2 Samuel 12

1-6 (Nathan’s Parable)

7-14 (Nathan and God’s Rebuke)

15-25 (David and Bathsheba’s Sin Punished)

26-31 (David’s Triumph in Troubled Times)

1-6 (Nathan’s Parable)

Verse 1

We first read of Nathan in chapter 6, but the events of 10-12 may have come before 6 chronologically which is why David consulted with Nathan on the house for the ark because he knew from these events that Nathan was a prophet of the Lord. God sends Nathan to David to convict him of his sin with Bathsheba through this parable of the rich man and the poor man. Nathan is telling David a parable to illustrate what David has done but when he tells David, David does not know it is a parable but thinks Nathan has come to tell David of an actual event that has taken place.

Verse 2

David of course is the rich man that had wealth, power, many wives, and concubines.

Verse 3

Where as Uriah was the poor man, being an officer in David’s army he was not a destitute man but compared to David was of much lesser wealth. Uriah also only has the one ewe lamb, or Bathsheba, which he had paid the dowry for. The 15th century commentator Abarbinel thinks that Uriah had been a widower and had children from his first marriage and that Bathsheba was much younger and had lived with Uriah and his children as why the parable has the ewe lamb with the poor man’s children. But it is clear that Nathan is saying that Bathsheba was dear to Uriah.

Verse 4

The traveler coming to the rich man is the Devil or David’s temptation of sin that David succumbs to by not going and being with one of his own wives but taking Uriah’s wife and laying with her.

Verse 5

David becomes furious that this rich man would steal the poor mans only lamb instead of preparing one of his own from his large flock. Nathan does leave out the part of the story of David and Bathsheba that the “rich man” has the poor man killed after taking his lamb. David in his anger for the rich man swears on the Lord that the rich man who has done this deserves to die. God may have left out that the “rich man” killed the poor man to further convict David of his sin, as when he hears the tale he thinks that the man should be killed for his thievery and how much more the guilt and punishment be for killing the poor man or Uriah.

Verse 6

David goes on to say that the man shall repay the poor man fourfold for steeling the lamb as laid out in Exodus 22:1 ““If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.”

Some think the word is signifying twice four and David is saying that he should pay twice the biblical number or 8 lambs because he was a rich man and greedy and had no pity on the poor man.

7-14 (Nathan and God’s Rebuke)

Verse 7

When David’s anger had been kindled and he announced that the rich man should surely die and pay back the theft Nathan reveals that David is the rich man and starts telling him what God has told him to tell David. God reminds David that it was him who anointed him king of Israel, through Samuel, and it was God that protected him from Saul when Saul was perusing him and wanting David killed.

Verse 8

It was God that gave him all of what Saul had and made him king over Judah then all of Israel, and if all that God had given him was not enough he would have given him twice as much more.

Verse 9

But David turned from the commands of God and has done this evil, referring to the adultery, then killing Uriah by using the Ammonites as his weapon and further taken Bathsheba as his wife trying to cover up the original adultery sin.

Verse 10

Because of this death shall be in his house because he has broken God’s commandments and done all of this and taken Bathsheba as his wife.

Verse 11

Nathan then further prophesies what God has shown him, telling David that one of his own out of his house shall rise up against him, Absolom. God will while David is still living take his wives and give them to his neighbor, meaning his son Absolom.

Verse 12

This will be done in public for all to see and not in private, or trying to hide and conceal the sin like David has done. As Absolom went into David’s concubines in a tent on the top of the house for all of Israel to see in chapter 16.

Verse 13

David hears all of what God has to say through Nathan and answers correctly that he has sinned against God. His sin hardened heart is removed by God so that David feels the weight and guilt of what he has done. Then Nathan tells David what we all long to hear and know, that God has put away our sin, thrown it in to the sea never to be recalled again, and David will not be killed for his multiple transgressions against God that deserve death.

Verse 14

But because what he has done is so utterly hated by God the child that his and Bathsheba’s sin has produced will die. David is part of God’s plan to bring about the messiah Jesus, and is a type of Christ, this event also shadows Jesus in that the substitutionary son is killed for the sins of others just as Jesus was.

The ESV does not include the reference to this being an occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, that comes from the Masoretic text that most of the Old Testament comes from but the ESV has what is contained in the Dead Sea scrolls which were found in 1946 and are believed to be the oldest surviving manuscripts of most of the Old Testament dating back to between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD.

ESV:

2 Samuel 12:14 “Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.””

KJV:

King James Version Chapter 12

14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

15-25 (David and Bathsheba’s Sin Punished)

Verse 15

Nathan leaves the palace and returns to his home in Jerusalem and God causes David and Bathsheba’s son to become sick as a substitutionary punishment.

Verse 16

Even though David knew that through Nathan God had said that the child would die he prays to God and does not eat all day and all night to plead to God that the child be spared.

Verse 17

When David’s servants and advisors try to get him to get up and eat and drink David refused to do so and continued to pray to God for his child.

Verse 18

But God was not changed by the prayers from David and on the seventh day, referring to when the boy was seven days old and not the seventh day of David praying and fasting the child dies. David’s servants were too afraid to tell him that the child had died because they feared that he would react badly and injure or kill himself at the news because of the way he had been when the boy was alive and sick, now how much worse would he be if he found out that he is dead.

Verse 19

But David sees then whispering to each other and no doubt look scared and very concerned and realizes that the boy must have died. Since he ask them so plainly they could not conceal the truth and tells him that indeed the child had died.

Verse 20

To their surprise at hearing the news that the boy died David arises and cleans himself up, washing himself and putting on clean robes. He then goes to the tent where the arc was and worshiped God, fully accepting God’s punishment and confirming that God is sovereign over all and his will is good. He then goes to his own house sits and requests food be brought and he eats.

Verse 21

David’s servants were confused by his behavior and asks him why when the child was alive he fasted and prayed and wept for him but when he died David got up cleaned himself up and ate.

Verse 22

David tells them when the child was still alive there was hope and he fasted and prayed for God to be merciful and spare the boy.

Verse 23

But now that he has died, that is Gods will and David cannot bring him back from the dead. David will die and go to him in heaven but the boy will not come back to the living. David finds peace with God and accepts God’s will and his punishment.

Verse 24

David then comforts Bathsheba and tell her that God had forgiven them, this is the first time she is referred to as David’s wife and not the wife of Uriah. They have marital relations and she bears another son to David and they name him Solomon and he is loved by God.

Verse 25

God also sends a message through Nathan once more that Solomon is loved by God and he is also named Jedidiah, which means beloved of the Lord.

26-31 (David’s Triumph in Troubled Times)

Verse 26

While the siege of Rabbah was length it was not lengthy enough to last Bathsheba having two children, this event probably takes place after Uriah’s death but before David takes Bathsheba to be his wife, while she was mourning Uriah. The whole ordeal of David, Bathsheba, Nathan, and the child are probably kept together to have a more coherent and complete story.

Verse 27

Joab, seeing that the siege is nearly complete as he has “taken the city of waters” which is believed to mean he has cut off the city’s water supply and surrounding them so essentially cutting them off from food, water and other supplies.

Verse 28

Sends word to David to come and bring the rest of the forces that are still in Jerusalem with David to Rabbah. Joab being a good and faithful servant, at least at this time as he was the one that defied David and killed Ishbosheth, he wants David to be present when the city falls so that he may take possession of the city and not Joab, preventing the city to be called Joab’s and not David’s avoiding potential strife and dissension with David, like the women who sang of Saul with killing his thousands and David ten thousands caused Saul to be jealous of David’s fame.

Verse 29

David gathers all of the remaining troops and goes to Rabbah to join Joab in the final push to take the city and conquer the Ammonites, which they do.

Verse 30

David takes the crown from the Hanun king of the Ammonites, which is a large crown with a large precious stone set in the crown. The crown is either worth what a talent of gold would be worth or physically weighs what a talent of gold weighs, which is about 75 pounds. If it literally means weighs as much as a talent of gold then the crown must have some support braises or it is not something that is actually physically worn. Whether is is physically worn or symbolically worn this shows the transfer of power and authority over to David. There was also much treasure and spoils that is taken from the city.

Verse 31

In the King James version of verse 31 and more clearly in the KJV of 1 Chron 20:3 it is translated that David put the Ammonites to death using saws, picks and axes and also burnt them alive in the brick kilns.

KJV 1 Chron 20:3

King James Version Chapter 20

3 And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

This is possible as this was the ways of the Ammonites and burning their children as human sacrifices was also something the were known to do. This can be seen as an eye for an eye punishment for the Ammonites. This also happened at a time when David’s heart was hard and in deep sin with Bathsheba so this could also show how callous he was at this time.

In contrast the ESV and even commentaries on the KJV it is translated as he put the Ammonites to labor using saws, picks, and axes and made them toil at the brick kilns.

KJV:

King James Version Chapter 12

31 And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.

ESV:

2 Samuel 12:31 “And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at the brick kilns. And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.”