2 Samuel 11:2
in 2 Samuel 11One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass at eventide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
KJV
And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 11
Commentary
4 notes on this verseIn an evening-tide - David arose - He had been reposing on the roof of his house, to enjoy the breeze, as the noonday was too hot for the performance of business. This is still a constant custom on the flat-roofed houses in the East. He saw a woman washing herself - How could any woman of delicacy expose herself where she could be so fully and openly viewed? Did she not know that she was at least in view of the king’s terrace? Was there no design in all this? Et fugit ad salices, et se cupit ante videri.
This site's exposition
walked upon the roof
on 2 Samuel 11:2-3
David rises in the evening and walks upon the roof, and the sight moves before any word is spoken. He sends and enquires, and the answer names three people in one breath, the woman, her father Eliam, and her husband Uriah the Hittite. Eliam himself later stands among David's mighty men at the end of the book, son of Ahithophel; some draw a line from that later verse to this one and read Ahithophel as her grandfather, though the text itself never says so here. The enquiry could have ended the matter; instead it becomes the first step past looking.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Arose from off his bed - Where he had lain, and slept for some time. And the bed of sloth often proves the bed of lust. Washing herself - In a bath, which was in her garden.
The sin came in at the eye, as Eve's did. Perhaps he sought to see her, at least he did not practise according to his own prayer, Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity, and his son's caution in a like case, Look not thou on the wine it is red. Either he had not, like Job, made a covenant with his eyes, or, at this time, he had forgotten it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֣י׀ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְעֵ֣ת | leet | to [the] time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| הָעֶ֗רֶב | haerev | the evening | H6153 → | 134 times |
| וַיָּ֨קָם | vaiyakom | and he arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| דָּוִ֜ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| מֵעַ֤ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִשְׁכָּבוֹ֙ | mishkavo | bed his | H4904 → | 46 times |
| וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ֙ | vaiyithalekh | and he walked about | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גַּ֣ג | gag | [the] roof of | H1406 → | 30 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַיַּ֥רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אִשָּׁ֛ה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| רֹחֶ֖צֶת | rochetzet | bathing | H7364 → | 72 times |
| מֵעַ֣ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַגָּ֑ג | hagag | the roof | H1406 → | 30 times |
| וְהָ֣אִשָּׁ֔ה | vehaishah | and the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| טוֹבַ֥ת | tovat | [was] good of | H2896 → | 538 times |
| מַרְאֶ֖ה | mareh | appearance | H4758 → | 103 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
וַיְהִ֣י׀and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
לְעֵ֣תto [the] time of
leetH6256 →296 times
הָעֶ֗רֶבthe evening
haerevH6153 →134 times
וַיָּ֨קָםand he arose
vaiyakomH6965 →628 times
דָּוִ֜דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
מֵעַ֤לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
מִשְׁכָּבוֹ֙bed his
mishkavoH4904 →46 times
וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ֙and he walked about
vaiyithalekhH1980 →1546 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
גַּ֣ג[the] roof of
gagH1406 →30 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַיַּ֥רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
אִשָּׁ֛הa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
רֹחֶ֖צֶתbathing
rochetzetH7364 →72 times
מֵעַ֣לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
הַגָּ֑גthe roof
hagagH1406 →30 times
וְהָ֣אִשָּׁ֔הand the woman
vehaishahH802 →781 times
טוֹבַ֥ת[was] good of
tovatH2896 →538 times
מַרְאֶ֖הappearance
marehH4758 →103 times
מְאֹֽד׃very
meodH3966 →300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 119:37Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Job 31:1
“I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 4:25
Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.
- Isaiah 33:15
He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
- 1 John 2:16
Through
Job 31:1“I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?
it leads to
- James 1:14–15
But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 6:25
Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 5:28–29
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
- Psalms 119:37
Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
- James 1:14–15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.