But he did not go down to his house: Some commentators believe that Uriah suspected some infidelity in Bathsheba, and avoided her out of jealousy. "It is like he smelt something." (Trapp)

3. (14-17) David sends Uriah to battle with his own death sentence in hand.

In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, saying, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die." So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

a. David wrote a letter to Joab: Meyer imagines Joab saying, "This master of mine can sing psalms with the best; but when he wants a piece of dirty work done, he must come to me."

b. Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle: Having failed to cover his sin, David wanted Uriah dead. Many adulterers secretly wish death would free them to marry the object of their adultery. This is the very heart of murder even if the deed is not done. David had the power to act on his wish.

c. And sent it by the hand of Uriah: David trusted the integrity of Uriah so much that he made him the unwitting messenger of his own death sentence.

i. "This was the sum of treachery and villany. He made this most noble man the carrier of letters which prescribed the mode in which he was to be murdered." (Clarke)

d. That he may be struck down and die: David commanded Joab to arrange Uriah's death. Though it was hidden by the raging battle, Uriah was murdered just as surely as if David killed him in his own home.

i. "If a child was to be born, Uriah's lips, at least, should not be able to disown it." (Meyer)

ii. "David was better while a servant than when a king; for being a servant, he feared to kill Saul his adversary, but becoming a king, he basely slew his most faithful friend and dutiful subject." (Trapp)

iii. "Though we mourn over David's sin, yet we thank God that it was permitted, for if he had not so fallen he had not been able to help us when we are conscious of transgression. He could not have so minutely described our griefs if he had not felt the same. David lived, in this respect, for others as well as for himself." (Spurgeon)

e. Uriah the Hittite died also: Joab did exactly what David commanded. He knew it was wrong but simply followed orders and murdered Uriah at David's order.

i. If not immediately confronted, one sin and take a wretched course. David indulged his sensual lusts for years and ignored God's warnings and ways of escape. He allowed temptation to turn into lust and lust to turn into adultery. When the consequences of his adultery threatened to expose his sin he covered it first with deception and then with murder. Satan could never tempt David with the entire package at once, but he could deceive him with it piece by piece.

4. (18-25) Joab sends word of Uriah's death back to David.

Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war, and charged the messenger, saying, "When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king, if it happens that the king's wrath rises, and he says to you: 'Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?'; then you shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'" So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent by him. And the messenger said to David, "Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate. The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also." Then David said to the messenger, "Thus you shall say to Joab: 'Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.' So encourage him."

a. Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth: This is a reference to Judges 9:50-57, where Abimelech was killed by coming too close to the walls of a city under siege. The idea is that Joab knew it was a bad military move to get so close to the walls, but that he did it anyway on the command of David.

b. Uriah the Hittite is dead also: David heard these words with relief. He thought that now he could marry Bathsheba and give a plausible explanation for her pregnancy.

c. The sword devours one as well as another: This was a proverb regarding fortunes of war. It was a way of saying, "These things happen." David said it to his own guilty conscience as much as he said it to Joab.

5. (26-27) David marries Bathsheba.

When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

a. When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead: We have no reason to believe that Bathsheba knew that David arranged the death of her husband. It is likely that David concealed all this from Bathsheba. At the same time, she was partly relieved to hear of her husband's death.

i. "There is little doubt to be made but that she was inwardly glad, considering her danger of being punished an adulteress, and her hopes of being now made a queen." (Trapp)

b. And she became his wife: This was nothing new for David. He had added wives before, so now he simply adds another.

i. "David is sort of a hero now, in the eyes of the people. He has taken into his harem, the poor, pregnant wife, the widow of one of his fallen captains, so that the people say, "My look at the way he stands behind his men! He takes care of their widows when they are killed in battle. My what a marvelous king!" (Smith)

c. The thing that David had done displeased the LORD: This is the first mention of God in the chapter. God witnessed every event and read the intent of every heart, but His displeasure is only implied until this specific statement.

i. David's state of heart in the intervening year is reflected in Psalm 32:1-5: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

ii. Psalm 32 shows that David was under intense conviction during this time and that all the joy in his life evaporated away. David knew the stress and agony of living a double, false life. He found no relief until he repented and got right with God again. "The better the man the dearer the price he pays for a short season of sinful pleasure." (Meyer)

iii. David was in that terrible place where he had too much sin in him to be happy in God, but he had too much of God in him to happy in sin. Because David was a man after God's heart, God will draw David to repentance and restoration.

iv. "When there is the most necessity for confession, there is often the greatest tardiness in making it. It was so in David's case. . . . I think I can see why he could not have gone straight away from the sin to confession, for the sin prevented the confession-the sin blinded the eye, stultified the conscience, and stupefied the entire spiritual nature of David." (Spurgeon)

© 2002 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF SAMUEL. The two were, by the ancient Jews, conjoined so as to make one book, and in that form could be called the Book of Samuel with more propriety than now, the second being wholly occupied with the relation of transactions that did not take place till after the death of that eminent judge. Accordingly, in the Septuagint and the Vulgate, it is called the First and Second Books of Kings. The early portion of the First Book, down to the end of the twenty-fourth chapter, was probably written by Samuel; while the rest of it and the whole of the Second, are commonly ascribed to Nathan and Gad, founding the opinion on 1Ch 29:29. Commentators, however, are divided about this, some supposing that the statements in 1Sa 2:26; 1Sa 3:1, indicate the hand of the judge himself, or a contemporary; while some think, from 1Sa 6:18; 1Sa 12:5; 1Sa 27:6, that its composition must be referred to a later age. It is probable, however, that these supposed marks of an after-period were interpolations of Ezra. This uncertainty, however, as to the authorship does not affect the inspired authority of the book, which is indisputable, being quoted in the New Testament (1Sa 13:14 in Act 13:22, and 2Sa 7:14 in Heb 1:5), as well as in many of the Psalms.

JFB: 2 Samuel (Outline)

• AN AMALEKITE BRINGS TIDINGS OF SAUL'S DEATH. (2Sa. 1:1-16)
• DAVID LAMENTS SAUL AND JONATHAN. (2Sa 1:17-27)
• DAVID, BY GOD'S DIRECTION, GOES UP TO HEBRON, AND IS MADE KING OVER JUDAH. (2Sa 2:1-7)
• SIX SONS BORN TO DAVID. (2Sa 3:1-5)
• ABNER REVOLTS TO DAVID. (2Sa 3:6-12)
• JOAB KILLS ABNER. (2Sa 3:22-30)
• BAANAH AND RECHAB SLAY ISH-BOSHETH, AND BRING HIS HEAD TO HEBRON. (2Sa 4:1-2)
• DAVID CAUSES THEM TO BE PUT TO DEATH. (2Sa 4:10-12)
• THE TRIBES ANOINT DAVID KING OVER ISRAEL. (2Sa 5:1-5)
• HE TAKES ZION FROM THE JEBUSITES. (2Sa 5:6-12)
• ELEVEN SONS BORN TO HIM. (2Sa 5:13-16)
• HE SMITES THE PHILISTINES. (2Sa 5:17-25)
• DAVID FETCHES THE ARK FROM KIRJATH-JEARIM ON A NEW CART. (2Sa 6:1-5)
• UZZAH SMITTEN. (2Sa 6:6-11)
• DAVID AFTERWARDS BRINGS THE ARK TO ZION. (2Sa 6:12-19)
• MICHAL'S BARRENNESS. (2Sa 6:20-23)
• NATHAN APPROVES THE PURPOSE OF DAVID TO BUILD GOD A HOUSE. (2Sa 7:1-3)
• DAVID'S PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING. (2Sa 7:18-29)
• DAVID SUBDUES THE PHILISTINES, AND MAKES THE MOABITES TRIBUTARY. (2Sa 8:1-2)
• HE SMITES HADADEZER AND THE SYRIANS. (2Sa 8:3-14)
• HIS REIGN. (2Sa 8:15-18)
• DAVID SENDS FOR MEPHIBOSHETH. (2Sa 9:1-12)
• DAVID'S MESSENGERS, SENT TO COMFORT HANUN, ARE DISGRACEFULLY TREATED. (2Sa 10:1-5)
• THE AMMONITES OVERCOME. (2Sa 10:6-14)
• THE SYRIANS DEFEATED. (2Sa 10:15-19)
• JOAB BESIEGES RABBAH. (2Sa 11:1)
• DAVID COMMITS ADULTERY WITH BATH-SHEBA. (2Sa 11:2-12)
• URIAH SLAIN. (2Sa 11:14-27)
• NATHAN'S PARABLE. (2Sa 12:1-6)
• HE APPLIES IT TO DAVID, WHO CONFESSES HIS SIN, AND IS PARDONED. (2Sa 12:7-23)
• SOLOMON IS BORN. (2Sa 12:24-25)
• RABBAH IS TAKEN. (2Sa 12:26-31)
• AMNON LOVES TAMAR. (2Sa 13:1-5)
• HE DEFILES HER. (2Sa. 13:6-27)
• AMNON IS SLAIN. (2Sa 13:28-36)
• ABSALOM FLEES TO TALMAI. (2Sa 13:37-39)
• JOAB BRINGS ABSALOM TO JERUSALEM. (2Sa 14:22-33)
• ABSALOM STEALS THE HEARTS OF ISRAEL. (2Sa 15:1-9)
• HE FORMS A CONSPIRACY. (2Sa 15:10-12)
• DAVID FLEES FROM JERUSALEM. (2Sa. 15:13-37)
• ZIBA, BY FALSE SUGGESTIONS, CLAIMS HIS MASTER'S INHERITANCE. (2Sa 16:1-4)
• SHIMEI CURSES DAVID. (2Sa 16:5-19)
• AHITHOPHEL'S COUNSEL. (2Sa 16:20-23)
• SECRET INTELLIGENCE SENT TO DAVID. (2Sa 17:15-22)
• AHITHOPHEL HANGS HIMSELF. (2Sa 17:23-29)
• DAVID REVIEWING THE ARMIES. (2Sa 18:1-4)
• GIVES THEM CHARGE OF ABSALOM. (2Sa 18:5-13)
• HE IS SLAIN BY JOAB. (2Sa. 18:14-32)
• JOAB CAUSES THE KING TO CEASE MOURNING. (2Sa 19:1-8)
• THE ISRAELITES BRING THE KING BACK. (2Sa. 19:9-43)
• SHEBA MAKES A PARTY IN ISRAEL. (2Sa 20:1-9)
• AMASA IS SLAIN. (2Sa 20:10-13)
• JOAB PURSUES SHEBA UNTO ABEL. (2Sa 20:14-15)
• A WISE WOMAN SAVES THE CITY BY SHEBA'S HEAD. (2Sa 20:16-22)
• DAVID'S GREAT OFFICERS. (2Sa 20:23-26)
• THE THREE YEARS' FAMINE FOR THE GIBEONITES CEASE BY HANGING SEVEN OF SAUL'S SONS. (2Sa 21:1-9)
• RIZPAH'S KINDNESS UNTO THE DEAD. (2Sa 21:10-11)
• DAVID BURIES THE BONES OF SAUL AND JONATHAN IN THEIR FATHER'S SEPULCHER. (2Sa 21:12-22)
• DAVID PROFESSES HIS FAITH IN GOD'S PROMISES. (2Sa 23:1-7)
• A CATALOGUE OF HIS MIGHTY MEN. (2Sa. 23:8-39)
• DAVID NUMBERS THE PEOPLE. (2Sa 24:1-9)
• HE, HAVING THREE PLAGUES PROPOUNDED BY GAD, REPENTS, AND CHOOSES THREE DAYS' PESTILENCE. (2Sa 24:10-14)
• HIS INTERCESSION TO GOD; THE PLAGUE CEASES. (2Sa 24:15-25)

TSK: 2 Samuel 11 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Sa 11:1, While Joab besieges Rabbah, David commits adultery with Bath-sheba; 2Sa 11:6, Uriah, sent for by David to cover the adultery, would not go home; 2Sa 11:14, He carries to Joab the letter of his death; 2Sa 11:18, Joab sends the news thereof to David; 2Sa 11:26, David takes Bath-sheba to wife.

Poole: 2 Samuel 11 (Chapter Introduction)

SAMUEL CHAPTER 11

Whilst Joab besieged Rabbah David committeth adultery with Bath-sheba, 2Sa 11:1-4 . And hearing that she was with child, he sendeth for Uriah her husband out of the camp, to cover his shame. He will not go to his own house, neither sober nor drunk, 2Sa 11:5-13 . David sendeth him again into the camp with a letter to Joab to expose him to death, 2Sa 11:14-17 . The news of which Joab sendeth to David: he marrieth Bath-sheba, 2Sa 11:18-27 .

MHCC: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction)

This book is the history of the reign of king David. It relates his victories, the growth of the prosperity of Israel, and his reformation of the state of religion. With these events are recorded the grievous sins he committed, and the family as well as public troubles with which he was punished. We here meet with many things worthy of imitation, and many that are written for our warning. The history of king David is given in Scripture with much faithfulness, and from it he appears, to those who fairly balance his many virtues and excellent qualities against his faults, to have been a great and good man.

MHCC: 2 Samuel 11 (Chapter Introduction)

(2Sa 11:1-5) David's adultery.

(2Sa 11:6-13) He tries to conceal his crime.

(2Sa 11:14-27) Uriah murdered.

Matthew Henry: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Book of Samuel

This book is the history of the reign of king David. We had in the foregoing book an account of his designation to the government, and his struggles with Saul, which ended at length in the death of his persecutor. This book begins with his accession to the throne, and is entirely taken up with the affairs of the government during the forty years he reigned, and therefore is entitled by the Septuagint. The Third Book of the Kings. It gives us an account of David's triumphs and his troubles. I. His triumphs over the house of Saul (ch. 1-4), over the Jebusites and Philistines (ch. 5), at the bringing up of the ark (ch. 6 and 7), over the neighbouring nations that opposed him (ch. 8-10); and so far the history is agreeable to what we might expect from David's character and the choice made of him. But his cloud has a dark side. II. We have his troubles, the causes of them, his sin in the matter of Uriah (ch. 11 and 12), the troubles themselves from the sin of Amnon (ch. 13), the rebellion of Absalom (ch. 14-19) and of Sheba (ch. 20), and the plague in Israel for his numbering the people (ch. 24), besides the famine of the Gibeonites (ch. 21). His son we have (ch. 22), and his words and worthies (ch. 23). Many things in his history are very instructive; but for the hero who is the subject of it, though in many instances he appears here very great, and very good, and very much the favourite of heaven, yet it must be confessed that his honour shines brighter in his Psalms than in his Annals.

Matthew Henry: 2 Samuel 11 (Chapter Introduction)

What David said of the mournful report of Saul's death may more fitly be applied to the sad story of this chapter, the adultery and murder David was guilty of. - " Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon." We wish we could draw a veil over it, and that it might never be known, might never be said, that David did such things as are here recorded of him. But it cannot, it must not, be concealed. The scripture is faithful in relating the faults even of those whom it most applauds, which is an instance of the sincerity of the penmen, and an evidence that it was not written to serve any party: and even such stories as these " were written for our learning," that " he that thinks he stands may take heed lest he fall," and that others' harms may be our warnings. Many, no doubt, have been emboldened to sin, and hardened in it, by this story, and to them it is a " savour of death unto death;" but many have by it been awakened to a holy jealousy over themselves, and constant watchfulness against sin, and to them it is a " savour of life unto life." Those are very great sins, and greatly aggravated, which here we find David guilty of. I. He committed adultery with Bath-sheba, the wife of Uriah (2Sa 11:1-5). II. He endeavoured to father the spurious brood upon Uriah (2Sa 11:6-13). III. When that project failed, he plotted the death of Uriah by the sword of the children of Ammon, and effected it (2Sa 11:14-25). IV. He married Bath-sheba (2Sa 11:26, 2Sa 11:27). Is this David? Is this the man after God's own heart? How is his behaviour changed, worse than it was before Ahimelech! How has this gold become dim! Let him that readeth understand what the best of men are when God leaves them to themselves.

Constable: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Second Samuel continues the history begun in 1 Samuel. Please see my comments regarding 2 Samuel's title, date, authorship, and scope in the introductory section of the 1 Samuel notes.

Message¹

First Samuel records David's preparation. Second Samuel records his service namely his reign. In our study of 1 Samuel I mentioned three aspects of his preparation: as shepherd, as courtier, and as "outlaw." In 2 Samuel we see those aspects of his preparation put to work. He became the shepherd of his people, the center of his court, and the strong ruler of his nation. He fulfilled the office of king successfully under God's leadership.

The message of 2 Samuel is that man's attitude toward God creates an opportunity for God, and God's attitude toward man creates an opportunity for man.

First, man's attitude toward God creates an opportunity for God.

We find this principle stated in 22:26-28. Compare Hannah's prayer of praise in 1 Sam. 2:1-10. God is to each person what that person is to God.

We find the principle illustrated in David's attitudes toward God. David had four convictions about God. We see these in his thanksgiving psalm in chapter 22, which is also Psalm 18. David evidently wrote it early in his life.

1. He believed God was Israel's supreme Ruler. He never doubted this or presumed to elevate himself to God's place as Head of the nation. This is clear in 22:2-16. Contrast David's view with Saul's. Some local church leaders follow Saul's example rather than David's.

2. He believed God was consistently and completely righteous (right) in His dealings. David confessed his sin when charged with it rather than trying to deny it. In 22:17-27 this comes through clearly. Contrast Saul.

3. He believed God was always merciful. He was willing to let God determine His punishment because he believed God would be merciful (cf. 22:28-46). Contrast Saul.

4. He believed God's will was always best. His greatest desire was for God's will in his own life and in Israel (cf. 22:47-51). Contrast Saul.

David's convictions created opportunities for God.

1. Because David really believed in God's sovereignty God could and did set David over the throne of Israel and direct him to govern God's people (cf. 22:2-3). Even today loyal employees are the ones that employers promote to positions of greater responsibility.

2. Because David acknowledged God's righteousness God was able to bless David for his righteousness (cf. 22:21-28).

3. Because David appreciated God's mercy God was able to be merciful with him (cf. 22:35-36).

4. Because David viewed God's will as superior God was able to bring His will for David and Israel to pass (cf. 22:51).

With these attitudes David became God's instrument through whom God accomplished His larger plans and purposes. Even though David sinned greatly, his deepest convictions lay in these truths. God based His dealings with David on David's deepest convictions. He was the man after God's own heart. God did not base His dealings with David primarily on David's momentary failings. This is a great encouragement. Your deep underlying attitude toward God provides a foundation on which God can build and use you in some way. Your presence here at DTS is encouraging to me. The direction you are heading is more important than how far you have advanced in Christian growth.

The other side of this coin is that God's attitude toward a person creates an opportunity for that person. John wrote, "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

We find this principle stated in 23:1-5. David evidently wrote this chapter later in his life.

We find the principle illustrated in God's attitudes toward David. What were these?

1. God purposed for David to be king (cf. 23:1). This knowledge affected David's attitude toward God. He just needed to consent to God's purpose for him. God has purposed to bless you. This is the revelation of the whole Bible.

2. God's power would be adequate for David's needs (cf. 23:2). The power for all of David's life, including the inspiration for his words, came from God. David could simply cooperate with it. We too have the Spirit. We too need just to cooperate with God.

3. God's pattern for David's kingship was God's own rule (cf. 23:3-4). David could conform to God's example as Sovereign to fulfill his destiny. We have Jesus Christ's example as well as God's pattern.

4. God's persistence would result in the fulfillment of all His promises to David (cf. 23:5). This gave David confidence in God in the present. God has promised never to leave us (Matt. 28:20). He has proved Himself faithful.

In 1 Samuel we learned that God's ultimate victory does not depend on people's attitudes toward Him. His people can be loyal or rebellious, and this will not affect His ultimate victory.

In 2 Samuel we learn that our ultimate victory in life depends on our attitude toward God. Conformity to the will of God creates fitness for service. Conformity to the will of God depends wholly on our attitude toward God. It does not depend on our ability, or on our ability to persuade God to do something. It depends on our abandonment to Him, and on our willingness to let God persuade us to do something. It depends on our commitment to Him and our faithfulness to Him.

God does not measure us as other people do. We measure each other by external actions. God measures us by internal attitudes. What is your attitude toward God? Do you really want to please God, or do you obey God simply because of your background and environment? Would you live a filthy life if you could get away with it? What is your real attitude toward God? Do you really want to do right? David was a man after God's own heart because he really wanted what God wanted. What do you really want?

Be careful, because God will give you what you really want. Do you want to run your own life? God will let you do it, but He may let you run your life into a brick wall.

Constable: 2 Samuel (Outline)

Outline

(Continued from notes on 1 Samuel)

V. David's triumphs chs. 1-8

A. The beginning of David's kingdom 1:1-3:5

1. David's discovery of Saul and Jonathan's deaths ch. 1

2. David's move to Hebron 2:1-4a

3. David's overtures to Jabesh-gilead 2:4b-7

4. Ish-bosheth's coronation over Israel 2:8-11

5. The conflict between Abner and Joab 2:12-32

6. The strengthening of David's position 3:1-5

B. The unification of the kingdom 3:6-5:16

1. David's acceptance of Abner 3:6-39

2. David's punishment of Ish-bosheth's murderers ch. 4

3. David's acceptance by all Israel 5:1-12

4. David's additional children 5:13-16

C. The establishment of the kingdom 5:17-8:18

1. David's victories over the Philistines 5:17-25

2. David's moving of the ark to Jerusalem ch. 6

3. The giving of the Davidic Covenant ch. 7

4. The security of David's kingdom ch. 8

VI. David's troubles chs. 9-20

A. David's faithfulness ch. 9

B. God's faithfulness despite David's unfaithfulness chs. 10-12

1. The Ammonite rebellion ch. 10

2. David's unfaithfulness to God chs. 11-12

C. David's rejection and return chs. 13-20

1. Events leading up to Absalom's rebellion chs. 13-14

2. Absalom's attempt to usurp David's throne chs. 15-20

VII. Summary illustrations chs. 21-24

A. Famine from Saul's sin 21:1-14

1. Saul's broken treaty with the Gibeonites 21:1-6

2. David's justice and mercy 21:7-9

3. David's honoring of Saul and Jonathan 21:10-14

B. Four giant killers 21:15-22

C. David's praise of Yahweh ch. 22

D. David's last testament 23:1-7

E. Thirty-seven mighty men 23:8-39

1. Selected adventures of outstanding warriors 23:8-23

2. A list of notable warriors among The Thirty 23:24-39

F. Pestilence from David's sin ch. 24

1. David's sin of numbering the people 24:1-9

2. David's confession of his guilt 24:10-14

3. David's punishment 24:15-17

4. David's repentance 24:18-25

Constable: 2 Samuel

2 Samuel

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction)

THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL;

otherwise called,

THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This Book contains the transactions of David till the end of the pestilence, occasioned by his numbering the people, chap. xxiv. The last six chapters of the preceding book were probably written by Gad, who delivered God's orders to David, after he was deprived of the company of Samuel. Gad, Nathan, and other prophets, continued the sacred history, 1 Paralipomenon xxix. 29. After the unfortunate death of Saul, his general, Abner, instead of submitting quietly to the dominion of David, (Haydock) set the son of the deceased monarch upon the throne, at Mahanaim; and two years elapsed before the rival kings came to open war, chap. ii. 10. (Salien) --- David was 30 years old when he was anointed at Hebron, (chap. v. 4,) where he reigned seven years and a half over Juda. On the death of Isoboseth, he was anointed a third time, as king of all Israel, and reigned in that character 37 years. (Haydock) --- The partisans of Isoboseth might be excused in their adherence to him, as he was the son of the late king, and the election of David was not sufficiently notified to them. (Salien) --- We here behold the many virtues of David, and his repentance for some faults into which he had fallen. His predictions, and the names and exploits of many of his valiant men, are likewise recorded. (Worthington)

Gill: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 SAMUEL

This book, in many copies of the Hebrew Bible, is carried on without any new title put unto it; the reason of it is, because, by some, this, with the preceding, has been reckoned but one book: hence the Jews say ^a, Samuel wrote his book, not his books; in others it is called Samuel Second; and by the Vulgate Latin the Second Book of Samuel, which we call the Second of Kings; though why his name should be put to it at all I see not, since it neither concerns him, nor could it be written by him, being an history of events after his death. The Greek version calls it the Second of Kings; and the Syriac version, the Second Book of the Kings of Israel; whereas there is but one king of Israel it makes mention of, and of whose actions only it is an history; and therefore with greater propriety it is called, as the Arabic version, the Book of David the Prophet, of whose reign, from the beginning to the end of it, it gives an account: wherefore Isidore ^b thinks it was written by David; and if so, it has this mark of simplicity and integrity, that the writer does not spare himself, nor conceal his own faults, and particularly that very capital one, the affair of Bathsheba, and also his numbering of the people; but it is most probable that it was written by Nathan and Gad ^c, see 1Ch 29:29; but whoever was the penman of it, there is no doubt to be made of its being written by inspiration, or that it is canonical; which has never been questioned, since there stands in it a famous prophecy concerning the building of the temple by a son of David, which had an exact accomplishment, 2Sa 7:12; as well as of the family of David, for a great while to come, which also was fulfilled, 2Sa 7:19; and an eminent passage concerning the Messiah, the son of David, and of his divine sonship, 2Sa 7:14; quoted by the Apostle Paul in proof of it, Heb 1:5. It contains an history of about forty years, for so long David reigned, seven years and six months in Hebron, over Judah, and thirty three years in Jerusalem, over all Israel and Judah; and this book relates his last words.

Gill: 2 Samuel 11 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 11

This chapter begins with the destruction of the Ammonites, and the siege of Rabbah their chief city, 2Sa 11:1; and enlarges on the sins of David in committing adultery with Bathsheba, 2Sa 11:2; in contriving to conceal his sin by sending for her husband home from the army, 2Sa 11:6; in laying a scheme for the death of him by the hand of the Ammonites, 2Sa 11:14; and in marrying Bathsheba when he was dead, 2Sa 11:26.