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2 Samuel 11:8

in 2 Samuel 11

Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a mess of food from the king.

KJV

And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 11

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet - Uriah had come off a journey, and needed this refreshment; but David’s design was that he should go and lie with his wife, that the child now conceived should pass for his, the honor of Bath-sheba be screened, and his own crime concealed. At this time he had no design of the murder of Uriah, nor of taking Bath-sheba to wife. A mess of meat from the king - All this was artfully contrived.

This site's exposition

Send me Uriah the Hittite

on 2 Samuel 11:6-8

He calls Uriah home and asks “how Joab and the troops were doing with the war”. Then he sends him down with “Go down to your house and wash your feet”. The design is that Uriah sleep with his wife so the child could pass as his own.

This site's exposition

a gift from the king followed him

Clarke says Uriah had come a long way and needed to wash his feet. Barnes says the gift was the portion of honour a host sends to his chief guest, as at Genesis 43:34. Clarke says David had no thought yet of murder.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

Apology for the Prophet David, Chapter 1 · Written before 397.

proposed

We have taken up the task of writing an apology for the present style of the prophet David, not because he needs this gift, who has excelled in such great merits and flourished in virtues, but because many people, reading the sequence of his deeds without considering the power of the Scriptures or the hidden mysteries, wonder how such a great prophet did not avoid the contagion of adultery first and then of murder. Therefore, it was our desire to review the history itself, which seems to have been exposed to sin.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And David said to Uriah, go down to thy house, and wash thy feet,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A mess of meat - Compare Gen 43:34. The word denotes the honorable portion given by the host to his chief guest.

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • דָּוִד֙David

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • לְא֣וּרִיָּ֔הto Uriah

    leuriyahH223 →39 times

  • רֵ֥דgo down

    redH3381 →381 times

  • לְבֵיתְךָ֖to house your

    leveitekhaH1004 →2046 times

  • וּרְחַ֣ץand wash

    urechatzH7364 →72 times

  • רַגְלֶ֑יךָfeet your

    ragleikhaH7272 →247 times

  • וַיֵּצֵ֤אand he went out

    vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times

  • אֽוּרִיָּה֙Uriah

    ʾuriyahH223 →39 times

  • מִבֵּ֣יתfrom [the] house of

    mibeitH1004 →2046 times

  • הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • וַתֵּצֵ֥אand it went out

    vatetze'H3318 →1067 times

  • אַחֲרָ֖יוafter him

    ʾacharavH310 →715 times

  • מַשְׂאַ֥ת[the] gift of

    masatH4864 →

  • הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃the king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

12 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 18:4Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.4 worksGenesis 43:34When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of the others. So they feasted and drank freely with Joseph.3 worksPsalms 55:21His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.2 worksPsalms 44:21would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart?2 worksGenesis 19:2and said, “My lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant; wash your feet and spend the night. Then you can rise early and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”2 worksHebrews 4:13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.2 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
Luke 7:44And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give Me water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.2 worksLuke 12:2There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known.2 worksGenesis 43:24And the steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided food for their donkeys.2 worksPsalms 12:2They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.2 worksIsaiah 29:15Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”2 worksJudges 19:21So he brought him to his house and fed his donkeys. And they washed their feet and ate and drank.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 44:21

    would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart?

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 17:10

      I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

    • Jeremiah 23:24

      “Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.

    • Ecclesiastes 12:14

      For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

    • Job 34:21–22

      For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees his every step.

  • Through

    Psalms 55:21

    His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 57:4

      My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

    • Proverbs 5:3–4

      Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,

    • Psalms 28:3

      Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.

    • Proverbs 26:28

      A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 11 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Apology for the Prophet David, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 11 →