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Nach YomiII Samuel · שמואל ב׳Chapter 11

II Samuel 11

שמואל ב׳ ׀ךק י׮א

Section: נביאים · נביאים ךאשונים | Book: II Samuel | Chapter: 11 of 24 | Day: 87 of 742

Date: May 9, 2026

קלאוד על הנ׮ך

Chapter 11 is the moral hinge of the entire Davidic narrative, the chapter around which the books of Samuel pivot from ascent to descent. The opening verse is constructed with quiet narrative precision: “At the turn of the year, the season when kings go out to war” (לְעֵת ׊ֵאת הַמְ֌ל֞אכ֎ים), Yoav and the army and “all Israel” go out to besiege Rabbah, “but David remained in Jerusalem” (וְד־ו֮ד יוֹשֵׁב ב֎֌יךו֌שׁ֞ל֎֞ם). The verse is a deliberate structural inversion of the previous chapter, where David himself led the army into battle against Aram. Where chapter 9 showed David extending chesed to Mefiboshet and chapter 10 showed him acting decisively in the field, chapter 11 opens with a king who, having grown at ease in his palace, has allowed an idle moment to open the door to the yetzer ha-ra. Rashi already senses the irony in the phrase “the time when kings go out,” and the Netziv reads in the juxtaposition the spiritual physics that governs all of Sefer Shmuel’s tragic turns: even the greatest tzaddik, the moment he relaxes his vigilance, is exposed.

The seduction itself is told in a cascade of verbs that registers a moral emergency through pure syntax. “And he saw” (וַיַ֌ךְא), “and he sent” (וַי֎֌שְׁלַח), “and he inquired” (וַי֎֌דְךֹשׁ), “and he sent” (וַי֎֌שְׁלַח) again, “and he took her” (וַי֎֌ק֞֌חֶה֞), “and he lay with her” (וַי֎֌שְׁכַ֌ב ע֎מ֞֌ה֌). Six verbs, no dialogue, no hesitation, no name spoken between them — Bat Sheva is referred to in the third person throughout, “the woman” (ה֞א֎ש֞֌ׁה), even after she has been identified as Bat Sheva bat Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite. The very structure of the Hebrew prose mirrors the speed of the act, the way royal power, once unguarded by its bearer, accelerates into a momentum that ordinary judgment can no longer overtake. Bat Sheva’s two-word message a few verses later, “I am with child” (ה־׹־ה א֞נֹכ֎י), interrupts the narrative as starkly as a hammer-blow; it is the first time anyone other than David acts in this chapter, and what she sets in motion is precisely the consequence that the speed of the chapter’s opening did not pause to consider.

It is at this point that one must pause to recognize the remarkable theological frame within which Chazal read the entire chapter. The Gemara in Shabbat declares that kol ha-omer David chata eino ela toeh — anyone who says David sinned is nothing but mistaken — and constructs around the narrative a precise halachic defense. Every soldier in David’s army wrote a conditional get before going to war, so that should he die without witnesses his wife would not be left an agunah; from the moment Uriah marched to Rabbah, then, Bat Sheva was already, by the law of the kingdom, a divorced woman. Uriah’s reference to “my master Yoav” while standing in the king’s presence constituted, the Sages teach, mored b’malchut — rebellion against the throne, technically a capital offense. And the verb la’asot (“to do evil”) rather than va-ya’as (“and he did”) in Natan’s later rebuke is read by Rava as bikesh la’asot v’lo asah — David sought, but did not in the strict halachic sense consummate, the deed. The Gemara in Sanhedrin frames the entire trial as one David himself had requested: he asked Hashem to test him as the Avot were tested, and was warned that he would not stand. This defense is not apologetics. It preserves David’s stature as legitimate king and ancestor of Mashiach, and it insists that the entire affair was orchestrated from above for cosmic purposes the chapter itself does not yet disclose. And yet the meforshim who follow this Chazalic frame — Rashi and Radak prominent among them — do not allow the halachic argument to entirely absorb the moral weight of the peshat. The careful reader is meant to hold both registers at once: the technical exoneration that protects the throne, and the unrelieved language of the narrator that protects the prophetic critique to come.

The figure of Uriah (או֌ך֎י֞֌ה — “my light is Yah”) then enters as a moral mirror that David, in this hour, cannot bear to look into. Summoned from the front under the pretext of a battlefield report, Uriah refuses every inducement to go home: he sleeps at the entrance of the king’s house with the servants, he refuses to wash his feet or eat his bread, and even when David plies him with wine on the second night he still does not descend to his house. His speech in verse 11 — “The Ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Yoav and the servants of my lord camp in the open field; shall I then go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As you live and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing” (חַי וְחֵי נַ׀ְשֶׁך֞ א֎ם אֶעֱשֶׂה אֶת הַד֞֌ב֞ך הַזֶ֌ה) — is one of the most striking speeches in Tanakh, because every clause is, whether Uriah intends it or not, a hidden mirror to the king. Uriah, a Hittite ger, articulates a covenantal solidarity with the Ark and the army that the king himself has, in this hour, set down. Radak and Metzudat David note Uriah’s piety with reverence, even as they preserve the Talmudic reading that classifies his speech as mored b’malchut. The two readings are not alternatives but layers: halachically, Uriah’s words gave the king grounds; morally, the more loyal Uriah proves himself, the more piercing the contrast with the king’s lapse becomes, and the meforshim preserve both because the chapter itself preserves both.

When manipulation fails, David turns to a graver step, and the chapter accelerates into one of its most chilling details: David writes the sealed letter and sends it “by the hand of Uriah” (בְ֌יַד או֌ך֎י֞֌ה), making the courier the bearer of his own death-sentence. The horror of the detail is precisely that it depends entirely on Uriah’s own incorruptibility — the plot works only because Uriah is too loyal to break a king’s seal. The instruction to Yoav — to place Uriah “in the front of the fiercest battle” and then to withdraw from him so that he is struck down — converts a private failure into a state action that requires accomplices. Yoav’s silent compliance is itself a turning point in the book: from this moment on, Yoav holds knowledge over David that will shape every subsequent confrontation between them, all the way through Avshalom’s rebellion and into the deathbed charge of Melachim Aleph 2. The grim economy of Yoav’s report — the messenger is coached to expect David’s anger about losses near the wall and then to add, almost as an afterthought, “your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also” (גַ֌ם עַבְדְ֌ך֞ או֌ך֎י֞֌ה הַח֎ת֎֌י מֵת) — and David’s composed response, “Do not let this matter trouble you, for the sword devours one as well as another” (כ֎֌י ×›Öž×–Ö¹×” וְכ֞זֶה תֹ֌אכַל הֶח֞ךֶב), reveal how the language of war has been pressed into the service of a private failure. Bat Sheva mourns the prescribed period; the king sends and gathers her into his house; she bears him a son. The transaction appears closed.

Then comes the verse that breaks the narrator’s silence and from which the rest of David’s reign will unfold: “וַיֵ֌ךַע הַד֞֌ב֞ך אֲשֶׁך ע֞שׂ֞ה ד־ו֮ד בְ֌עֵינֵי ה’” — “But the thing that David had done was evil in the eyes of Hashem” (11:27). Throughout the entire chapter, the narrator has refused to comment, recording each verb of the descent without judgment, allowing the reader to feel the moral weight without being told. The single-line verdict at the end is therefore all the more shattering, because it gathers up every preceding verb — וַיַ֌ךְא, וַי֎֌שְׁלַח, וַי֎֌ק֞֌חֶה֞, וַי֎֌שְׁכַ֌ב, וַי֞֌מֶת — into one divine subject and one divine assessment. The consequences will spool out across the next nine chapters: Natan’s parable of the poor man’s lamb, the death of the child, the rape of Tamar, the murder of Amnon, the rebellion of Avshalom, the flight from Yerushalayim, the rebellion of Sheva ben Bichri. The principle that “the sword shall never depart from your house” (12:10) is set in motion here.

And yet the same David who in this chapter discovers what royal power can reach for will, in the very next chapter, give Jewish history its eternal vocabulary of return. Chatati la-Hashem — four syllables in answer to atah ha-ish, no defense, no rationalization — begin precisely where these six verbs end. Chazal in Avodah Zarah teach that David was not the kind of man fit for such a deed, and that the entire affair was decreed l’tein pitchon peh l’ba’alei teshuvah, to give an opening to penitents in every generation that would follow. Read in that light, chapter 11 is not finally a chapter about a fall but the first half of a chapter about return — the descent that makes possible the mizmor of the fifty-first Tehillah and the seven months of teshuvah that Chazal describe in Yoma. The chapter’s surface tells of one woman taken and one soldier killed; its deep structure is the moment from which the deepest paradigm of Jewish return will eventually be drawn, by the very king whose stumble made it necessary.

׀ךק י׮א · Chapter 11

׀סוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

וַיְה֎י֩ ל֎תְשׁו֌בַ֚ת הַשׁ֌֞נ֞֜ה לְעֵ֣ת ׀ ׊ֵ֣את הַמ֌ְל֞אכ֎֗ים וַי֌֎שְׁלַ֣ח ד֌֞ו֎֡ד אֶת֟יוֹא֞ב֩ וְאֶת֟עֲב֞ד֚֞יו ע֎מ֌֜וֹ וְאֶת֟כ֌ׇל֟י֎שְׂך֞אֵ֗ל וַי֌ַשְׁח֎֙תו֌֙ אֶת֟ב֌ְנֵ֣י עַמ֌֔וֹן וַי֌֞׊ֻ֖ךו֌ עַל֟ךַב֌֑֞ה וְד־ו֖֮ד יוֹשֵׁ֥ב ב֌֎יךו֌שׁ֞ל֞֜͏֎ם׃ {ס}        

English:

At the turn of the year, the season when kings go out [to battle], David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him, and they devastated Ammon and besieged Rabbah; David remained in Jerusalem.

The chapter opens with structural irony: it is the season 'when kings go out to battle,' but the king himself stays in Jerusalem while Joab and all Israel besiege Rabbah. Rashi explains that this is the time of year when the land is full of crops and horses can graze in the fields, marking the proper military season. The narrator's juxtaposition of 'all Israel' at the front with David alone in his palace plants the moral seed of everything that follows.
ךש׎יRashi
לְעֵת ׊ֵאת הַמַ֌לְא֞כ֎ים. יֵשׁ עֵת בַ֌ש֞֌ׁנ֞ה שֶׁדֶ֌ךֶךְ הַחַי֞֌לוֹת ל֞׊ֵאת, כְ֌שֶׁה֞א֞ךֶץ מְלֵא֞ה ק֞מוֹת, וְהַס֌ו֌ס֎ים מוֹ׊ְא֎ים תְ֌בו֌א֞ה בַ֌ש֞֌ׂדֶה לֶאֱכוֹל:
At the time [of year] when kings go forth. There is a time of year when it is the practice that troops go forth, when the land is full of growth and the horses find produce in the field to eat.

׀סוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

וַיְה֎֣י ׀ לְעֵ֣ת ה֞עֶ֗ךֶב וַי֌֚֞קׇם ד֌֞ו֎֜ד מֵעַրל מ֎שְׁכ֌֞בוֹ֙ וַי֌֎תְהַל֌ֵךְ֙ עַל֟ג֌ַ֣ג ב֌ֵית֟הַמ֌ֶ֔לֶךְ וַי֌ַ֥ךְא א֎שׁ֌֛֞ה ךֹחֶ֖׊ֶת מֵעַ֣ל הַג֌֑֞ג וְה֣֞א֎שׁ֌֞֔ה טוֹבַ֥ת מַךְאֶ֖ה מְאֹ֜ד׃

English:

Late one afternoon, David rose from his couch and strolled on the roof of the royal palace; and from the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,

At evening David rises from his couch and walks on the palace roof, where he sees a woman bathing; she is exceedingly beautiful. Metzudat David and Radak clarify the geometry: David sees from his elevated rooftop down into a private courtyard where Bathsheba is bathing in her own home. The verse moves in a chain of leisure verbs (rose, walked, saw) that contrast pointedly with the chain of action verbs the narrator will soon use to describe his sin.

׀סוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וַי֌֎שְׁלַ֣ח ד֌֞ו֎֔ד וַי֌֎דְךֹ֖שׁ ל֞א֎שׁ֌֑֞ה וַי֌ֹ֗אמֶך הֲלוֹא֟זֹאת֙ ב֌ַת֟שֶׁ֣בַע ב֌ַת֟אֱל֎יע֞֔ם אֵ֖שֶׁת או֌ך֎י֌֥֞ה הַ֜ח֎ת֌֎֜י׃

English:

and David sent someone to make inquiries about the woman. He reported, “She is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam [and] wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

David inquires about the woman and is told three identifying facts in a single breath: she is the daughter of Eliam, she is the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and her name is Bathsheba. Radak notes that Uriah was either a convert or an Israelite who lived among the Hittites and was thus called by that designation (compare 'Ittai the Gittite'). The verse functions as a moral warning the narrator places in David's path: the messenger explicitly names her husband, and David proceeds anyway.

׀סוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וַי֌֎שְׁלַח֩ ד֌֞ו֎֚ד מַלְא֞כ֎֜ים וַי֌֎ק֌֞חֶ֗ה֞ וַת֌֞בրוֹא אֵל֞יו֙ וַי֌֎שְׁכ֌ַ֣ב ע֎מ֌֞֔ה֌ וְה֎֥יא מ֎תְקַד֌ֶ֖שֶׁת מ֎ט֌ֻמְא֞ת֑֞ה֌ וַת֌֖֞שׇׁב אֶל֟ב֌ֵית֞֜ה֌׃

English:

David sent messengers to fetch her; she came to him and he lay with her—she had just purified herself after her period—and she went back home.

David sends messengers, takes Bathsheba, lies with her, and she returns home. The narrator's parenthetical 'she had just purified herself from her impurity' (Rashi: from her menstrual state) serves two purposes: it establishes that the resulting pregnancy could only be from David, and it underscores Radak's point that the sin was not one of niddah but of adultery. Radak also cites the rabbinic tradition (Shabbat 56a) that soldiers in David's army gave their wives conditional gittin before going to war, which is why David later engineered Uriah's death — to render the divorce retroactively valid; nevertheless the plain text and verse 27's verdict remain unflinching.
ךש׎יRashi
מ֎טֻ֌מְא֞ת֞ה֌. מ֎נ֎֌ד֞֌ת֞ה֌:
From her uncleanliness. From her menstrual impurity.

׀סוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וַת֌ַ֖הַך ה֞א֎שׁ֌֑֞ה וַת֌֎שְׁלַח֙ וַת֌ַג֌ֵ֣ד לְד־ו֮֔ד וַת֌ֹ֖אמֶך ה֞ך֥֞ה א֞נֹ֜כ֎י׃

English:

The woman conceived, and she sent word to David, “I am pregnant.”

׀סוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַי֌֎שְׁלַրח ד֌֞ו֎ד֙ אֶל֟יוֹא֞֔ב שְׁלַ֣ח אֵלַ֔י אֶת֟או֌ך֎י֌֖֞ה הַח֎ת֌֎֑י וַי֌֎שְׁלַ֥ח יוֹא֛֞ב אֶת֟או֌ך֎י֌֖֞ה אֶל֟ד֌֞ו֎֜ד׃

English:

Thereupon David sent a message to Joab, “Send Uriah the Hittite to me”; and Joab sent Uriah to David.

Bathsheba's terse two-word message — 'I am pregnant' — sets the cover-up in motion. David sends to Joab requesting that Uriah be dispatched to him, and Joab complies. Rashi and Radak both make the strategy explicit: David intends for Uriah to sleep with his wife so that the child will be assumed to be his. The very mechanism that should have protected Uriah (his being summoned home from the front by the king) is the mechanism David weaponizes against him.
ךש׎יRashi
שְׁלַח אֵלַי אֶת או֌ך֎י֞֌ה. שֶׁה֞י֞ה מ֎תְכַ֌וֵ֌ין שֶׁי֎֌שְׁכַ֌ב ע֎ם א֎שְׁת֌וֹ, ו֎יהֵא ס֞בו֌ך שֶׁמ֎֌מֶ֌נ֌ו֌ ה֮יא מְעֻבֶ֌ךֶת:
Send me Urioh. [Dovid] intended that he [Urioh] lie with his wife in order that it be thought that from him [Urioh] she was pregnant.

׀סוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וַי֌֞בֹ֥א או֌ך֎י֌֖֞ה אֵל֑֞יו וַי֌֎שְׁאַ֣ל ד֌֞ו֎֗ד ל֎שְׁלրוֹם יוֹא֞ב֙ וְל֎שְׁל֣וֹם ה֞ע֞֔ם וְל֎שְׁל֖וֹם הַמ֌֎לְח֞מ֞֜ה׃

English:

When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab and the troops were faring and how the war was going.

When Uriah arrives, David inquires about the welfare of Joab, the troops, and the war itself — performing the role of concerned commander-in-chief. The triple inquiry (shalom Yoav, shalom ha-am, shalom ha-milchamah) is a hollow ritual whose true purpose is camouflage, not concern. The dramatic irony cuts deep: David asks about the 'peace' of others while plotting the destruction of one of them.

׀סוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וַי֌ֹրאמֶך ד֌֞ו֎ד֙ לְא֣ו֌ך֎י֌֞֔ה ךֵ֥ד לְבֵיתְך֖֞ ו֌ךְחַ֣ץ ךַגְלֶ֑יך֞ וַי֌ֵ׊ֵրא א֜ו֌ך֎י֌֞ה֙ מ֎ב֌ֵ֣ית הַמ֌ֶ֔לֶךְ וַת֌ֵ׊ֵ֥א אַחֲך֖֞יו מַשְׂאַ֥ת הַמ֌ֶ֜לֶךְ׃

English:

Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and bathe your feet.” When Uriah left the royal palace, a present from the king followed him.

David tells Uriah to 'go down to your house and wash your feet,' and a royal gift follows him out. Metzudat David explains that 'wash your feet' is a euphemism for marital relations, the entire point being to make the pregnancy look like Uriah's; Rashi (citing Targum) identifies the gift as a royal meal designed to lift Uriah's spirits and incline him toward home. The verse strips David's manipulation bare — every detail is calculated, but Uriah will not cooperate.
ךש׎יRashi
מַשְׂאַת הַמֶ֌לֶךְ. (תךגום:) ׎סְעו֌דְת֞֌א דְ֌מַלְכ֞֌א׎:
The king's meal. [Yonasan translates:] the king's meal.1Dovid sent men with provisions for Urioh to be eaten at his home.

׀סוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וַי֌֎שְׁכ֌ַ֣ב או֌ך֎י֌֞֗ה ׀֌ֶ֚תַח ב֌ֵ֣ית הַמ֌ֶ֔לֶךￜￜ אֵ֖ת כ֌ׇל֟עַבְדֵ֣י אֲדֹנ֑֞יו וְלֹ֥א י֞ךַ֖ד אֶל֟ב֌ֵית֜וֹ׃

English:

But Uriah slept at the entrance of the royal palace, along with the other officers of his lord, and did not go down to his house.

Uriah does not go home. He sleeps at the entrance of the palace alongside his lord's other servants — refusing the comfort of his own bed and his own wife while the army sleeps in the open field. The verse pointedly calls them 'all the servants of his lord,' positioning Uriah as the loyal soldier whose conduct shames the master who sent for him.

׀סוק י׮ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וַי֌ַג֌֎րדו֌ לְד־ו֮ד֙ לֵאמֹ֔ך לֹא֟י֞ךַ֥ד או֌ך֎י֌֖֞ה אֶל֟ב֌ֵית֑וֹ וַי֌ֹ֚אמֶך ד֌֞ו֎֜ד אֶל֟או֌ך֎י֌֞֗ה הֲלրוֹא מ֎ד֌ֶ֙ךֶךְ֙ אַת֌֣֞ה ב־֔א מַד֌֖ו֌עַ לֹא֟י֞ךַ֥דְת֌֞ אֶל֟ב֌ֵיתֶ֜ך֞׃

English:

When David was told that Uriah had not gone down to his house, he said to Uriah, “You just came from a journey; why didn’t you go down to your house?”

When informed that Uriah did not go home, David presses him with a question that almost begs for an excuse: 'You just came from a journey — why didn't you go down to your house?' Metzudat David notes the implied logic: a weary traveler should naturally seek the comfort of his home. David offers Uriah every social pretext to take the bait; instead, Uriah delivers the chapter's most devastating answer.

׀סוק י׮א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וַי֌ֹ֚אמֶך או֌ך֎י֌֞֜ה אֶל֟ד֌֞ו֎֗ד ה֞֠א֞ך֠וֹן וְי֎שְׂך֞אֵ֚ל ו֎יהו֌ד֞֜ה יֹשְׁב֎֣ים ב֌ַס֌ֻכ֌֗וֹת וַאדֹנ֎֚י יוֹא֞֜ב וְעַבְדֵրי אֲדֹנ֎י֙ עַל֟׀֌ְנֵրי הַשׂ֌֞דֶה֙ חֹנ֎֔ים וַאֲנ֎֞י א֞ב֧וֹא אֶל֟ב֌ֵית֎֛י לֶאֱכֹ֥ל וְל֎שְׁת֌֖וֹת וְל֎שְׁכ֌ַ֣ב ע֎ם֟א֎שְׁת֌֎֑י חַי֌ֶ֙ך֞֙ וְחֵ֣י נַ׀ְשֶׁ֔ך֞ א֎֜ם֟אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה אֶת֟הַד֌֞ב֥֞ך הַז֌ֶ֜ה׃

English:

Uriah answered David, “The Ark and Israel and Judah are located at Succoth, and my master Joab and Your Majesty’s men are camped in the open; how can I go home and eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As you live, by your very life,aAs you live, by your very life Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “As GOD lives and as you live” (cf. 1 Sam. 20.3; 25.26; etc.). Lit. “as you live and as your being lives.” I will not do this!”

Uriah's reply is the moral peak of the chapter: 'The Ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in booths, my master Joab and my lord's servants are camped in the open field — and I should go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.' Metzudat David and Radak note that Uriah swears by David's life in this world and the next, sealing his refusal with the most binding oath available. The verse stages an unbearable contrast — the Hittite warrior's covenant solidarity with the Ark and the army shames the king who sits in Jerusalem and schemes against him.

׀סוק י׮ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וַי֌ֹ֚אמֶך ד֌֞ו֎֜ד אֶל֟או֌ך֎י֌֞֗ה שֵׁ֥ב ב֌֞זֶ֛ה ג֌ַם֟הַי֌֖וֹם ו֌מ֞ח֣֞ך אֲשַׁל֌ְחֶ֑ך֌֞ וַי֌ֵ֚שֶׁב או֌ך֎י֌֧֞ה ב֎יךו֌שׁ֞לַ֛͏֎ם ב֌ַי֌֥וֹם הַה֖ו֌א ו֌מ֎֜מ֌ׇחֳך֞֜ת׃

English:

David said to Uriah, “Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will send you off.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. The next day,

David asks Uriah to remain another day, planning a different tactic. Metzudat David explains David's calculation: if Uriah eats at the king's table and grows merry with wine, perhaps wine will overpower his moral resolve and he will go home to his wife. The narrative slows down deliberately — each day David delays is a day Uriah's death-warrant is not yet written, and a day Uriah survives by his own steadfastness.

׀סוק י׮ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וַי֌֎קְך֞א֟לￜￜוֹ ד־ו֮֗ד וַי֌ֹ֧אכַל לְ׀֞נ֛֞יו וַי֌ֵ֖שְׁת֌ְ וַ֜יְשַׁכ֌ְךֵ֑הו֌ וַי֌ֵ׊ֵ֣א ב֞עֶ֗ךֶב ל֎שְׁכ֌ַրב ב֌ְמ֎שְׁכ֌֞בוֹ֙ ע֎ם֟עַבְדֵ֣י אֲדֹנ֞֔יו וְאֶל֟ב֌ֵית֖וֹ לֹ֥א י֞ך֞֜ד׃

English:

David summoned him, and he ate and drank with him until he got him drunk; but in the evening, [Uriah] went out to sleep in the same place, with his lord’s officers; he did not go down to his home.

David deliberately gets Uriah drunk at the royal table — yet even drunk Uriah will not go home, sleeping again at the palace entrance with his lord's servants. Metzudat David observes that he returned to the same place he had slept the night before. The verse is a quiet hammer-blow: a man drunk on the king's wine retains more covenantal discipline than the king sober. With this scene David's coverup options are exhausted, and the chapter pivots to murder.

׀סוק י׮ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וַיְה֎֣י בַב֌ֹ֔קֶך וַי֌֎כְת֌ֹ֥ב ד֌֞ו֎֛ד סֵ֖׀ֶך אֶל֟יוֹא֑֞ב וַי֌֎שְׁלַ֖ח ב֌ְיַ֥ד או֌ך֎י֌֞֜ה׃

English:

In the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab, which he sent with Uriah.

׀סוק ט׮ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וַי֌֎כְת֌ֹ֥ב ב֌ַס֌ֵ֖׀ֶך לֵאמֹ֑ך ה֞ב֣ו֌ אֶת֟או֌ך֎י֌֞֗ה אֶל֟מו֌ל֙ ׀֌ְנֵրי הַמ֌֎לְח֞מ֞ה֙ הַחֲז֞ק֞֔ה וְשַׁבְת֌ֶ֥ם מֵאַחֲך֖֞יו וְנ֎כ֌֥֞ה ו֞מֵ֜ת׃ {ס}        

English:

He wrote in the letter as follows: “Place Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest; then fall back so that he may be killed.”

The contents of the letter are chillingly precise: 'Place Uriah at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from behind him so that he is struck down and dies.' Rashi cites the talmudic tradition (Shabbat 56a) that David sought Uriah's death so the conditional gett of soldiers would render Bathsheba retroactively divorced; Metzudat David adds that David intended to marry her afterward so the pregnancy would appear to come after the marriage. Whatever halachic gloss one applies, the verse is the moral nadir — the king of Israel orchestrating the abandonment of his most loyal soldier to enemy archers, with the soldier himself unknowingly carrying the death-warrant.
ךש׎יRashi
וְנ֎כ֞֌ה ו֞מֵת. כְ֌דֵי שֶׁתְ֌הֵא מְגֹךֶשֶׁת לְמַ׀ְךֵעַ, וְנ֮מְש־א שֶׁלֹ֌א ב֞֌א עַל אֵשֶׁת א֎ישׁ, שֶׁכ֞֌ל הַי֌וֹ׊ֵא לַמ֎֌לְח֞מ֞ה, כ֌וֹתֵב גֵ֌ט לְא֎שְׁת֌וֹ עַל תְ֌נַאי, א֎ם י֞מו֌ת בַ֌מ֎֌לְח֞מ֞ה (שבת נו א):
And he will be struck and killed. In order for [Batsheva] to be divorced [from Urioh] retroactively. the result would be that [Dovid] did not cohabit with a married woman. Because all [soldiers] who went out to war wrote a conditional divorce document for their wife should they die in battle.2Rashi in Kesubos 9b gives this same explanation. Tosafos there explains that Rashi means that the condition was not necessarily that the soldier dies, but even if he does not return at the end of the war, the divorce would be valid.

׀סוק ט׮ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וַיְה֎֕י ב֌֎שְׁמ֥וֹך יוֹא֖֞ב אֶל֟ה֞ע֎֑יך וַי֌֎ת֌ֵן֙ אֶת֟א֣ו֌ך֎י֌֞֔ה אֶל֟הַמ֌֞קוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ך י֞דַ֔ע כ֌֎֥י אַנְשֵׁי֟חַ֖י֎ל שׁ֞֜ם׃

English:

So when Joab was besieging the city, he stationed Uriah at the point where he knew that there were able warriors.

Joab carries out the order with grim precision: while besieging Rabbah he positions Uriah where he knows the Ammonite warriors are strongest. Metzudat David identifies the 'men of valor' as Ammonites; Radak (citing Targum) clarifies that Joab was watching for the moment to advance on the city. Joab does not protest, does not refuse, does not warn — he becomes David's accomplice, a moral compromise that will define his relationship with David for the rest of the book.

׀סוק י׮ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

וַי֌ֵ֚׊ְא֜ו֌ אַנְשֵׁրי ה֞ע֎יך֙ וַי֌֎ל֌֞חֲמ֣ו֌ אֶת֟יוֹא֞֔ב וַי֌֎׀֌ֹ֥ל מ֎ן֟ה֞ע֖֞ם מֵעַבְדֵ֣י ד־ו֑֮ד וַי֌֞֕מׇת ג֌ַ֖ם או֌ך֎י֌֥֞ה הַח֎ת֌֎֜י׃

English:

Men from the city sallied out and attacked Joab, and some of David’s officers among the troops fell; Uriah the Hittite was among those who died.

׀סוק י׮ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וַי֌֎ￜￜְׁלַ֖ח יוֹא֑֞ב וַי֌ַג֌ֵ֣ד לְד־ו֮֔ד אֶת֟כ֌ׇל֟ד֌֎בְךֵ֖י הַמ֌֎לְח֞מ֞֜ה׃

English:

Joab sent a full report of the battle to David.

׀סוק י׮ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וַיְ׊ַ֥ו אֶת֟הַמ֌ַלְא֖֞ךְ לֵאמֹ֑ך כ֌ְכַל֌וֹתְך֞֗ אֵ֛ת כ֌ׇל֟ד֌֎בְךֵ֥י הַמ֌֎לְח֞מ֖֞ה לְדַב֌ֵ֥ך אֶל֟הַמ֌ֶ֜לֶךְ׃

English:

He instructed the messenger as follows: “When you finish reporting to the king all about the battle,

׀סוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וְה־י־֗ה א֎֜ם֟ת֌ַעֲלֶה֙ חֲמַ֣ת הַמ֌ֶ֔לֶךְ וְא֞מַ֣ך לְך־֔ מַד֌֛ו֌עַ נ֎ג֌ַשְׁת֌ֶ֥ם אֶל֟ה֞ע֎֖יך לְה֎ל֌֞חֵ֑ם הֲל֣וֹא יְדַעְת֌ֶ֔ם אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁך֟יֹך֖ו֌ מֵעַ֥ל הַחוֹמ֞֜ה׃

English:

the king may get angry and say to you, ‘Why did you come so close to the city to attack it? Didn’t you know that they would shoot from the wall?

Joab anticipates that David's anger may flare at the news of casualties — an obvious tactical blunder, since approaching the wall exposes troops to archers above. Metzudat David explains that the king's expected complaint is precisely that men close to the wall are easily picked off. Joab is not actually worried about David's anger over casualties; he is staging a script that will let the messenger bury the real news — Uriah's death — at the end of his report.

׀סוק כ׮א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

מ֎֜י֟ה֎כ֌֞֞ה אֶת֟אֲב֎ימֶ֣לֶךְ ב֌ֶן֟יְךֻב֌ֶ֗שֶׁת הֲל֜וֹא֟א֎שׁ֌֞֡ה ה֎שְׁל֎֣יכ֞ה ע֞ל֞יו֩ ׀֌ֶ֚לַח ךֶ֜כֶב מֵעַրל הַחוֹמ֞ה֙ וַי֌֣֞מׇת ב֌ְתֵבֵ֔ץ ל֥֞מ֌֞ה נ֎ג֌ַשְׁת֌ֶ֖ם אֶל֟הַחוֹמ֑֞ה וְא֣֞מַךְת֌֞֔ ג֌ַ֗ם עַבְד֌ְך֛֞ או֌ך֎י֌֥֞ה הַח֎ת֌֎֖י מֵ֜ת׃

English:

Who struck down Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth?bJerubbesheth The earlier form is Jerubbaal (another name for Gideon), Judg. 7.1; on -bosheth/besheth for -baal, see note at 2 Sam. 4.4. For the event at Thebez described here, see Judg. 9.35ff. Was it not a woman who dropped an upper millstone on him from the wall at Thebez, from which he died? Why did you come so close to the wall?’ Then say: ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite was among those killed.’”

Joab scripts the messenger with a famous historical example: who killed Avimelech son of Yerubesheth at Tevetz? — a woman dropping a millstone from a wall (Judges 9:53). Rashi identifies Yerubesheth as Gideon, the substitution of 'besheth' (shame) for 'baal' being the same euphemistic pattern used elsewhere. The script's payoff is the punchline 'your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead' — Joab's coded signal to David that the mission has succeeded. Metzudat David notes that the messenger's instinct (verse 24) will be to skip the rebuke entirely and lead with Uriah's death, which is precisely what Joab knows will happen.
ךש׎יRashi
בֶ֌ן יְךֻבֶ֌שֶׁת. הו֌א ג֎֌דְעוֹן, שֶׁע֞שׂ֞ה מְ׹֮יב־ה ע֎ם הַב֌ֹשֶׁת, הו֌א הַבַ֌עַל:
The son of Yerubeshes. This is Gidon who fought with Boshes, which is the Baal.3See Shoftim 6:32. The name יְךֻבֶ֌שֶׁת is a contraction of the two words, י֞ךֶב and ב֞שֶת, fighting with Boshes. Avimelech's death, referred to here, is related in Shoftim 9:53.

׀סוק כ׮ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וַי֌ֵ֖לֶךְ הַמ֌ַלְא֑֞ךְ וַי֌֞בֹא֙ וַי֌ַג֌ֵ֣ד לְד־ו֮֔ד אֵ֛ת כ֌ׇל֟אֲשֶׁ֥ך שְׁל֞ח֖וֹ יוֹא֞֜ב׃

English:

The messenger set out; he came and told David all that Joab had sent him to say.cSeptuagint continues with a recapitulation of vv. 19–21.

׀סוק כ׮ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

וַי֌ֹրאמֶך הַמ֌ַלְא֞ךְ֙ אֶל֟ד֌֞ו֎֔ד כ֌֎֜י֟ג֞בￜￜךրו֌ ע֞לֵ֙ינו֌֙ ה֞אֲנ֞שׁ֎֔ים וַי֌ֵ׊ְא֥ו֌ אֵלֵ֖ינו֌ הַשׂ֌֞דֶ֑ה וַנ֌֎הְיֶ֥ה עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם עַד֟׀֌ֶ֥תַח הַשׁ֌֞֜עַך׃

English:

The messenger said to David, “First their men prevailed against us and sallied out against us into the open; then we drove them back up to the entrance to the gate.

The messenger ignores Joab's elaborate script entirely and reports the bare military facts: the Ammonites prevailed at first, then we drove them back to the gate. Metzudat David parses the syntax: 'when they prevailed against us... and the end of the matter was that we drove them back.' The messenger sensed that delivering bad news cushioned by historical reproach was beside the point — he goes straight for the headline.

׀סוק כ׮ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

וַי֌ֹך֚או֌ הַמ֌וֹך֎րאים אֶל֟עֲב֞דֶ֙יך֞֙ מֵעַ֣ל הַחוֹמ֞֔ה וַי֌֞מ֖ו֌תו֌ מֵעַבְדֵ֣י הַמ֌ֶ֑לֶךְ וְגַ֗ם עַבְד֌ְך֛֞ או֌ך֎י֌֥֞ה הַח֎ת֌֎֖י מֵ֜ת׃ {ס}        

English:

But the archers shot at your men from the wall and some of Your Majesty’s men fell; your servant Uriah the Hittite also fell.”

The messenger ends with the casualty report: archers shot from the wall, some of the king's men died — and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead. Metzudat David offers a striking psychological insight: the messenger reasoned that there was no point waiting to deliver Uriah's death until after the king's anger flared, so he placed it at the climax of the report; Joab, in his shrewdness, foresaw exactly this. The narrative leaves it unspoken whether the messenger knew the truth or simply guessed Joab's intent — but the words 'gam Uriah ha-Hitti met' land on David's ear as a coded confirmation.

׀סוק כ׮ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

וַי֌ֹ֚אמֶך ד֌֞ו֎֜ד אֶל֟הַמ֌ַלְא֞֗ךְ כ֌ֹ֜ה֟תֹאמַրך אֶל֟יוֹא֞ב֙ אַל֟יֵךַրע ב֌ְעֵינֶ֙יך֞֙ אֶת֟הַד֌֞ב֣֞ך הַז֌ֶ֔ה כ֌֎֜י֟כ֞זֹ֥ה וְכ֞זֶ֖ה ת֌ֹאכַ֣ל הֶח֑֞ךֶב הַחֲזֵ֚ק מ֎לְחַמְת֌ְך֧֞ אֶל֟ה֞ע֎֛יך וְהׇךְס֖֞ה֌ וְחַז֌ְקֵ֜הו֌׃

English:

Whereupon David said to the messenger, “Give Joab this message: ‘Do not be distressed about the matter. The sword always takes its toll.dalways takes its toll Lit. “consumes the like and the like.” Press your attack on the city and destroy it!’ Encourage him!”

David's response is among the coldest sentences in the entire David narrative: 'Do not let this matter be evil in your eyes, for the sword devours one as well as another' — press the siege and destroy the city. Metzudat David explains the chilling logic: war consumes its own, casualties are routine, even victors lose men. Rashi clarifies that 'and strengthen him' is David's private aside to the messenger, instructing him to fortify Joab's resolve. The verse exposes how thoroughly David has rationalized: a personally-engineered murder is dressed in the language of generic battlefield attrition.
ךש׎יRashi
הַחֲזֵק מ֎לְחַמְתְ֌ך֞ אֶל ה֞ע֎יך וְה֞ךְס֞ה֌. עַד כ֞֌אן ד֎֌בְךֵי הַשְ֌ׁל֎יחו֌ת: וְחַזְ֌קֵהו֌. ד֞֌ו֎ד א֞מַך לַמַ֌לְא֞ךְ, וְחַזְ֌קֵהו֌ לְיוֹא֞ב בְ֌ד֎בְךֵי תַנְחו֌מ֎ין, שֶׁלֹ֌א יֵךַךְ ל֎ב֌וֹ:
Intensify your war [against] the city and destroy it. The words of the message4From Dovid to Yoav. [end] at this point. You should encourage him [Yoav]. Dovid [then] said to the messenger, "Encourage Yoav with consoling words so that his heart should not weaken.

׀סוק כ׮ו · Verse 26

Hebrew:

וַת֌֎שְׁמַע֙ אֵ֣שֶׁת או֌ך֎י֌֞֔ה כ֌֎י֟מֵ֖ת או֌ך֎י֌֣֞ה א֎ישׁ֑֞ה֌ וַת֌֎סְ׀֌ֹ֖ד עַל֟ב֌ַעְל֞֜ה֌׃

English:

When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she lamented over her husband.

׀סוק כ׮ז · Verse 27

Hebrew:

וַי֌ַעֲבֹ֣ך ה֞אֵ֗בֶל וַי֌֎שְׁלַ֚ח ד֌֞ו֎֜ד וַי֌ַאַסְ׀֞րה֌ אֶל֟ב֌ֵיתוֹ֙ וַת֌ְה֎י֟ל֣וֹ לְא֎שׁ֌֞֔ה וַת֌ֵ֥לֶד ל֖וֹ ￜￜ֌ֵ֑ן וַי֌ֵ֧ךַע הַד֌֞ב֛֞ך אֲשֶׁך֟ע֞שׂ֥֞ה ד־ו֖֮ד ב֌ְעֵינֵ֥י יְהֹו֞֜ה׃ {×€}

English:

After the period of mourning was over, David sent and had her brought into his palace; she became his wife and she bore him a son.But GOD was displeased with what David had done,

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