2 Samuel 11:10
in 2 Samuel 11And David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey?” David asked Uriah. “Why didn’t you go home?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Art thou not come from a journey? wherefore didst thou not go down unto thy house?
KJV
And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
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This verse in 2 Samuel 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWhether he suspected any thing or no, Providence put this resolution into his heart, and kept him to it, for the discovering of David's sin, and that the baffling of his design to conceal it might awaken David's conscience to confess it and repent of it. The reason he gave to David for this strange instance of self-denial and mortification was very noble,
This site's exposition
slept at the door
on 2 Samuel 11:9-10
Uriah does not go down. He sleeps at the door of the king's house with the king's own servants, and the first plan fails without a word of protest from him. David hears of it and asks him directly why he did not go down to his house after coming from the field, and the question shows how far David will press a man to cover his own sin. Uriah's silence about his reasons here makes his answer in the next verse land with its full weight.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
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 when they had told David,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Camest thou not from thy journey? - It is not thy duty to keep watch or guard; thou art come from a journey, and needest rest and refreshment.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּגִּ֤דוּ | vaiyagidu | and people told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לְדָוִד֙ | ledavid | to David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָרַ֥ד | yarad | he has gone down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| אוּרִיָּ֖ה | ʾuriyah | Uriah | H223 → | 39 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּית֑וֹ | beito | house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִ֜ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אוּרִיָּ֗ה | ʾuriyah | Uriah | H223 → | 39 times |
| הֲל֤וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מִדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ | miderekh | from a journey | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| בָ֔א | va' | coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מַדּ֖וּעַ | madua' | why? | H4069 → | 72 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָרַ֥דְתָּ | yaradta | have you gone down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּיתֶֽךָ׃ | beitekha | house your | H1004 → | 2046 times |
וַיַּגִּ֤דוּand people told
vaiyagiduH5046 →370 times
לְדָוִד֙to David
ledavidH1732 →999 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָרַ֥דhe has gone down
yaradH3381 →381 times
אוּרִיָּ֖הUriah
ʾuriyahH223 →39 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּית֑וֹhouse his
beitoH1004 →2046 times
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִ֜דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אוּרִיָּ֗הUriah
ʾuriyahH223 →39 times
הֲל֤וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
מִדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙from a journey
miderekhH1870 →707 times
אַתָּ֣ה[are] you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
בָ֔אcoming
va'H935 →2568 times
מַדּ֖וּעַwhy?
madua'H4069 →72 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָרַ֥דְתָּhave you gone down
yaradtaH3381 →381 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּיתֶֽךָ׃house your
beitekhaH1004 →2046 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
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; Ambrose of Milan, Apology for the Prophet David, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
