2 Samuel 12:1-6. Nathan's Parable 1. _the_Lord _sent Nathan_ A year had passed, and Bath-sheba's child had been born, before Nathan was sent to rouse the king's slumbering conscience. To this crisis belong Psalms 51. and 32. See Introd. ch. VIII. § 5, p. 47. _and said unto him_ Some MSS of the Vul... [ Continue Reading ]
_The rich man_, &c. Observe how the details of the parable are all arranged so as to bring the heartless selfishness of the rich man into the strongest relief.... [ Continue Reading ]
_of his own meat_ OF HIS OWN MORSEL. The E. V. misses something of the graphic tenderness of the original, describing how the lamb actually shared the poor man's meal.... [ Continue Reading ]
"The apologue of the rich man and the ewe lamb … ventures to disregard all particulars, and is content to aim at awakening the general sense of outraged justice. It fastens on the essential guilt of David's sin; not its sensuality or its impurity, so much as its meanness and selfishness … A true des... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall surely die_ Or, IS WORTHY TO DIE; lit. _is a son of death_. Cp. 1 Samuel 20:31; 1 Samuel 26:16.... [ Continue Reading ]
_fourfold_ The legal compensation. See Exodus 22:1; Luke 19:8. The Sept. reads _sevenfold_, and this may be the original reading. David in his indignation would be likely to prescribe a more liberal restitution than the usual fourfold. Cp. Proverbs 6:31.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Prophet's sentence. David's confession 7. _Thou_art _the man_ The consciousness that they were God's messengers inspired the prophets with fearless courage. Samuel rebuked Saul for his disobedience: the prophet from Judah reproved Jeroboam for his idolatry: Elijah pronounced sentence on Ahab fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_thy master's house_ His household and property. Cp. ch. 2 Samuel 9:7. _thy master's wives_ It was lawful for the King, and for him only, to marry his predecessor's wives. See note on ch. 2 Samuel 3:7. That David actually married any of Saul's wives does not appear. Only one wife (1 Samuel 14:50) an... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the_Lord] Cp. Numbers 15:31; 1 Samuel 15:23; 1 Samuel 15:26. Great as was David's sin against Uriah and Bath-sheba, his sin against God was greater in thus breaking two express commandments of the decalogue. Cp. Psalms 51:4. _and hast slain him with... [ Continue Reading ]
_the sword shall never depart from thine house_ The Heb. word for _never_is a relative term, which must be explained by the context. Here it may be understood as equivalent to "all the days of thy life." Cp. 1Sa 1:22; 1 Samuel 27:12. The prophecy was fulfilled by Amnon's murder (ch. 2 Samuel 13:28);... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will take thy wives_ See ch. 2 Samuel 16:21-22. "Having become the man of blood, of blood he was to drink deep; and having become the man of lust, by that same baneful passion in others was he himself to be scourged for ever." Blunt's _Undesigned Coincidences_, p. 134.... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have sinned against the_Lord] True confession needs but few words. Cp. Luke 18:13. There is no attempt to excuse or palliate the sin. Saul too could say "I have sinned" (1 Samuel 15:24; 1 Samuel 15:30), but he felt no real contrition, and his chief desire was to save his own reputation with the p... [ Continue Reading ]
_thou hast given great occasion_, &c. The enemies of Jehovah would mock and blaspheme Him, when they saw His chosen representative, the King of Israel, thus breaking His law. To divorce Bath-sheba now would be a further wrong. Yet if he was not punished men might answer yes to the question "May one... [ Continue Reading ]
The Death of the Child 15. _strake_ An archaism for _struck._Cp. ch. 2 Samuel 20:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
_besought God for the child_ Such a prayer was not presumptuous, for God's threatenings like his promises are conditional. See Isaiah 38:1 ff.; Jonah 3:7-10. _fasted_ Cp. Nehemiah 1:4; Esther 4:16; Daniel 9:3; Acts 14:23. _went in_ To his private chamber (Matthew 6:6), where he lay all night upon t... [ Continue Reading ]
_the elders of his house_ His oldest and most confidential servants. Cp. Genesis 24:2; Genesis 50:7.... [ Continue Reading ]
_washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel_ He laid aside all the outward signs of mourning. Cp. Matthew 6:17. _anointed himself_ Anointing the head and body with oil was and still is the regular practice in Eastern countries. It was believed to contribute to health and cleanliness. Its... [ Continue Reading ]
_GOD_ THE LORD. The Heb. is Jehovah, not Elohim, as is indicated by the capital letters. Cp. Genesis 6:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
_I shall go to him_ Cp. Genesis 37:35. A belief in the continued existence of the soul after death in a state of consciousness is necessarily implied though not expressly stated: but how far this falls short of the Christian hope of the Resurrection of the Body, and the Life Everlasting!... [ Continue Reading ]
The birth of Solomon 24. _he called his name Solomon_ The name was given at the time of circumcision (Luke 1:59; Luke 2:21). The Hebrew form of the name is _Shĕlômôh_, the Sept. Salômôn, which by the time of the N.T. had become shortened to the familiar Solomon. It signifies _peaceable_, and was giv... [ Continue Reading ]
_he sent by the hand of Nathan_, &c. Jehovah commissioned Nathan (for the phrase cp. Exodus 4:13) to give the boy a second name, which he did accordingly. This is the meaning of the text as it stands: but some commentators would alter it slightly in accordance with the Vulgate, and render _he_(David... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Joab fought against Rabbah_ The narrative returns to the point at which it was left in ch. 2 Samuel 11:1. But how long a time was occupied in the siege does not appear. It is possible that it lasted more than one year, and did not come to an end till after the birth of Bath-sheba's first child.... [ Continue Reading ]
Capture of Rabbah = 1 Chronicles 20:1-3... [ Continue Reading ]
_the city of waters_ "Just before reaching _Ammân_[the modern name of Rabbah], the gorge takes a sudden turn to the north, and then swells into a narrow plain, covered with luxuriant grass, and embosomed in low round hills. The fish-stocked stream, with shells studding every stone and pebble, winds... [ Continue Reading ]
_and take it_ Curtius relates how Craterus in like manner resigned the capture of Artacacna into the hands of Alexander. "After all the preparations were made, he awaited the king's arrival, yielding to him, as was fitting, the honour of taking the city" (Curt. vi. 6). _and it be called after my na... [ Continue Reading ]
_their king's crown_ The word _Malcham_, rendered _their king_, may also be taken as a proper name. It occurs in Zephaniah 1:5; Jeremiah 49:1; Jeremiah 49:3 (marg.), as a form of the name of the Ammonite deity, Moloch or Milcom. The Sept. now reads _Molchom their king_, "their king" being probably a... [ Continue Reading ]
_put them under saws_ PUT THEM UPON SAWS: or perhaps we should read as in Chron., SAWED THEM WITH SAWS. Cp. Hebrews 11:37. This barbarous practice was not unknown at Rome. "[Caligula] medios serra dissecuit." (Sueton. _Calig._27.) _harrows of iron_ THRESHING-SLEDGES OF IRON: sledges or frames armed... [ Continue Reading ]