CHAPTER XII _The Lord sends Nathan the prophet to reprove David; which he_ _does by means of a curious parable_, 1-4. _David is led, unknowingly, to pronounce his on condemnation_, 5, 6. _Nathan charges the guilt home on his conscience; and predicts_ _a long train of calamities which should fa... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:3. _AND LAY IN HIS BOSOM_] This can only mean that this lamb was what we call a _pet_ or _favourite_ in the family, else the circumstance would be very _unnatural_, and most likely would have prevented David from making the application which he did, as otherwise it would have appea... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:5. _THE MAN - SHALL SURELY DIE_] Literally בן מות _ben maveth_, "he is a son of death," a very _bad man_, and one who _deserves to_ _die_. But the law did not sentence a sheep-stealer to death; let us hear it: _If a man steal an ox or a sheep, he shall restore FIVE_ _OXEN for an ox... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:7. _THOU_ ART _THE MAN._] What a terrible word! And by it David appears to have been transfixed, and brought into the dust before the messenger of God. _THOU ART this son of death_, and thou shalt restore this lamb FOURFOLD. It is indulging fancy too much to say David was called,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:8. _THY MASTER'S WIVES INTO THY BOSOM_] Perhaps this means no more than that he had given him _absolute power_ over every thing possessed by Saul; and as it was the custom for the new king to succeed even to the _wives_ and _concubines_, the _whole harem_ of the deceased king, so i... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:9. _THOU HAST KILLED URIAH_] THOU art the MURDERER, as having planned his death; the sword of the Ammonites was THY _instrument_ only.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:11. _I WILL TAKE THY WIVES_] That is, In the course of my providence I will _permit_ all this to be done. Had David been faithful, God, by his providence, would have turned all this aside; but now, by his sin, he has made that providence his enemy which before was his friend.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:13. _THE LORD - HATH PUT AWAY THY SIN_] Many have supposed that David's sin was _now actually pardoned_, but this is perfectly erroneous; David, as an adulterer, was _condemned to death by the_ _law of God_; and he had according to that law passed sentence of death upon himself. G... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:16. _DAVID - BESOUGHT GOD FOR THE CHILD_] How could he do so, after the solemn assurance that he had from God that the child should die? The justice of God absolutely required that the penalty of the law should be exacted; either the _father_ or the _son_ shall die. This could not... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:20. _DAVID AROSE FROM THE EARTH, AND WASHED_] Bathing, anointing the body, and changing the apparel, are the first outward signs among the Hindoos of coming out of a state of _mourning_ or sickness.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:22. _WHO CAN TELL_] David, and indeed all others under the Mosaic dispensation, were so satisfied that all God's _threatenings_ and _promises_ were _conditional_, that even in the most positive assertions relative to judgments, c., they sought for a change of purpose. And notwithst... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:23. _I SHALL GO TO HIM, BUT HE SHALL NOT RETURN TO ME._] It is not clear whether David by this expressed his faith in the _immortality of the soul; going to him_ may only mean, _I also_ _shall die, and be gathered to my fathers, as he is_. But whether David expressed this or not,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:24. _DAVID COMFORTED BATH-SHEBA_] His extraordinary attachment to this beautiful woman was the cause of all his misfortunes. _HE CALLED HIS NAME SOLOMON_] This name seems to have been given prophetically, for שלמה _sholomah_ signifies _peaceable_, and there was almost uninterrupte... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:25. _CALLED - JEDIDIAH_] ידידיה, literally, _the beloved of the_ _Lord_. This is the first instance I remember of a minister of God being employed to give a name to the child of one of his servants. But it is strange that the name given by the father was that alone which prevailed.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:26. _AND TOOK THE ROYAL CITY._] How can this be, when Joab sent to David to come to take the city, in consequence of which David did come and take that city? The explanation seems to be this: Rabbah was composed of a _city_ and _citadel_; the former, in which was the king's residen... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:27. _AND HAVE TAKEN THE CITY OF WATERS._] The city where the _tank_ or _reservoir_ was that supplied the city and suburbs with water. Some think that the original, לכדתי את עיר המים _lachadti_ _eth ir hammayim_, should be translated _I have intercepted, or cut_ _off, the waters of... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:30. _THE WEIGHT WHEREOF WAS A TALENT OF GOLD_] If this talent was only _seven pounds_, as Whiston says, David might have carried it on his head with little difficulty; but this weight, according to common computation, would amount to more than _one_ _hundred_ pounds! If, however,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 12:31. _HE BROUGHT FORTH THE PEOPLE_] And put them _under saws_. From this representation a great cry has been raised against "David's unparalleled, if not diabolic, cruelty." I believe this interpretation was chiefly taken from the parallel place, 1 Chronicles 20:3, where it is said... [ Continue Reading ]