2 Samuel 11:26 - 12:15

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• Reading the Text:
  • NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
  • The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
  • The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries. Chapter 12.
  • The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons. Chapter 12.
• Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
  • "The Prophet and Reformer," Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit.
  • IV.XXVII.1, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180) 
  • II.17, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 208)
  • IV.10, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 210)
  • V.11, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 212)
  • Chapter VI, Chapter XXI, On Modesty, Tertullian (c. 217)
  • Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org. Chapter 12.
  • From the Geneva Notes. Chapter 12.
    • "Because David lay now drowned in sin, the loving mercy of God which does not allow his own to perish, wakes his conscience by this story and brings him to repentance."
  • From Matthew Henry's Commentary. Chapter 12.
    • "When David said, I have sinned, and Nathan perceived that he was a true penitent, he assured him his sin was forgiven."
  • From Wesley's Notes. Chapter 12.
    • "When the ordinary means did not awaken David to repentance, God takes an extraordinary course. Thus the merciful God pities and prevents him who had so horribly forsaken God."
  • From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871). Chapter 12.
    • "The use of parables is a favorite style of speaking among Oriental people, especially in the conveyance of unwelcome truth. This exquisitely pathetic parable was founded on a common custom of pastoral people who have pet lambs, which they bring up with their children, and which they address in terms of endearment. The atrocity of the real, however, far exceeded that of the fictitious offense."
• Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
  • Commentary, 2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15, Amy Erickson, at WorkingPreacher.org, Luther Seminary, 2010.
    • "To make sense of the lectionary text, we have to back up to the beginning of Chapter 11: the story of David and Bathsheba."
  • 2 Samuel 11:26 - 12:10, Studies on Old Testament texts from Series C, Ralph W. Klein, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
  • Commentary, 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a, Ted A. Smith, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2009.
    • "Preaching that tells this story in all its fullness will push us beyond the polarities that often order our thinking. It will remember David as murderer, adulterer, and predatory king as well as hero, beloved of God, and singer of psalms."
  • 2 Samuel 11;26-12:13a, Studies on Old Testament texts from Series B, Ralph W. Klein, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
  • 2 Samuel 11:26 - 12:13a, Pentecost 9, Commentary, Background, Insights from Literary Structure, Theological Message, Ways to Present the Text. Anna Grant-Henderson, Uniting Church in Australia.
    • "The parable has no overt connection except by virtue of its context in 2 Sam 11-12 in which it becomes quite obvious that David is the rich and greedy man depriving the poor one of what he owns. Furthermore, it is because the rich man has power and authority that he can act is such a manner. The same Hebrew word is used in both instances when David 'takes/grasps' Bathsheba (11:4) and the rich man 'takes/grasps' the poor man's ewe (12:4)."
  • 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a, Pentecost 9, Commentary, Background, Insights from Literary Structure, Theological Message, Ways to Present the Text. Anna Grant-Henderson, Uniting Church in Australia.
    • "This is a story that invites us to ponder the nature and relation of power, injustice and sin. It was written in a time and for a society in which individual responsibility was not a prized value. The story is not an expose on the eternal nature of divine actions."
  • "The Prophet as Storyteller," study guide, Robert B. Kruschwitz, (other resources at) "Prophetic Ethics," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University, 2003.
  • "Judgment against King David," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com: A Lectionary Resource for Catholics.
  • "A Peculiarly Christian Account of Sin," William H. Willimon, Duke University. Theology Today, July 1993.
    • "Our human situation is not that we are all dressed up with a will to power and transcendence with nowhere to go but failure. Our situation is that we view our lives through a "heap of broken images," never getting an accurate picture of ourselves."
  • "He Spoke in Parables," Martin B. Copenhaver, The Christian Century, 1994.
    • "IF YOU DON'T have armies large enough to storm the gates and impose change by force, you have to employ other means--like parables..."
  • "David and Uriah (2 Samuel 11:5-27)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
    • "I don't know that David actually thinks he can deceive the people of Jerusalem as to whose child Bathsheba's baby is. How can he when everyone knows Uriah has never been with his wife to get her pregnant? It seems now as though David is simply trying to legitimize his sin. By making Uriah a casualty of war, he makes Bathsheba a widow. He can now marry this woman and raise the child as his own, which of course it is."
  • "David and God (2 Samuel 12)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
    • "Our sins never slip past God unnoticed. The wicked refuse to believe that God sees their sin, or that if He does, that He will deal with it:"
• Articles & Background:
  • "The Logic and Lyric of Contrition," Robert C. Roberts, Wheaton College. Theology Today, July 1993.
    • "Penitence is a solidity of character nurtured by action after action, insight after insight, that consolidate the self in the terms of contrition...an emotion (I call it contrition) is the centerpiece and moving force of the process of repentance and the formation of a new self."
  • "The Queens' Story. Bathsheba, Maacah, Athaliah and the 'Historia of Early Kings'," Ernst Axel Knauf, Lectio Difficilior: European Electronic Journal for Feminist Exegesis, 2002.
    • "Euro-American white male biblical scholars have in the past – and to a disturbing degree still in the present – read the story of the early kings through the eyes of the deuteronomists, all too often sympathizing or even identifying with their abysmal ideology. For the benefit of the living and the life of future generations, both in Europe, the US and the Near East, it is high time to regard this story with other eyes."
  • "Abuse of Command: A Bible Study. Exploiting Power for Sexual Gratification," by Walter Brueggemann, in Sojourners, July/August, 1997.
    • "The framing of a narrative of sexuality by a narrative of the military is complete: military (11:1); sexual (11:2-12:25); military (12:26-31). The victory is immense for David. And within the presentation of David’s military victory is the presentation of David’s sexual indulgence, cover-up and all. The public in Jerusalem sees only the military drama. We privileged readers know about the story within the story."
  • "David and Ahab, Clinton and Nixon: Contemporary Lessons From Two Biblical Stories," John R. Vile. Leadership U.
    • "Although both Biblical stories indicate that God's judgments on the unjust and their sins are sure and His mercy to those who seek his pardon is abundant beyond human understanding, there is no sure word from the Lord as to what our role in extending such punishment or mercy may be in the case of an elected president."
• Recommended articles from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are linked below. ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
  • Adams, David L., "Homiletical Helps on LW Series C - Old Testament," Concordia Journal, 2007. (Section on this text begins on p. 199)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Bach, Alice, "Signs of the Flesh: Observations on Characterization in the Bible," Semeia, 1993.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Bodner, Keith, "Nathan: Prophet, Politician and Novelist?" Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2001.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Boer, Roland, "National Allegory in the Hebrew Bible," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1997. (Section on this text begins on p. 102.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Bosworth, David A., "Evaluating King David: Old Problems and Recent Scholarship," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2006.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Brueggemann, Walter, "Life and Death in Tenth Century Israel," Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 1972.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Brueggemann, Walter, "On Trust and Freedom: A Study of Faith in the Succession Narrative," Interpretation, 1972.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Chapman, Stephen B., "Reading the Bible as Witness: Divine Retribution in the Old Testament," Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2004. (The section specific to this text begins on page 182.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Coats, George W., "Expository Article: II Samuel 12:1-7a," Interpretation, 1986.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Copenhaver, Martin B., "He Spoke in Parables," The Christian Century, 1994.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Evans, J. Claude, "'...and Nathan Said to David': A Watergate Parallel," The Christian Century, 1973.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Firth, David G., "Shining the Lamp: The Rhetoric of 2 Samuel 5-24," Tyndale Bulletin, 2001.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Flanagan, James W., "Court History of Succession Document? A Study of 2 Samuel 9-20 and I Kings 1-2," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1972.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Fretheim, Terence E., "The Prophets and Social Justice: A Conservative Agenda," Word & World, 2008.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Frolov, Serge, "Succession Narrative: A 'Document' or a Phantom?" Journal of Biblical Literature, 2002.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Hawkins, Peter S., "Mousetraps," The Christian Century, 2001.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Jensen, Hans J.L., "Desire, Rivalry and Collective Violence in the 'Succession Narrative'," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1992.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Kessler, John, "Sexuality and Politics: The Motif of the Displaced Husband in the Books of Samuel," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2000. (Section on this text begins on page 419.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Knight, Douglas, "Moral Values and Literary Traditions: The Case of the Succession Narrative (2 Samuel 9-10; 1 Kings 1-2)," Semeia, 1985.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Kruse, Heinz, "David's Covenant," Vetus Testamentum, 1985.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • McEvenue, Sean E., "The Basis of Empire, A Study of the Succession Narrative," Ex Auditu, 1986.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Petter, Donna, "Foregrounding of the designation ‘eset ‘ûriyyâ hahittî in II Samuel xi-xii," Vetus Testamentum, 2004.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Phillips, A., "The Interpretation of 2 Samuel xii 5-6," Vetus Testamentum, 1966.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Robert C. Roberts, "The Logic and Lyric of Contrition," Theology Today, 1993.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Schipper, Jeremy, "Critical Note: Did David Overinterpret Nathan's Parable in 2 Samuel 12:1-6?" Journal of Biblical Literature, 2007.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Schwartz, Regina M., "Adultery in the House of David: The Metanarrative of Biblical Scholarship and the Narratives of the Bible," Semeia, 1991.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Sharon, Diane M., "When Fathers Refuse to Eat: The Trope of Rejecting Food and Drink in Biblical Narrative," Semeia, 1999.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Smith, Carol, "Biblical Perspectives on Power," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2001.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Spielman, Larry W., "David's Abuse of Power," Word & World, 1999. (Section begins on page 257.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Steffen, Lloyd H., "On Honesty and Self-Deception: 'You Are the Man,'" The Christian Century, 1987.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • van Wolde, Ellen, "In Words and Pictures: The Sun in 2 Samuel 12:7-12," Biblical Interpretation, 2003.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Wevers, John Wm., "A Study in the Exegetical Principles Underlying the Greek Text of 2 Sm 11:2 - 1 Kings 2:11," Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1953.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Willimon, William H., "A Peculiarly Christian Account of Sin," Theology Today, 1993.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
• Reviews:
  • Review: Stanley Isser, The Sword of Goliath: David in Heroic Literature. Scholars Press, 2003. Review by Peter D. Micall in The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2004.
• Sermons:
  • "Son of David," Paul Bellan-Boyer, City Called Heaven, 2010.
  • "What Do You Make of This?" John Jewell, 2001.
• With Children:
  • "King David," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons), coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
  • "God Calls David to Be King of Israel," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
• Drama:
• Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
  • Images for this week's readings, Pitts Theology Library Digital Image Archive.
  • Clip Art: David, Bathsheba, Nathan, Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld woodcuts, World Mission Collection, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
• Hymns and Music:
• Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
  • David and Bathsheba
• Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
  • David
  • Confession
  • Grace
  • Prophets
  • Guilt
  • Repentance
• Study Links and Resources for the Book of 2 Samuel