Tyndale Open Study Notes2 Samuel 11

David’s affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah show that David was capable of serious moral failure. These actions deeply damaged David’s life and leadership.

These failures took place during a period when David was enjoying major military success against the Ammonites (2 Samuel 10:1–11:1; 12:26–31).

• In the spring of the year, the land began to dry out after the heavy winter rains. Kings avoided war during the rainy season.

• David stayed behind either because he was irresponsible in carrying out his royal duties or because he trusted Joab to efficiently handle the Ammonite problem (compare 2 Samuel 10:7). This is the first mention of a leader of Israel staying off the battlefield in a time of war.

• strolled around on the roof: The roofs of houses were flat and often used for different activities, like drying and storing food (Joshua 2:6), walking and socializing, and sleeping in warm weather.

• Bathsheba was bathing in clear view from the roof of the king’s palace. She might have thought everyone was inside, escaping the heat or taking a midday rest.

• Bathsheba means "daughter of seven" or "daughter of oath." Her father, Eliam, was the son of Ahithophel (see 2 Samuel 23:34), an adviser first to David and then to Absalom (2 Samuel 15:12; 16:23). Ahithophel later switched his support from David to Absalom (2 Samuel 17:1–4, 14), which upset David. He advised Absalom to sleep with David's concubines on a rooftop, where everyone could see (2 Samuel 16:20–22).

• Uriah is a Hebrew name meaning "Yahweh is my light." He might have been a foreign soldier, a convert to the Israelite religion, or an Israelite with Hittite ancestry. Uriah could also have been part of the non-Israelite nobility in Jerusalem before David conquered the city. He was one of David's 30 mightiest warriors (2 Samuel 23:39).

• It is not clear whether Bathsheba came to David’s palace by her own choice. David was the king, and Bathsheba was a subject under his authority. This unequal power relationship means that she may not have been free to refuse his summons.

  The text does not record any protest from Bathsheba, unlike other passages where protest is clearly stated (compare 2 Samuel 13:12–13). Afterward, she married David, bore him another son, and later urged David to name their son as heir (1 Kings 1:11–21). These details may suggest willing cooperation.

  However, other details point in a different direction. Bathsheba mourned for her husband Uriah (2 Samuel 11:26–27), and the text places blame only on David for what happened (2 Samuel 11:27). Given David’s authority and Bathsheba’s vulnerable position, it is also possible that she was taken against her will.

• The phrase about her menstrual period (see Leviticus 15:19–24) shows that Bathsheba could not have been pregnant by Uriah. It makes clear that the child she conceived must have been David’s.

• wash your feet: David assumed that Uriah would have sex with Bathsheba while on this weekend pass. Then everyone except Bathsheba would assume that the child was Uriah’s, conceived on this night.

• a gift: David may not have cared whether Uriah and Bathsheba were actually intimate. If Uriah had gone back to his house, people would have assumed that the pregnancy began during that time. This would have prevented questions about when and how Bathsheba became pregnant.

• in tents (Hebrew, sukkoth, the name behind Sukkot, “the Feast of Tabernacles,” Deuteronomy 16:13–17): These were temporary shelters made of branches and leaves. Soldiers in battle, herders watching their animals, or workers during the grape harvest used these shelters.

• eat and drink and sleep with my wife?: Uriah was willing to eat and drink with David (2 Samuel 11:13). What he refused was to sleep with his wife, Bathsheba. In ancient Israel, soldiers on duty treated the camp as a holy place because they believed God was present there to fight for them. For that reason, they avoided anything considered impure, including sexual relations (Leviticus 15:18; see also 1 Samuel 21:5–6).

Uriah was not the only one who died. David sacrificed several other Israelite soldiers while attempting to hide his sin.

Was it not a woman who dropped an upper millstone on him: Compare Judges 9:54.

the sword devours one as well as another: David spoke as if death in war were random and unavoidable. His words show a cold and careless attitude toward the unnecessary deaths he had caused.