2 Samuel 11:1-5

2 Samuel 11:1-5

[1] And it came to pass, after the year  was expired,  at the time  when kings  go forth  to battle, that David  sent  Joab,  and his servants  with him, and all Israel;  and they destroyed  the children  of Ammon,  and besieged  Rabbah.  But David  tarried still  at Jerusalem.  [2] And it came to pass in an eveningtide,  that David  arose  from off his bed,  and walked  upon the roof  of the king's  house:  and from the roof  he saw  a woman  washing  herself; and the woman  was very  beautiful  to look upon.  [3] And David  sent  and enquired  after the woman.  And one said,  Is not this Bathsheba,  the daughter  of Eliam,  the wife  of Uriah  the Hittite?  [4] And David  sent  messengers,  and took  her; and she came in  unto him, and he lay  with her; for she was purified  from her uncleanness:  and she returned  unto her house.  [5] And the woman  conceived,  and sent  and told  David,  and said,  I am with child. 

What does 2 Samuel 11:1-5 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

While Joab was continuing to subdue the Ammonites the following spring by besieging Rabbah ("the great one," modern Amman, the capital of Jordan; cf. 2 Samuel 10:7), David was residing in Jerusalem ( 2 Samuel 11:1). By mentioning the fact that normally kings led their armies into battle in the spring, the writer implied that David was not acting responsibly by staying in Jerusalem (cf. 1 Samuel 14:1-2).
". . . leading his troops into battle was expected to be the major external activity of an ancient Near Eastern ruler ..." [1]
"Our most difficult times are not when things are going hard. Hard times create dependent people. You don"t get proud when you"re dependent on God. Survival keeps you humble. Pride happens when everything is swinging in your direction. When you"ve just received that promotion, when you look back and you can see an almost spotless record in the last number of months or years, when you"re growing in prestige and fame and significance, that"s the time to watch out ... especially if you"re unaccountable....
"Our greatest battles don"t usually come when we"re working hard; they come when we have some leisure, when we"ve got time on our hands, when we"re bored." [2]
David"s temptation followed an age-old pattern: he saw, he desired, and he took (cf. Genesis 3:6; James 1:14-15). He could not help seeing, but he could have stopped watching, lusting, sending for Bathsheba, and lying with her. "Very beautiful" translates a Hebrew phrase that describes people of striking physical appearance (cf. Genesis 24:16; Genesis 26:7 [3]; Esther 1:11 [4]; Esther 2:7 [5]; 1 Samuel 16:12 [6]). Perhaps Bathsheba was not totally innocent, but that does not vitiate David"s guilt. It seems reasonable to assume that she could have shielded herself from view if she had wanted to do so. Yet the writer never explicitly blamed Bathsheba for what happened, only David.
"The bathing itself may have been for the purpose of ritual purification and would therefore not only advertise Bathsheba"s charms but would serve as a notice to the king that she was available to him." [7]
Bathsheba"s father, Eliam ( 2 Samuel 11:3), was apparently the son of Ahithophel, David"s counselor (cf. 2 Samuel 15:12; 2 Samuel 23:34). [8] If Song of Solomon , this may throw light on Ahithophel"s later decision to abandon David and support Absalom when Absalom tried to overthrow David. Uriah may have been a mercenary from one of the Syro-Hittite states to Israel"s north. Alternatively he may have been the son of Hittites who had immigrated to Israel when the Hittite Empire was crumbling. [3]0 Probably he was a member of the native Canaanite tribe of Hittites that inhabited the Promised Land before the Conquest (cf. Genesis 23:3-15; Numbers 13:29; et al.).
David then "took" Bathsheba-we could translate the Hebrew word "he collected" her-and so abused his royal power. Evidently this was a "one night stand;" David and Bathsheba appear to have had sex only on this one occasion before their marriage. In the Hebrew text it is clear that Bathsheba purified herself before having sex with David. The Hebrew clause is disjunctive and could be put in parentheses: "(Now at that time she was purifying herself from her [10] uncleanness.)" Having just completed her menstrual cycle, the reason for her purification, Bathsheba was physically ready to conceive. Thus Uriah, who was away at war, could not have been the father of the child she conceived.
"The only recorded speech of Bathsheba, brief though it is [11], sets in motion a course of action which ultimately results in her husband"s death." [12]
Why did Bathsheba inform David that she was pregnant? Could she not have told her husband alone? Was she hoping that David would acknowledge her child and that the child would then enjoy royal privileges? The writer left us to guess. I think she told David because she hoped he would do something to help her. If she had told Uriah, he could have figured out that the child was not his.
About five years later David"s oldest Song of Solomon , Amnon ("faithful"), followed in his father"s footsteps ( 2 Samuel 13:14). Since David was born in1041 B.C. and this incident took place about992 B.C, David was close to49 years old when he committed adultery.
"The king who is content to be given the kingdom ( 2 Samuel 2-4) nevertheless seizes with violence the woman of his desire. The theme of seizure then erupts in the rape of Tamar, the taking of Amnon"s life and (in political form) the major incident of the rebellion of Absalom." [13]
"This king who took another man"s wife already had a harem full of women. The simple fact is that the passion of sex is not satisfied by a full harem of women; it is increased. Having many women does not reduce a man"s libido, it excites it ... it stimulates it.... One of the lies of our secular society is that if you just satisfy this drive, then it"ll be abated." [14]