2 Samuel 11:3
in 2 Samuel 11So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
KJV
And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath–sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
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This verse in 2 Samuel 11
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Eliam - Or Ammiel, 1Ch 3:5, the component words being placed in an inverse order. Bath-sheba was the granddaughter of Ahithophel 2Sa 23:34.
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 Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
John ChrysostomHOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 2.2.4-7 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
It would be better for the sun to be extinguished than for David's words to be forgotten and not transmitted to others. He fell into adultery and envy. For he saw, he says, a beautiful woman bathing and became enamored of her; and later he succeeded in doing all that he fancied.And the prophet was found in adultery, the pearl in mud. However, he did not yet understand that he had sinned, the passion ravaged him to such a great extent. Because, when the charioteer gets drunk, the chariot moves in an irregular, disorderly manner. What the charioteer is to the chariot, the soul is to the body. If the soul becomes darkened, the body rolls in mud. As long as the charioteer stands firm, the chariot drives smoothly. However, when he becomes exhausted and is unable to hold the reins firmly, you see this very chariot in terrible danger. This exact same thing happens to human beings. As long as the soul is sober and vigilant, this very body remains in purity. However, when the soul is darkened, this very body rolls in mud and in lusts. Therefore, what did David do? He committed adultery; yet neither was he aware nor was he censured by anyone. This occurred in his most venerable years, so you may learn that, if you are indolent, not even old age benefits you, nor, if you are earnest, can youthful years seriously harm you. Behavior does not depend on age but on the direction of the will.… So you may learn that the affairs of prudence rely upon the will and do not depend on age, just remember that David was found in his venerable years falling into adultery and committing murder; and he reached such a pathetic state that he was unaware that he had sinned, because his mind, which was the charioteer, was drunk from debauchery.
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 Awakening3 voices
He inquired - Instead of suppressing that desire which the sight of his eyes had kindled, he seeks rather to feed it; and first inquires who she was; that if she were unmarried, he might make her either his wife or his concubine.
And David sent and inquired after the woman,....
But, (3.) When she came he lay with her, she too easily consenting, because he was a great man, and famed for his goodness too. Surely (thinks she) that can be no sin which such a man as David is the mover of. See how the way of sin is down-hill; when men begin to do evil they cannot soon stop themselves.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
one said--literally, "he said to himself," Is not this Bath-sheba? &c.--She seems to have been a celebrated beauty, whose renown had already reached the ears of David, as happens in the East, from reports carried by the women from harem to harem.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The daughter of Eliam - Called, 1Ch 3:5, Ammiel; a word of the same meaning, The people of my God, The God of my people. This name expressed the covenant - I will be your God; We will be thy people.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֣ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַיִּדְרֹ֖שׁ | vaiyidrosh | and he enquired | H1875 → | |
| לָֽאִשָּׁ֑ה | laishah | of the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֲלוֹא־ | halo'- | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| זֹאת֙ | zot | [is] this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| בַּת־ | bat- | Bath- | H1339 → | 20 times |
| שֶׁ֣בַע | sheva' | -sheba | H1339 → | 20 times |
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אֱלִיעָ֔ם | ʾeliam | Eliam | H463 → | |
| אֵ֖שֶׁת | ʾeshet | [the] wife of | H802 → | 781 times |
| אוּרִיָּ֥ה | ʾuriyah | Uriah | H223 → | 39 times |
| הַחִתִּֽי׃ | hachiti | the Hittite | H2850 → | 48 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֣חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וַיִּדְרֹ֖שׁand he enquired
vaiyidroshH1875 →
לָֽאִשָּׁ֑הof the woman
laishahH802 →781 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הֲלוֹא־¿ not
halo'-H3808 →5168 times
זֹאת֙[is] this
zotH2063 →603 times
בַּת־Bath-
bat-H1339 →20 times
שֶׁ֣בַע-sheba
sheva'H1339 →20 times
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
אֱלִיעָ֔םEliam
ʾeliamH463 →
אֵ֖שֶׁת[the] wife of
ʾeshetH802 →781 times
אוּרִיָּ֥הUriah
ʾuriyahH223 →39 times
הַחִתִּֽי׃the Hittite
hachitiH2850 →48 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
1 Chronicles 11:41Uriah the Hittite, Zabad son of Ahlai,
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 11:6–27
At this, David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 23:39
and Uriah the Hittite. There were thirty-seven in all.
- 2 Samuel 11:6–27
Through
Jeremiah 5:8They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 13:27
Your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution on the hills and in the fields—I have seen your detestable acts. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean?”
- Deuteronomy 5:18
You shall not commit adultery.
- Jeremiah 13:27
Through
1 Chronicles 3:5and these sons were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. These four were born to him by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:24–25
Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved the child
- 2 Samuel 12:24–25
Through
2 Samuel 23:39and Uriah the Hittite. There were thirty-seven in all.
it leads to
- Matthew 1:6
and Jesse the father of David the king. Next: David was the father of Solomon by Uriah’s wife,
- 1 Kings 15:5
For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of…
- 2 Samuel 12:9
Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have…
- Matthew 1:6
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 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, Apology for the Prophet David, Chapter 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 2.2.4-7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
