BibleTools
2 Samuel 11:2
Compare all

David, Bathsheba, and Uriah

1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the atime when kings go out to battle, that bDavid sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged cRabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.  
2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed aand walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he bsaw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.  
3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not1 Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife aof Uriah the bHittite?”  
4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and ahe lay with her, for she was bcleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.  
5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”
6 Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war prospered.
8 And David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and awash your feet.” So Uriah departed from the king’s house, and a gift of food from the king followed him.  
9 But Uriah slept at the adoor of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.  
10 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?”
11 And Uriah said to David, a“The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and bmy 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.”  
12 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.
13 Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him adrunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed bwith the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.  
14 In the morning it happened that David awrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.  
15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may abe struck down and die.”  
16 So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men.
17 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.
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war,
19 and charged the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king,
Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
<< 2 Samuel 11:1   2 Samuel 11:3 >>


2 Samuel 11:2

In an evening-tide - David arose - He had been reposing on the roof of his house, to enjoy the breeze, as the noonday was too hot for the performance of business. This is still a constant custom on the flat-roofed houses in the East.

He saw a woman washing herself - How could any woman of delicacy expose herself where she could be so fully and openly viewed? Did she not know that she was at least in view of the king' s terrace? Was there no design in all this? Et fugit AD salices, et se cupit ante videri . In a Bengal town pools of water are to be seen everywhere, and women may be seen morning and evening bathing in them, and carrying water home. Thus David might have seen Bath-sheba, and no blame attach to her.

II Samuel 11:4 shows us that this washing was at the termination of a particular period.




Other Adam Clarke entries containing 2 Samuel 11:2:

2 Samuel 16:21
Matthew 10:27
Mark 2:4

 

<< 2 Samuel 11:1   2 Samuel 11:3 >>

DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.

Join 137,319+ readers

A Verse and a Thought,
Every Morning

Consistent Bible study is hard to start.

The Berean gives you the starting point: one scripture and a focused commentary in your inbox each morning — read it in minutes, or go as deep as you like.

Free, daily, and spam-free. We never share your address. Unsubscribe anytime.

Close
E-mail This Page