26 And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
28 Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.
29 And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
30 And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.
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 brick-kiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
26 And Joab H3097 fought H3898 against Rabbah H7237 of the children H1121 of Ammon, H5983 and took H3920 the royal H4410 city. H5892
27 And Joab H3097 sent H7971 messengers H4397 to David, H1732 and said, H559 I have fought H3898 against Rabbah, H7237 and have taken H3920 the city H5892 of waters. H4325
28 Now therefore gather H622 the rest H3499 of the people H5971 together, H622 and encamp H2583 against the city, H5892 and take H3920 it: lest I take H3920 the city, H5892 and it be called H7121 after my name. H8034
29 And David H1732 gathered H622 all the people H5971 together, H622 and went H3212 to Rabbah, H7237 and fought H3898 against it, and took H3920 it.
30 And he took H3947 their king's H4428 crown H5850 from off his head, H7218 the weight H4948 whereof was a talent H3603 of gold H2091 with the precious H3368 stones: H68 and it was set on David's H1732 head. H7218 And he brought forth H3318 the spoil H7998 of the city H5892 in great H3966 abundance. H7235
31 And he brought forth H3318 the people H5971 that were therein, and put H7760 them under saws, H4050 and under harrows H2757 of iron, H1270 and under axes H4037 of iron, H1270 and made them pass H5674 through the brickkiln: H4404 and thus did H6213 he unto all the cities H5892 of the children H1121 of Ammon. H5983 So David H1732 and all the people H5971 returned H7725 unto Jerusalem. H3389
26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah; yea, I have taken the city of waters.
28 Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.
29 And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
30 And he took the crown of their king from off his head; and the weight thereof was a talent of gold, and `in it were' precious stones; and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city, exceeding much.
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. And David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
26 And Joab fighteth against Rabbah of the Bene-Ammon, and captureth the royal city,
27 and Joab sendeth messengers unto David, and saith, `I have fought against Rabbah -- also I have captured the city of waters;
28 and now, gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city, and capture it, lest I capture the city, and my name hath been called upon it.'
29 And David gathereth all the people, and goeth to Rabbah, and fighteth against it, and captureth it;
30 and he taketh the crown of their king from off his head, and its weight `is' a talent of gold, and precious stones, and it is on the head of David; and the spoil of the city he hath brought out, very much;
31 and the people who `are' in it he hath brought out, and setteth to the saw, and to cutting instruments of iron, and to axes of iron, and hath caused them to pass over into the brick-kiln; and so he doth to all the cities of the Bene-Ammon; and David turneth back, and all the people, to Jerusalem.
26 And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
28 And now gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city and take it: lest I take the city and it be called by my name.
29 And David gathered all the people, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it and took it.
30 And he took the crown of their king from off his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold with [the] precious stones; and it was [set] on David's head; and he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.
31 And he brought out the people that were in it, and put them under the saw, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkilns. And so did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27 Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah; yes, I have taken the city of waters.
28 Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.
29 David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
30 He took the crown of their king from off his head; and the weight of it was a talent of gold, and [in it were] precious stones; and it was set on David's head. He brought forth the spoil of the city, exceeding much.
31 He brought forth the people who were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln: and thus did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon. David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
26 Now Joab was fighting against Rabbah, in the land of the children of Ammon, and he took the water-town.
27 And Joab sent men to David, saying, I have made war against Rabbah and have taken the water-town.
28 So now, get the rest of the people together, and put them in position against the town and take it, for if I take it, it will be named after my name.
29 Then David got all the people together and went to Rabbah and made war on it and took it.
30 And he took the crown of Milcom from his head; the weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it were stones of great price; and it was put on David's head. And he took a great store of goods from the town.
31 And he took the people out of the town and put them to work with wood-cutting instruments, and iron grain-crushers, and iron axes, and at brick-making: this he did to all the towns of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people went back to Jerusalem.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Samuel 12
Commentary on 2 Samuel 12 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 12
2Sa 12:1-6. Nathan's Parable.
1. the Lord sent Nathan unto David—The use of parables is a favorite style of speaking among Oriental people, especially in the conveyance of unwelcome truth. This exquisitely pathetic parable was founded on a common custom of pastoral people who have pet lambs, which they bring up with their children, and which they address in terms of endearment. The atrocity of the real, however, far exceeded that of the fictitious offense.
5. the man that hath done this thing shall surely die—This punishment was more severe than the case deserved, or than was warranted by the divine statute (Ex 22:1). The sympathies of the king had been deeply enlisted, his indignation aroused, but his conscience was still asleep; and at the time when he was most fatally indulgent to his own sins, he was most ready to condemn the delinquencies and errors of others.
2Sa 12:7-23. He Applies It to David, Who Confesses His Sin, and Is Pardoned.
7. Nathan said to David, Thou art the man—These awful words pierced his heart, aroused his conscience, and brought him to his knees. The sincerity and depth of his penitent sorrow are evinced by the Psalms he composed (Ps 32:1-11; 51:1-19; 103:1-22). He was pardoned, so far as related to the restoration of the divine favor. But as from his high character for piety, and his eminent rank in society, his deplorable fall was calculated to do great injury to the cause of religion, it was necessary that God should testify His abhorrence of sin by leaving even His own servant to reap the bitter temporal fruits. David was not himself doomed, according to his own view of what justice demanded (2Sa 12:5); but he had to suffer a quadruple expiation in the successive deaths of four sons, besides a lengthened train of other evils.
8. I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives—The phraseology means nothing more than that God in His providence had given David, as king of Israel, everything that was Saul's. The history furnishes conclusive evidence that he never actually married any of the wives of Saul. But the harem of the preceding king belongs, according to Oriental notions, as a part of the regalia to his successor.
11. I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, &c.—The prophet speaks of God threatening to do what He only permitted to be done. The fact is, that David's loss of character by the discovery of his crimes, tended, in the natural course of things, to diminish the respect of his family, to weaken the authority of his government, and to encourage the prevalence of many disorders throughout his kingdom.
15-23. the Lord struck the child … and it was very sick—The first visible chastisement inflicted on David appeared on the person of that child which was the evidence and monument of his guilt. His domestics were surprised at his conduct, and in explanation of its singularity, it is necessary to remark that the custom in the East is to leave the nearest relative of a deceased person to the full and undisturbed indulgence of his grief, till on the third or fourth day at farthest (Joh 11:17). Then the other relatives and friends visit him, invite him to eat, lead him to a bath, and bring him a change of dress, which is necessary from his having sat or lain on the ground. The surprise of David's servants, then, who had seen his bitter anguish while the child was sick, arose apparently from this, that when he found it was dead, he who had so deeply lamented arose of himself from the earth, without waiting for their coming to him, immediately bathed and anointed himself, instead of appearing as a mourner, and after worshiping God with solemnity, returned to his wonted repast, without any interposition of others.
2Sa 12:24, 25. Solomon Is Born.
24, 25. Bath-sheba … bare a son, and he called his name Solomon—that is, "peaceable." But Nathan gave him the name of Jedediah, by command of God, or perhaps only as an expression of God's love. This love and the noble gifts with which he was endowed, considering the criminality of the marriage from which he sprang, is a remarkable instance of divine goodness and grace.
2Sa 12:26-31. Rabbah Is Taken.
26. Joab fought against Rabbah—The time during which this siege lasted, since the intercourse with Bath-sheba, and the birth of at least one child, if not two, occurred during the progress of it, probably extended over two years.
27. the city of waters—Rabbah, like Aroer, was divided into two parts—one the lower town, insulated by the winding course of the Jabbok, which flowed almost round it, and the upper and stronger town, called the royal city. "The first was taken by Joab, but the honor of capturing so strongly a fortified place as the other was an honor reserved for the king himself."
28. encamp against the city, and take it—It has always been characteristic of Oriental despots to monopolize military honors; and as the ancient world knew nothing of the modern refinement of kings gaining victories by their generals, so Joab sent for David to command the final assault in person. A large force was levied for the purpose. David without much difficulty captured the royal city and obtained possession of its immense wealth.
lest I take the city, and it be called after my name—The circumstance of a city receiving a new name after some great person, as Alexandria, Constantinople, Hyderabad, is of frequent occurrence in the ancient and modern history of the East.
30. he took their king's crown from off his head—While the treasures of the city were given as plunder to his soldiers, David reserved to himself the crown, which was of rarest value. Its great weight makes it probable that it was like many ancient crowns, not worn, but suspended over the head, or fixed on a canopy on the top of the throne.
the precious stones—Hebrew, "stone"; was a round ball composed of pearls and other jewels, which was in the crown, and probably taken out of it to be inserted in David's own crown.
31. he brought forth the people … and put them under saws, &c.—This excessive severity and employment of tortures, which the Hebrews on no other occasion are recorded to have practised, was an act of retributive justice on a people who were infamous for their cruelties (1Sa 11:2; Am 1:13).