2 Samuel 11:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.

NIV: Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.

NASB: Then David sent messengers and had her brought, and when she came to him, he slept with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.

CSB: David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Afterward, she returned home.

NLT: Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.

While Uriah is with Joab, fighting the Ammonites at David's command, David sees Uriah's wife Bathsheba performing a ritual bath on her rooftop. The sighting is accidental. David's inquiry about her identity is intentional (2 Samuel 11:1–3). So is what he does with this information.

David uses his power as king to summon Bathsheba to his house. Commentators speculate that David likely didn't tell his servants that his plan was to sleep with her. Perhaps he told them, and even himself, that he was merely inviting her to the palace to ask about her family and to honor them by giving her some of his time.

Whatever David's intention when he sends the summons, he does have sex with her and then sends her home. The text emphasizes that she had just cleansed herself following her menstrual period, as commanded in the Law (Leviticus 15:19–24). The point of mentioning that detail seems to be to reveal that she could not yet have been pregnant. No argument could be made that the child was Uriah's. The timing also reveals that she is most likely ovulating.

Past Christian teachers have insisted Bathsheba knew David could see her from his roof. This suggests she enticed and tempted him and intended to get into his bed. This interpretation may be motivated by a desire to minimize David's culpability, but it's not part of Scripture. Nothing in the text indicates Bathsheba deserves condemnation. In fact, when Nathan tells a parable to confront David with his sin, he compares her to the single ewe lamb of a poor man who treats her like a daughter and lets her sleep in his arms. Nathan describes David as a rich man who steals the lamb for the dinner of a visitor (2 Samuel 12:1–4).

Obviously, Bathsheba committed adultery. Some modern commentators portray Bathsheba as a victim of rape by a powerful authority figure. That may well be the case, but the Bible doesn't say specifically. We don't how coerced she was, or how enthusiastic. But Scripture places all the blame on David. Psalm 51 frames the event as David's act of adultery. And although Bathsheba is portrayed as the victim, Nathan's primary message is that David sinned against Uriah (2 Samuel 12:9).

Psalm 51:4 is another contentious part of the story. David declares, "Against You, You only, I have sinned…" Of course, David sins against Bathsheba and Uriah, but what he did wouldn't be sin if God hadn't made it so (Genesis 9:5–6; Deuteronomy 22:22). God gave David the position as king, the responsibility to care of His people, and the role as an example in obedience to God. David failed God in all of these. Even so, David acknowledges that God's judgment is just, but also that God alone can redeem him. David's sin becomes our reminder that God will forgive our every sin if we repent.

Second Samuel 11:1–5 describes David's sin against Bathsheba. Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, is at war against the Ammonites with Joab and Israel's army. David sees Bathsheba bathing from the uncleanness of her menstruation and has her brought to him. He has sex with her, and she becomes pregnant. To hide his sin, David first tries to trick Uriah into sleeping with his wife. When Uriah refuses, David has Uriah murdered (2 Samuel 11:6–25). We aren't told the story from Bathsheba's point of view, but the text never faults her or condemns her of sin. First Chronicles 20:1 describes the battle.

In 2 Samuel 11, David commits grievous sins. Joab and the Israelite army, including the warrior Uriah, are finishing the battle against the Ammonites. Back in Jerusalem, David takes notice of Uriah's wife and impregnates her. When she informs David of the pregnancy, David recalls Uriah. The king expects the soldier to sleep with his wife and claim the child. Uriah's intense loyalty and integrity prevent him from even visiting his house while the others are still at war. David tells Joab to have Uriah killed in battle. God sends Nathan to confront David. David sincerely repents, but God takes the child (2 Samuel 12).