2 Samuel 11

2 Samuel 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Second Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the second part of Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. Jewish tradition attributes the book to the prophet Samuel, with later additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan; modern scholarship, however, regards it as a compilation of independent texts dated to . This chapter contains the account of David's reign in Jerusalem. This section covers 2 Samuel 9–20 and extends to 1 Kings 1–2, focusing on the power struggles among the sons of David to succeed his throne before "the kingdom was secured in Solomon's hands".

Text This chapter was originally written in Biblical Hebrew. It is divided into 27 verses.

Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing this chapter in Biblical Hebrew belong to the Masoretic Textual tradition, including the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, including 4Q51 (4QSam; ) with extant verses 2–12 and 15–20.Dead sea scrolls - 2 Samuel4Q51 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library

Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (compiled in the last few centuries BCE) include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).

Analysis Chapters 11 and 12, which focus on David, Bathsheba, and Bathsheba's husband, Uriah the Hittite, form a single episode arranged concentrically in eleven scenes. The episode begins with David sending Joab and the army to attack Rabbah (A; 11:1), followed by David sleeping with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah (B; 11:2–5). David then tries to manipulate Uriah and arranges his death (C; 11:6–13), after which he instructs Joab to ensure Uriah dies in battle (D; 11:14–17). Joab sends David news of Uriah's death (E; 11:18–25), and David brings Bathsheba into his household, an act that displeases God (F; 11:26–27).

The sequence then reverses: Nathan, the king's advising prophet at the time, brings God's message to David (E'; 12:1–7a). Nathan announces that David's child will die upon its birth (D'; 12:7b–15a). God ensures the child's death despite David's pleas (C'; 12:15b–23). David subsequently lies with Bathsheba, who is now his wife, resulting in her conceiving another son (B'; 12:24–25). Following this, Joab and David complete the conquest of Rabbah (A'; 12:26–31).

The episode is framed by the campaign against Rabbah, the Ammonite capital. It begins with David dispatching Joab and the army to besiege the city and ends with the city's surrender to David (A/A'). The paired scenes B/B' both recount David sleeping with Bathsheba and her subsequent conception. Scenes C and D depict the plot resulting in Uriah's death, whereas C' and D' detail God's response to David's wrongdoing through the unnamed child's death. The E/E' scenes contrast David's reaction to Uriah's death with his outrage over the slaughter of the ewe lamb in Nathan's parable. At the story's center, scene F marks the episode's turning point by declaring the God's displeasure with David's actions.

David's disgrace significantly shaped later depictions of his faithfulness to God. 1 Kings 15:5 states, "for David had done what was pleasing to and never turned throughout his life from all that had been commanded him, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." In contrast, the Books of Chronicles (e.g., in 1 Chronicles 20:1–2) omit the episode entirely, with the account simply moving from David remaining in Jerusalem to the conquest of Rabbah.

David and Bathsheba (11:1–13) Military activities in the ancient Near East generally started in the spring, after the end of the winter rains, and this was when the Israelite troops under Joab were dispatched in the continuation of the siege of Rabbah begun in 2 Samuel 10:1, while David stayed behind. This turns out to be the setting for David's moral downfall: providing him with an opportunity to see Bathsheba bathing and then to commit adultery with her. David's misbehavior is reported openly and honestly, without any mitigation or explanation for his motivation.

Verse 3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" "Eliam" (): Bathsheba's father, identified in 2 Samuel 23:34 as the son of Ahitophel. His name is written as Ammiel (), instead of Eliam, in 1 Chronicles 3:5. This Eliam may be the same person named as a bodyguard listed among David's Mighty Warriors in 2 Samuel 23:34.Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. 2 Samuel 11. Accessed 28 April 2019. Chazal, the early Jewish sages whose teachings, exegeses, rulings, and arguments are documented in the Talmud, convey in tractate Sanhedrin 69b that Bathsheba was the granddaughter of Ahitophel of Gilon, an advisor to King David. Nineteenth-century Christian theologian John James Blunt argues that the familial relationship between Bathsheba and Ahipotel record explains Ahitophel's advice to Absalom (2 Samuel 15:12) as an act of revenge for the seduction of his granddaughter and the murder of her husband.Blunt, "Undesigned Coincidences", p. 135 ff.; apud Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. 2 Samuel 11. "Uriah the Hittite": Bathsheba's husband and one of David's Mighty Warriors. In 4QSam, he is said to be Joab's armorbearer. The use of the appellation 'the Hittite' may indicate the ancestral roots of an individual born in Israel, as evidenced by his theophoric name that references or signifies a connection to the Hittite civilization or heritage. In Matthew 1:6 of the Christian Bible, "the wife of Uriah" is mentioned as one of the ancestors of Jesus.Poole, Matthew, A Commentary on the Holy Bible. "Matthew 1". Accessed 22 Agustus 2019.

Verse 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. "Purified from her uncleanness" (): In other words, Bathsheba had purified herself following the end of her menstrual cycle, returning to ritual purity. This was considered the best possible period for conception, as attested in other ancient documents.Aristotle. Hist. Animal. l. 7. c. 2. apud Gill's Exposition to the Entire Bible. 2 Samuel 11.

David arranged Uriah to be killed (11:14–25) David recognized his sin in sleeping with Bathsheba under the Law of Moses recounted in Deuteronomy 22:22, so he tried to attribute Bathsheba's pregnancy to Uriah. Under the pretext of getting news about the battle against Ammon, David called Uriah from the battlefield; he then persuaded him to go home and "wash your feet", a euphemism for having intercourse with his wife. Although on leave, Uriah upheld the ritual purity expected during battle as mandated by Deuteronomy 23:10–15—he believed it was wrong to enjoy comforts when the Ark was in a temporary shelter, and his fellow soldiers were encamped—so he resisted David's attempts to persuade him and efforts to make him drunk with food and wine. Eventually, Uriah was commanded to carry a letter that would lead him to certain death: David's secret message to Joab to assign Uriah to the frontmost line. Uriah apparently did not read the letter (presumably sealed). Joab executed David's wish by placing Uriah and some of his soldiers under the city wall, an action that had also proved fatal in the case of Abimelech, a son of the biblical judge Gideon, in Judges 9:53 and which here caused the death of Uriah, along with—according to the LXX—eighteen other soldiers. Thereafter, Joab sent a message to David conveying the news of the battle with vital information about Uriah's death, and David sent back to Joab a hidden message of acceptance and encouragement.

David married Bathsheba (11:26–27) After the mourning () period of Uriah's death was over, David took Uriah's widow, Bathsheba, to be his wife, and in the course of time she gave birth to a son, Solomon. David's actions were not explained, but the last statement of the passage, 11:27b, clearly states that David's behavior was unacceptable to God.

Verse 27 And when the 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 . "The mourning" (): refers to the customary seven-day period of mourning for death, such as with Abigail in 1 Samuel 25:39–42.Barnes, Albert. Notes on the Bible - 2 Samuel 11. James Murphy (ed). London: Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998. "Displeased God" or "was evil in the eyes of God", because according to the Law, both David and Bathsheba should have been put to death.Gill, John. Exposition of the Entire Bible. "2 Samuel 11". Published in 1746-1763.

2 Samuel 11

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