2Sa 12 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for 2Sam 12:1-31: 12:1-31 Chapter 12 expands on the last phrase of 11:27 . 12:1 The Lord sent Nathan to David at least nine months after his adulterous sin. • This story is a rare Old Testament instance of a parable (see also Judg 9:8-15 ). Such stories can be effective for communicating truth. • David was rich in the royal treasures he possessed, the number of wives he had, and all the promises of God for his future. Uriah by contrast was poor : he had one wife, one home, and no lineage.

Summary for 2Sam 12:1-31: 12:1-31 ^a Chapter 12 expands on the last phrase of 11:27 ^b. 12:1 ^c The Lord sent Nathan to David at least nine months after his adulterous sin.

• This story is a rare Old Testament instance of a parable (see also Judg 9:8-15 ^d). Such stories can be effective for communicating truth.

• David was rich in the royal treasures he possessed, the number of wives he had, and all the promises of God for his future. Uriah by contrast was poor: he had one wife, one home, and no lineage.
12:3 ^e like a baby daughter: Nathan’s comparison of this lamb to a daughter (Hebrew bath) strikes a parallel with Bathsheba’s name (see study note on 11:3).
12:4 ^f he took the poor man’s lamb: Samuel had previously warned that a king would take what was not his (1 Sam 8:11-17 ^g).
Summary for 2Sam 12:5-6: 12:5-6 ^h The rich man of the parable did not deserve to die according to the law; instead, he must repay four lambs (cp. Exod 22:1 ⁱ). Intriguingly, David would later lose four of his sons (Bathsheba’s first child, 2 Sam 12:18 ^j; Amnon, 13:29 ^k; Absalom, 18:14-15 ^l; Adonijah, 1 Kgs 2:25 ^m).
Summary for 2Sam 12:7-8: 12:7-8 ⁿ You are that man! David did deserve to die for his crime (Lev 20:10 ^o).

• I anointed ... I gave ... I would have given you: David’s sin not only violated God’s commandments against murder, adultery, and coveting (Exod 20:1-17 ^p) but also amounted to a brazen disregard for all that the Lord had graciously given him.
12:8 ^q His wives were probably the concubines of Saul’s harem (cp. 3:7 ^r). The phrase could refer to Saul’s wife Ahinoam, although David probably married a different woman with the same name (cp. 1 Sam 14:50 ^s; 25:43 ^t).
12:10 ^u from this time on (literally forever): Contrast God’s gracious “forever” promises of 7:13-29 ^v.

• The reminder of what David had done with the sword (12:9 ^w) and what role the sword would play in his family recalls David’s cavalier response to Joab’s report of the deaths of Uriah and other innocent Israelites (11:25 ^x).
12:11 ^y I will cause your own household to rebel against you: Absalom’s revolt against David (chs 14–19 ^z) fulfilled this promise.
12:14 ^aa Nevertheless ... your child will die: At times, God transfers punishment of fathers to their descendants (Exod 20:5 ^ab; 34:7 ^ac; Num 14:18 ^ad; Deut 5:9 ^ae; Jer 32:18 ^af). Although David repented and was forgiven (2 Sam 12:13 ^ag), it did not cancel all retribution; it delayed it until a later generation (cp. 1 Kgs 21:27-29 ^ah).
12:20 ^ai The series of actions described here show David resuming normal life activities. That he did so this soon after his son’s death amazed his advisers (12:21 ^aj).
Summary for 2Sam 12:21-23: 12:21-23 ^ak David grieved before his son’s death, hoping to ward off punishment.
12:23 ^al Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day: The irreversibility of his son’s death forced David to face his own mortality. But he also showed his confidence in the afterlife.
12:24 ^am Even after Uriah’s death, Bathsheba was still called Uriah’s wife (12:9 ^an; see also Matt 1:6 ^ao). Only here is she called David’s wife.

• Solomon: Pronounced Shelomoh in Hebrew, it probably means “his peace,” from the Hebrew shalom. It might mean “his replacement”; cp. Shelemiah (Jer 36:14 ^ap, “Yahweh has provided compensation”) and Shelumiel (Num 1:6 ^aq, “God [is] my compensation”); both contain the root shelem (“replacement, compensation”).
12:25 ^ar Jedidiah means “loved by Yahweh.” This God-given second name for Solomon, mentioned only here, guaranteed his future, as it expressed God’s special love for him.
Summary for 2Sam 12:26-31: 12:26-31 ^as David’s battle with the Ammonites, begun in ch 10 ^at, ended in success.
12:30 ^au David removed the crown: David had, in effect, become the Ammonites’ king.

• a vast amount of plunder: Instructions against taking such booty during a conquest (Deut 7:25-26 ^av) show how dangerous David’s actions were. Such wealth might seduce the king’s heart away from God.
12:31 ^aw He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with: Enslaving defeated peoples was in accord with Deut 20:11 ^ax. Solomon later did the same with the Canaanites (1 Kgs 9:20-22 ^ay; see also Judg 1:30 ^az, 33 ^ba). The alternate reading might indicate torture inflicted on the defeated Ammonites (cp. textual note on 1 Chr 20:3 ^bb).