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2 Samuel
Chapter Twelve
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 12
Nathan
is sent to David to charge him with his sin, and convince him of it by a
parable, 2 Samuel 12:1;
which being accommodated and applied to David's case, brought him to a
conviction and acknowledgment of it, and repentance for it, which was forgiven
him, 2 Samuel 12:7;
though he is told the child begotten in adultery should die, and it was quickly
struck with sickness and died; and David's behaviour during its sickness and at
its death is recorded, 2 Samuel 12:14;
after which Solomon was born to him of the same woman, and had the name of
Jedidiah given him by the Lord, which signifies the beloved of the Lord, and as
a token of reconciliation, and a confirmation of his sin being forgiven him, 2 Samuel 12:24; and
the chapter is concluded with the taking of the city of Rabbah, and the spoil
in it, and the usage of the inhabitants of it, 2 Samuel 12:26.
2 Samuel 12:1 Then
the Lord
sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men
in one city, one rich and the other poor.
YLT
1And Jehovah sendeth Nathan
unto David, and he cometh unto him, and saith to him: `Two men have been in one
city; One rich and one poor;
And the Lord sent Nathan unto David,.... Quickly after the
child was born begotten on Bathsheba, and when it was known and became the
public talk of people, and the enemies of religion were full of it, and
blasphemed on account of it, 2 Samuel 12:14; so
that David was nine months or more without any true sense of his sin, his heart
hardened, his graces dormant, the joys of salvation taken from him, and he
without any communion with God, and having little concern about it; though
perhaps he might have some pangs at times, which quickly went off; though some
think he exercised repentance in a private way before; acknowledged his sin to
the Lord, and had a sense of pardon, and before this time penned the thirty
second and the hundred thirtieth psalms on this occasion, Psalm 32:1; but
Nathan is sent to awaken and arouse him, to express a sense of his sin, and
repentance for it in public, which he did by penning and publishing the fifty
first psalm after Nathan had been with him, Psalm 51:1; for
though the Lord may leave his people to fall into sin, and suffer them to
continue therein some time, yet not always; they shall rise again through the
assistance of his Spirit and grace, in the acts of repentance and faith, both
in private and public:
and he came unto him, and said unto him: he came as if
he had a case to lay before him, and to have justice done, and he told the
story as if it was a real fact, and so David understood it:
there were two men in one city: pointing at David and
Uriah, who both lived in Jerusalem:
the one rich and the other poor; David the rich man, king
over all Israel; Uriah a subject, an officer in his army, comparatively poor.
2 Samuel 12:2 2 The rich man had
exceedingly many flocks and herds.
YLT
2The rich hath flocks and
herds very many;
The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds. In which the
wealth of men lay in those times and countries; these in the parable signify
David's wives and concubines, which were many; he had six wives in Hebron, and
he took more wives and concubines out of Jerusalem, when he was come from
Hebron, 2 Samuel 3:2; and
besides his master's, or Saul's wives, given to him, 2 Samuel 12:8.
2 Samuel 12:3 3 But the poor man
had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and
it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and
drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.
YLT
3And the poor one hath
nothing, Except one little ewe-lamb, Which he hath bought, and keepeth alive,
And it groweth up with him, And with his sons together; Of his morsel it
eateth, And from his cup it drinketh, And in his bosom it lieth, And it is to
him as a daughter;
But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb,.... Uriah had
but one wife, who was much younger than he, called a lamb, an ewe lamb, a
little one. Abarbinel thinks Uriah had been a widower; and had children by
another wife, supposed in the parable, and was much older than Bathsheba:
which he had bought; for men in those times
and countries did not receive portions with their wives, but gave dowries to
them, and for them:
and nourished up; as his own flesh, as husbands should their
wives, Ephesians 5:29,
and it grew up together with him, and with his children; which Kimchi
also supposes Uriah had by a former wife:
it did eat of his own meat, and drink of his own cup, and lay in
his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter; all which are expressive
of the care, kindness, love, and tenderness of a loving husband, whose
affections are endeared to his wife, making her partaker of all he has, and to
share in whatever he eats and drinks, and in his dearest embraces; and as there
were instances of creatures, lambs and others, particularly tame or pet lambs,
used in this way in a literal sense, to which the reference in the parable is,
David had no suspicion of its being a parable. BochartF17Hierozoic.
par. 1. l. 2. c. 46. col. 521, 522. has given many instances of creatures
nourished and brought up in such a familiar manner.
2 Samuel 12:4 4 And a traveler came to the
rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to
prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor
man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
YLT
4And there cometh a
traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his
own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the
ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'
And there came a traveller unto the rich man,.... By which
some understand Satan, who came to David, and stirred up his lust by the
temptations that offered; who is a walker, as the word used signifies, that
goes about seeking whom he may devour, and is with good men only as a wayfaring
man, who does not abide with them; and whose temptations, when they succeed
with such, are as meat and drink to him, very entertaining but the Jews
generally understand it of the evil imagination or concupiscence in man, the
lustful appetite in David, that wandered after another man's wife, and wanted
to be satiated with her:
and he spared to take of his own flock, and of his own herd, to
dress for the wayfaring man that came unto him; when his heart was
inflamed with lust at the sight of Bathsheba, he did not go as he might, and
take one of his wives and concubines, whereby he might have satisfied and
repressed his lust:
but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that came
to him; sent for Bathsheba and lay with her, for the gratification of
his lust, she being a young beautiful woman, and more agreeable to his lustful
appetite. The Jews, in their TalmudF18T. Bab. Succah, fol. 52. 2.
Jarchi, Kimchi, & Abarbinel in loc. , observe a gradation in these words
that the evil imagination is represented first as a traveller that passes by a
man, and lodges not with him; then as a wayfaring man or host, that passes in
and lodges with him; and at last as a man, as the master of the house that
rules over him, and therefore called the man that came to him.
2 Samuel 12:5 5 So David’s anger was
greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man
who has done this shall surely die!
YLT
5And the anger of David
burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, `Jehovah liveth,
surely a son of death [is] the man who is doing this,
And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man,.... That had
done this, taking it for a real fact:
and he said to Nathan, as the Lord liveth, the man that
hath done this thing shall surely die; which be said in the
transport of his wrath and fury; otherwise a thief, according to the law of
Moses, was not to be put to death, but to make restitution; and if he was not
able to make it, then to be sold, but he was not to die for it; but David
thought the crime was so greatly aggravated by being done by a rich man, and by
the loss the poor man sustained, it being his all, and the fact, in all its
circumstances, so cruel and barbarous, that the guilty person ought to die: how
much more vehemently, and indeed with justice, would he have passed the
sentence of death on him, or condemned him to it, had it been put in the
parable, that the rich man not only took the poor man's ewe lamb, but killed
the poor man himself? but this Nathan left out, that David might not take his
meaning, as Abarbinel thinks, who then would have been upon his guard, and not
have condemned himself; and hereby also Nathan had this advantage against him,
that if this man deserved to die, who had only taken the poor man's ewe lamb,
then how much more ought he to die, who had not only committed adultery with
Bathsheba, but had slain Uriah?
2 Samuel 12:6 6 And he shall restore
fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”
YLT
6and the ewe-lamb he doth
repay fourfold, because that he hath done this thing, and because that he had
no pity.'
And he shall restore the lamb fourfold,.... Which was
according to the law in Exodus 22:1; but
Kimchi thinks, because the word is of the dual number, it signifies double the
number, and that the sentence was to restore eight lambs, because he being a
rich man stole from the poor man; so Mr. WeemseF19Of the Moral Law,
l. 2. ch. 10. p. 252. Vid. Gusset. Ebr. Comment. p. 776. renders it, twice
four, twice as much as was commanded in the law; for the Hebrews, he observes,
double in the dual number till they come to seven:
because he did this thing; committed this theft:
and because he had no pity; on the poor man, but
took his all. The Jews observe, that accordingly David was punished with the
loss of four of his children, that which was born of Bathsheba, Ammon, Tamar,
and Absalom; so most of the commentators, but Ben Gersom, instead of Tamar, has
Adonijah.
2 Samuel 12:7 7 Then Nathan said to David,
“You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I
anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
YLT
7And Nathan saith unto
David, `Thou [art] the man! Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I anointed thee
for king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
And Nathan said to David, thou art the man,.... The rich
man, or who is designed by him in the parable, and answers to himF20"-----
mutato nomine, de te Fabula narratur -----". Horat. Sermon. l. 1. Satyr.
1. ver. 69,70. :
thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over
Israel; that is, ordered Samuel to anoint him, who did, 1 Samuel 16:1; to
which this chiefly refers; and after that he was anointed first by the tribe of
Judah, and then by all the tribes of Israel, by the appointment and providence
of God; and this was great dignity he designed for him, and raised him to:
and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; when he
persecuted him, and sought to take away his life.
2 Samuel 12:8 8 I gave you your master’s
house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of
Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have
given you much more!
YLT
8and I give to thee the
house of thy lord, and the wives of thy lord, into thy bosom, and I give to
thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if little, then I add to thee such
and such [things].
And I gave thee thy master's house,.... Not his palace at
Gibeah, but rather his family, his wives, servants, wealth, and riches, all
being confiscated through the rebellion of Ishbosheth; or rather his kingdom he
succeeded him in:
and thy master's wives into thy bosom; though we
read of no more than one that belonged to Saul, if he is meant by his master,
excepting Rizpah his concubine, nor ever of David taking them into his bosom
and bed; wherefore this can be understood only of his having them at his
disposal, to give them to whom he pleased; the word may be rendered his
"women", as well as his "wives", and may design his
daughters, Merab and Michal, who were both given to David, though taken again
and given to others: the Jews say, that Eglah, David's sixth wife, was the wife
of Saul; see Gill on 2 Samuel 3:5,
and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; the kingdom
of both; gave him to be king over all the tribes of Israel:
and if that had been too little; either his
wives too few, as the Jews interpret it, or his kingdom too small:
I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things; more and
greater favours; and indeed such he had promised him, as a firm or stable house
or kingdom, and that the Messiah should spring from him.
2 Samuel 12:9 9 Why have you despised the
commandment of the Lord,
to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you
have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword
of the people of Ammon.
YLT
9`Wherefore hast thou
despised the word of Jehovah, to do the evil thing in His eyes? Uriah the
Hittite thou hast smitten by the sword, and his wife thou hast taken to thee
for a wife, and him thou hast slain by the sword of the Bene-Ammon.
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do
evil in his sight?.... The commandment referred to is the law of God, particularly
the sixth and seventh precepts of it, Exodus 20:13; which
David had shown no regard unto, and by his breaking them had slighted and
despised them:
thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; and so had
despised and broken the sixth command, Exodus 20:13; for
though he had not taken away his life with his own hand, he had plotted and
contrived it, and had given orders to put him in such a position as would issue
in it:
and hast taken his wife to be thy wife; after he had
defiled her, being another man's wife, and had taken such unlawful methods to
make her his wife, whereby he had despised and broken both the sixth and the
seventh commands, Exodus 20:13,
and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon; though he had
not put him to death with his own sword, he had done that which was as bad or
worse in some respects, he had exposed him to the sword of the Ammonites, by which
it was taken away; and not his only, but that of some of the Israelites also,
which gave that uncircumcised people reason to triumph over the children of
Israel, and even to blaspheme the God of Israel.
2 Samuel 12:10 10 Now therefore, the sword shall
never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the
wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
YLT
10`And now, the sword doth
not turn aside from thy house unto the age, because thou hast despised Me, and
dost take the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be to thee for a wife;
Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house,.... During
his life, and as appeared in the slaughter of his sons Ammon and Absalom before
his death, and of Adonijah quickly after, and in his posterity through their
wars with the children of Israel, and other nations:
because thou hast despised me; his commandments, and
that in effect was despising him the lawgiver:
and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife; which being
repeated shows that it was very displeasing to God, and a very heinous crime in
his sight.
2 Samuel 12:11 11 Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I
will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your
wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie
with your wives in the sight of this sun.
YLT
11thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am
raising up against thee evil, out of thy house, and have taken thy wives before
thine eyes, and given to thy neighbour, and he hath lain with thy wives before
the eyes of this sun;
Thus saith the Lord,.... For what he said was
not of himself, but under a spirit of prophecy:
behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house: that is, evil
persons, who should be guilty of evil things, and that as a chastisement of him
for the sins he had committed, and those out of his own family, as Amnon and
Absalom:
and I will take thy wives before thine eyes; which is so
expressed, because it was done in his lifetime, and he knowing it, but not able
to hinder it, though he did not, strictly speaking, see it with his eyes:
and give them unto thy neighbour; or friend,
meaning his son Absalom, as they were:
and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun; pointing to
the sun in the firmament, and which might be then shining in the room where
they were: and which is represented by HomerF21Odyss. 11. ver. 119.
& 12. ver. 380. as seeing all things, "and eyes" are ascribed to
it here in the original; the meaning is, that this fact should be done in the
daytime, openly and publicly, and was fulfilled, when by the advice of
Ahithophel a tent was spread on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to
his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel, 2 Samuel 16:22.
2 Samuel 12:12 12 For you did it
secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’”
YLT
12for thou hast done [it] in
secret, and I do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'
For thou didst it secretly,.... Committed adultery
with Bathsheba privately, and endeavoured to conceal it, by getting her husband
killed in battle, and then marrying her as soon as he could to hide the shame
of it:
but one will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun; as the above
fact was; that is, he would suffer it to he done, and so order it in his
providence, that everything should concur to the doing of it; as David's
leaving his wives behind him, Ahithophel's wicked counsel he was suffered to
give, and the lustful inclination Absalom was left unto, and not any of the
people of Israel having religion, spirit, and courage enough to remonstrate
against it.
2 Samuel 12:13 13 So David said to Nathan,
“I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to
David, “The Lord
also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
YLT
13And David saith unto
Nathan, `I have sinned against Jehovah.' And Nathan saith unto David, `Also --
Jehovah hath caused thy sin to pass away; thou dost not die;
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord,.... Which
confession, though short, was a full one, arising from a thorough conviction of
the evil of the sin he had been guilty of, accompanied with real brokenness of
heart, sincere humiliation, and a sorrow after a godly sort, as the fifty first
psalm, that penitential psalm composed upon this occasion shows, Psalm 51:1,
and Nathan said unto David; being fully satisfied
with the sincerity and genuineness of his repentance, of which he gave proof by
words and deeds, and being under the direction and impulse of the Spirit of
God:
the Lord hath put away thy sin; would not charge it upon
him, impute it to him, or punish him for it, but freely and fully forgive it,
cast it behind his back, and into the depth of the sea; cause it to pass from
him and never more bring it against him, and which is the Lord's act, and his
only, against whom sin is committed:
thou shall not die; though he should die a corporeal death, yet
not by the immediate hand of God, or by the sword of justice as a malefactor, a
murderer, and adulterer, as he, according to the law, deserved to die; nor
should he die a spiritual death, though his grace had been so low, and his
corruptions had risen so high; nor an eternal death, the second death, the lost
wages of sin.
2 Samuel 12:14 14 However, because by this
deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme,
the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”
YLT
14only, because thou hast
caused the enemies of Jehovah greatly to despise by this thing, also the son
who is born to thee doth surely die.'
Howbeit, because by this deed,.... This complicated
wickedness, adultery with Bathsheba, and the murder of her husband, and
occasioning the death of others:
thou hast given great reason to the enemies of the Lord to
blaspheme; to insult over Israel, and the God of Israel, and to magnify
their own idols on account of the advantage they got when Uriah and other
Israelites were slain; and to speak ill of God as a respecter of persons, who
had cast off Saul and his family from the kingdom, and yet established David in
it, guilty of crimes the other was not; and of the word, ways, and worship of
God, and of the true religion, as all hypocrisy and deceit, when men that made
such pretensions to it were guilty of such atrocious crimes; wherefore to let
such see and know that the Lord did not approve of and countenance such
actions, but abhorred and resented them:
the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die; which would
be a visible testimony of God's displeasure at his sin, to all men that should
hear of it, and know it; and being taken away in such a manner would be a great
affliction to him, and the more as his affections were much towards the child,
as appears by what follows; or otherwise the removal of it might have been
considered as a mercy, since its life would have kept up the remembrance of the
sin, and have been a standing reproach to him.
2 Samuel 12:15 15 Then Nathan departed to
his house. And the Lord
struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.
YLT
15And Nathan goeth unto his
house, and Jehovah smiteth the lad, whom the wife of Uriah hath born to David,
and it is incurable;
And Nathan departed unto his house,.... His own house, which
probably was in the city of Jerusalem, having delivered his message, and
brought David to a sense of his sin, and declared to him from the Lord the
forgiveness of it; yet for the honour of religion, and the stopping of the
mouths of blasphemers, the death of the child is threatened and foretold, and
then Nathan took his leave of him, having nothing more from the Lord to say to
him:
and the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David; for so she
was, and not David's wife, when this child was begotten of her; and, as a mark
of God's displeasure at the sin of adultery, the child was struck with a sore
disease by the immediate hand of God:
and it was very sick; even unto death, as the
event showed.
2 Samuel 12:16 16 David therefore pleaded
with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the
ground.
YLT
16and David seeketh God for
the youth, and David keepeth a fast, and hath gone in and lodged, and lain on
the earth.
David therefore besought God for the child,.... Perhaps
went into the tabernacle he had built for the ark, and prayed to the Lord to
restore the child, and spare its life; for though the Lord had said it should
die, he might hope that that was a conditional threatening, and that the Lord
might be gracious and reverse it, 2 Samuel 12:22,
and David fasted: all that day:
and went in; to his own house from the house of God:
and lay all night upon the earth; would neither go into,
nor lie upon a bed, but lay on the floor all night, weeping and praying for the
child's life, and especially for its eternal welfare: he having through sin
been the means of its coming into a sinful and afflicted state.
2 Samuel 12:17 17 So the elders of his house
arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would
not, nor did he eat food with them.
YLT
17And the elders of his house
rise against him, to raise him up from the earth, and he hath not been willing,
nor hath he eaten with them bread;
And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to
raise him up from the earth,.... To persuade him to rise up, and sit
upon a seat, and go to bed, after having taken some food; these were some of
the chief officers at court, and had the management of the affairs of his
household:
but he would not; they could not persuade him to it:
neither did he eat bread with them; that evening, as he had
used to do; they being the princes of his court, who were wont to sit at table
with him.
2 Samuel 12:18 18 Then on the seventh day it
came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell
him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive,
we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the
child is dead? He may do some harm!”
YLT
18and it cometh to pass on
the seventh day, that the lad dieth, and the servants of David fear to declare
to him that the lad is dead, for they said, `Lo, in the lad being alive we
spake unto him, and he did not hearken to our voice; and how do we say unto
him, The lad is dead? -- then he hath done evil.'
And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died,.... Not the
seventh day from its being taken ill, but from its birth; for it cannot be
thought that David should fast seven days:
and the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was
dead; lest he should be overwhelmed with too much sorrow:
for they said, behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake
unto him; to rise from the ground, and eat food:
and he would not hearken unto our voice; we could not
prevail upon him to do the one nor the other:
how will he then vex himself if we tell him that the child is dead? or should we
acquaint him with it, "he will do mischief"F23ועשה רעה και
ποιησει κακα, Sept. "faciat malum", Pagninus, Montanus;
"malum sibi inferet", Syr. Ar. to himself, to his body; he
will tear his flesh to pieces, and cut and kill himself; this they were afraid
of, observing the distress and agony he was in while it was living, and
therefore they concluded these would increase upon hearing of its death.
2 Samuel 12:19 19 When David saw that his
servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore
David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”
YLT
19And David seeth that his
servants are whispering, and David understandeth that the lad is dead, and
David saith unto his servants, `Is the lad dead?' and they say, `Dead.'
And when David saw that his servants whispered,.... For they
said the above to one another with a low voice, that he might not hear them,
though in the same room with them:
David perceived the child was dead; he guessed it was, and
that this was the thing they were whispering about among themselves:
therefore David said unto his servants, is the child dead? and
they said, he is dead; for putting the question to them so closely, they could not
avoid giving the answer they did, and which he was prepared to receive, by what
he had observed in them.
2 Samuel 12:20 20 So David arose from the
ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into
the house of the Lord
and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set
food before him, and he ate.
YLT
20And David riseth from the
earth, and doth bathe and anoint [himself], and changeth his raiment, and
cometh in to the house of Jehovah, and boweth himself, and cometh unto his
house, and asketh and they place for him bread, and he eateth.
Then David arose from the earth,.... From the floor on
which he lay:
and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel; neither of
which he had done during his time of fasting:
and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped; went into the
tabernacle he had built for the ark of God, and then in prayer submitted
himself to the will of God, and acknowledged his justice in what he had done;
gave thanks to God that he had brought him to a sense of his sin, and
repentance for it, and had applied his pardoning grace to him, and given him
satisfaction as to the eternal welfare and happiness of the child, as appears
from 2 Samuel 12:23,
then he, came to his own house; from the house of God,
having finished his devotion there:
and when he required; ordered food to be
brought in:
they set bread before him, and he did eat: whereas
before, while the child was living, he refused to eat.
2 Samuel 12:21 21 Then his servants said to
him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child
while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”
YLT
21And his servants say unto
him, `What [is] this thing thou hast done? because of the living lad thou hast
fasted and dost weep, and when the lad is dead thou hast risen and dost eat
bread.'
Then said his servants unto him, what thing is this that
thou hast done?.... Or what is the reason of such conduct and behaviour? they
knew what was done, but they did not know the meaning of it, which is what they
inquired after:
thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; prayed with
fasting and weeping for it, that it might live and not die:
but when the child was dead thou didst rise and eat bread; and appeared
cheerful; this seemed strange to them, when they expected his sorrow would be
increased.
2 Samuel 12:22 22 And he said, “While the
child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether
the Lord[a]
will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’
YLT
22And he saith, `While the
lad is alive I have fasted, and weep, for I said, Who knoweth? -- Jehovah doth
pity me, and the lad hath lived;
And he said, while the child was yet alive,.... And so
there was hope it might be continued:
I fasted and wept; or sought the Lord by prayer, and fasting,
and weeping, that the threatening might not take place, that the child's life
might be spared:
for I said; within himself, thus he reasoned in his own mind:
who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the
child may live? and in hope of this he kept praying, fasting, and weeping; he
could not tell but God might repent of the evil he had threatened, as in some
cases he has done; see Joel 2:13.
Abarbinel thinks that David fasted and wept to hide this matter from his wife,
and his servants, and did not let them know that this was in his punishment,
that the child should die.
2 Samuel 12:23 23 But now he is dead; why
should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not
return to me.”
YLT
23and now, he hath died, why
[is] this -- I fast? am I able to bring him back again? I am going unto him,
and he doth not turn back unto me.'
But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast?.... And pray;
it is to no purpose, no end can be thought to be answered by it:
can I bring him back again? from the state of the
dead, bring him to life by fasting, and praying, and weeping; that is not to e
expected:
I shall go to him; to the state of the dead, to the grave,
where his body was, or would be; to heaven and eternal happiness, where his
soul was, as he comfortably hoped and believed: from whence it appears, that
the Old Testament saints did not suppose an annihilation at death; but believed
the immortality of the soul, a future state after death of eternal life and
bliss:
but he shall not return to me; in the present mortal
state, though at the resurrection they should meet again.
2 Samuel 12:24 24 Then David comforted
Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and
he[b] called his
name Solomon. Now the Lord
loved him,
YLT
24And David comforteth
Bath-Sheba his wife, and goeth in unto her, and lieth with her, and she beareth
a son, and he calleth his name Solomon; and Jehovah hath loved him,
And David comforted Bathsheba his wife,.... Which is
the first time she is so called, Uriah being dead, and David having married
her; which though at first displeasing to the Lord, because the circumstances
attending it, was afterwards confirmed by him. Bathsheba no doubt was very much
distressed, and greatly disconsolate, on account of the sin she had committed,
and because of the wrath and displeasure of God, and because of the death of
the child, which was a token of it; and she might have some scruples in her
mind whether it was lawful to continue cohabiting with David. Now David
comforted her, by telling her that God had pardoned that iniquity they had been
guilty of, and that he would give them another son, who should succeed him in
the throne, and build an house for his name:
and went in unto her, and lay with her, as his wife:
and she bare a son; at the proper time:
and he called his name Solomon; either the Lord called
him so, or David by his direction; for this name was given before his birth, 1 Chronicles 22:9;
the Keri or marginal reading is, "and she called his name", &c.
that is, Bathsheba, who had been informed by David that this was the name the
Lord would have him called by, which signifies "peaceable"; and the
birth of this son was a confirmation of the peace and reconciliation between
God and them, and which his name carried in it; as well as pointed to the
peaceable times that should be during his reign, and in which be was a type of
Christ, the Prince; of peace; who is the author of peace between God and men by
the blood of his cross, and from whom spiritual peace flows, and by whom
eternal peace and happiness is:
and the Lord loved him; and was to him a father,
and he to him a son, as was promised, 2 Samuel 7:14. This
love and affection of the Lord to Solomon was signified to David by Nathan, as
follows.
2 Samuel 12:25 25 and He sent word by
the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he[c] called his
name Jedidiah,[d] because of
the Lord.
YLT
25and sendeth by the hand of
Nathan the prophet, and calleth his name Jedidiah, because of Jehovah.
And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet,.... Either
David did; he sent by him to Bathsheba, to acquaint her with the name of the
child, that it was to be Solomon; which is not so likely: or "he, David,
delivered it into the hand of Nathan the prophet"; to educate it, instruct
it, and bring it up in the nurture of the Lord; or rather the Lord sent a
message by Nathan the prophet to David, that he loved Solomon:
and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord: that is,
David also called him by this name, because of the love of the Lord unto him;
for Jedidiah signifies "the beloved of the Lord"; a name and
character which well agrees with the Messiah, Solomon's antitype, Matthew 3:17.
2 Samuel 12:26 26 Now Joab fought against
Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city.
YLT
26And Joab fighteth against
Rabbah of the Bene-Ammon, and captureth the royal city,
And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon,.... Of his
being sent against it, and of his besieging it, we read in 2 Samuel 11:1; but
it can hardly be thought that he had been so long besieging it, as that David
had two children by Bathsheba; but the account of the finishing of it is placed
here, that the story concerning Bathsheba might lie together without any
interruption:
and took the royal city; or that part of it in
which the king's palace was, and which, as Abarbinel observes, was without the
city, as the palaces of kings now usually are.
2 Samuel 12:27 27 And Joab sent messengers
to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city’s
water supply.
YLT
27and Joab sendeth messengers
unto David, and saith, `I have fought against Rabbah -- also I have captured
the city of waters;
And Joab sent messengers to David,.... To acquaint him how
he had proceeded, and what success he had had:
and said, I have fought against Rabbah; laid siege to
it, and skirmished with parties that sallied out upon them:
and have taken the city of waters; the same with the royal
city, and so the Targum here renders it; so called because situated by the waterside;
Adrichomius saysF24Theatrum T. S. p. 34. the river Jabbok flowed
round about it: or it abounded with fountains of water, from whence the other
part of the city, or what was properly the city Rabbah, was supplied with
water; and which communication being cut off, it could not hold out long, which
Joab being sensible of, therefore sent for David. Junius and Tremellius render
the words, "I have intercepted the water from the city"; with which
the account of JosephusF25Antiqu. l. 7. c. 7. sect. 5. agrees, who
says, that he cut off the water from them, and precluded other supplies, so
that they were in great distress for want of food and drink; and in like manner
it was taken by Antiochus some hundreds of years later; for that; historian
saysF26Polyb. Hist. l. 5. p. 414. the siege by him lasted long, and
they could not prevail, because of the multitude of men it, until one of the
prisoners showed them a subterraneous passage, through which they came and
fetched water; which they stopped up with stones and such like things, and then
through want of water yielded.
2 Samuel 12:28 28 Now therefore, gather the
rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I
take the city and it be called after my name.”
YLT
28and now, gather the rest of
the people, and encamp against the city, and capture it, lest I capture the
city, and my name hath been called upon it.'
Now therefore gather the rest of the people together,.... The rest
of the soldiers in the land of Israel, and come to Rabbah:
and encamp against the city; invest it in form:
and take it; upon a surrender or by storm; for it could not hold out long:
lest I take the city, and it be called after my name; so great a
regard had Joab, though an ambitious man, to the fame and credit of David his
king: so CraterusF1Curt. Hist. l. 6. c. 6. at the siege of
Artacacna, being prepared to take it, waited the coming of Alexander, that he
might have the honour of it.
2 Samuel 12:29 29 So David gathered all the
people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it.
YLT
29And David gathereth all the
people, and goeth to Rabbah, and fighteth against it, and captureth it;
And David gathered all the people together,.... The
soldiers that were with him, or near him; which was done partly to recruit
Joab's troops, who, by the continuance of the siege, and the sallies of the
enemy on them, might be greatly diminished; and partly to make conquests of
other cities of the Ammonites, and to carry off the spoil of them:
and went to Rabbah; which must be after the death of Uriah, and
very probably during the time of Bathsheba's mourning for him:
and fought against it, and took it; by assault.
2 Samuel 12:30 30 Then he took their king’s
crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious
stones. And it was set on David’s head. Also he brought out the spoil of
the city in great abundance.
YLT
30and he taketh the crown of
their king from off his head, and its weight [is] a talent of gold, and
precious stones, and it is on the head of David; and the spoil of the city he
hath brought out, very much;
And he took their king's crown from off his head,.... The crown
of Hanun the king of the Ammonites, who now fell into his hands, and whom he
stripped of his ensigns of royalty, who had so shamefully abused his
ambassadors, 2 Samuel 10:4,
(the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious
stones): or, "and a precious stone"; there might be more, as
our version suggests, but there was one in it remarkably large and valuable;
JosephusF2Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 7. sect. 5.) says it had in it
a very precious stone, a sardonyx; and this, according to the TalmudF3T.
Bab. Avodah Zarah, fol. 44. 1. was of the value of a talent of gold. A talent
was equal to three thousand shekels, as appears from Exodus 38:25; and
was in value, according to BrerewoodF4De Ponder. & Pret. Vet.
Num. c. 4. of our money, 4500 pounds; but according to Bishop CumberlandF5Of
Scripture Weights and Measures, c. 4. p. 121. 5067 pounds, three shillings and
ten pence. This crown was of the same value with the golden candlestick in the
tabernacle, Exodus 25:39; and
some think that value here is meant, and not the weight, a talent of gold being
very heavy; according to Bishop CumberlandF6Ib. p. 119. , ninety
three and three quarter pounds; some say an hundred thirteen pounds ten ounces,
and more; too great a weight to be borne on the head by Hanun or David; but,
what with the gold and precious stones about it, it might be equal in value to
a talent of gold; but weight is expressly mentioned, and the crowns of the
eastern princes were of great bulk and weight, as well as value: AthenaeusF7Apud
Paschalium de Coronis, l. 9. c, 8. p. 587. makes mention of one made of ten
thousand pieces of gold, placed on the throne of King Ptolemy, and of some of
two cubits, of six, yea, of sixteen cubits. SomeF8Vid. Hieron. Trad.
Heb. in 2 Reg. fol. 78. H. & in Paralipom. fol. 83. M. Weemse of Jewish
Weights, p. 141. are of opinion that this crown was not the crown of the king
of Ammon, but of Milcom or Molech, their idol, and that the proper name should
be retained in the version, and that David had a crown made of it he could
bear; but if, as othersF9Pfeiffer. Difficil. Script. Loc. cent. 2.
loc. 87. , the Syriac talent is meant, which was but the fourth part of an
Hebrew one, the difficulty is greatly lessened; for it seems to be the same
crown David afterwards wore, as follows:
and it was set on David's head; to show that
the kingdom was translated to him, or was become subject to him; as Alexander,
on the conquest of Darius, put the Persian diadem on his own headF11Diodor.
Sic. l. 17. p. 549. , in token of that monarchy being translated to him:
though, after all, the phrase, "from off", may be rendered "from
above" or "over"F12מעל
"desuper", Montanus, "supra caput David", Munster. his
head, and so it was set "above" or "over" the head of
David, being supported by some means or other, that its weight did not bear
thereon however, Paschalius, who wrote a learned work, "De Coronis",
must be mistaken when be saysF13Ut supra, (Apud Paschalium de
Coronis) l. 10. c. 10. p. 695. this seems to be the first use of a crown in the
kingdom of Judah, there being no mention of a crown before, either of Saul or David,
only of anointing; since express mention is made of Saul's crown, 2 Samuel 1:10;
though his observation may be just, that this crown, allowed to be worn by
David, was a pledge of the renewal of his royal dignity, and of his acceptance
with God upon his repentance for his above sins:
and he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance; which, or at
least part of it, was dedicated to the building of the sanctuary, 2 Samuel 8:11.
2 Samuel 12:31 31 And he brought out the
people who were in it, and put them to work with saws and iron
picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to
all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned
to Jerusalem.
YLT
31and the people who [are] in
it he hath brought out, and setteth to the saw, and to cutting instruments of
iron, and to axes of iron, and hath caused them to pass over into the
brick-kiln; and so he doth to all the cities of the Bene-Ammon; and David
turneth back, and all the people, to Jerusalem.
And he brought forth the people that were therein,.... Not all
the inhabitants of the place, but the princes of the children of Ammon, the
counsellors of Hattun, who advised him to use David's ambassadors in so
shameful a manner, and others that expressed their pleasure and satisfaction in
it:
and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and
under axes of iron; whereby they were cut asunder, as some were by the Romans and
othersF14Suetonius in Vita Caii, c. 27. Vid. Herodot. l. 2. c. 139.
, or their flesh torn to pieces, and they put to extreme pain and agony, and so
died most miserably; see 1 Chronicles 20:3,
and made them pass through the brickkiln; where they
burnt their bricks, by which they were not only scorched and blistered, but
burnt to death; so the word in the "Keri", or margin, signifies,
which we follow; but in the text it is, they caused them to pass through
Malcem, the same with Milcom or Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon,
1 Kings 11:5; unto
which they made their children pass through the fire, and burnt them; and now
in the same place they themselves are made to pass through, and be burnt, as a
righteous punishment of them for their barbarous and wicked idolatry. The word
used in the Greek version, according to SuidasF15In voce πλινθιον. , signifies an army, or a battalion of men drawn up in a
quadrangular form, like a brick; and in the same sense JosephusF16Antiqu.
l. 13. c. 4. sect. 4. uses it; hence a learned manF17Menochius de
Repub. Heb. l. 8. c. 3. col 752. conjectures that David's army was drawn up in
the like form, through which the Ammonites were obliged to pass, and as they
passed were assailed with darts, and killed; a like punishment to which is what
the Italians call "passing through the pikes":
and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon; to the
inhabitants of them; that is, the chief, who bad expressed their joy at the ill
usage of his ambassadors: this he did to strike terror into other nations, that
they might fear to use his ambassadors in such like manner. This action of
David's showing so much severity, is thought by most to be done when under the
power of his lust with Bathsheba, in an hardened and impenitent state, when he
had no sense of mercy himself, and so showed none; which is too injurious to
his character; for this was a righteous retaliation of this cruel people, 1 Samuel 11:2.
Which may be observed in other instances, Judges 8:6; but the
charge of cruelty in David will be easily removed by following the translation
of a learnedF18Danzii Commentat. de miligat. David in Ammon. crudel.
Jenae 1710, apud Michael. in 1 Chron. xx. 3. Vid. Stockium, p. 392. man, and
which I think the words will bear, "and he obliged the people that were in
it to go out, and put them to the saw", to cut stones; "and to the
iron mines", to dig there; "and to the axes of iron", to cut
wood, with; "after he had made them to pass with their king" out of
the city.
So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem; in triumph,
and with great spoil.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)