2 Samuel 11:10

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?

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

2 Samuel 11:10. David said, Camest thou not from thy journey? — Wearied with hard service and travel; nor did I expect or desire that thou shouldest now attend upon my person: or keep watch among my guards. He still artfully pretends kindness to him, and great care of him.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

11:6-13 Giving way to sin hardens the heart, and provokes the departure of the Holy Spirit. Robbing a man of his reason, is worse than robbing him of his money; and drawing him into sin, is worse than drawing him into any wordly trouble whatever.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

9. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house—It is customary for servants to sleep in the porch or long gallery; and the guards of the Hebrew king did the same. Whatever his secret suspicions might have been, Uriah's refusal to indulge in the enjoyment of domestic pleasure, and his determination to sleep "at the door of the king's house," arose from a high and honorable sense of military duty and propriety (2Sa 11:11). But, doubtless, the resolution of Uriah was overruled by that Providence which brings good out of evil, and which has recorded this sad episode for the warning of the church.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

When they had told David; whether of their own accord, or being first asked by David, it doth not appear.

Camest thou not from thy journey, wearied with hard service and travel, and therefore didst need refreshment? nor did I expect or desire that thou shouldst now attend upon my person, or keep the watch.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And when they had told David,.... The next morning, either those that went with the mess of meat, or the guards with whom he slept all night:

saying, Uriah went not down to his house; as the king had ordered him; which those persons being acquainted with, informed him of it, as an act of disobedience to him:

David said unto Uriah; having sent for him upon the above information:

camest thou not from thy journey? and which was a long one of sixty four miles, as before observed and therefore might well be weary, and want refreshment and rest, and his own house was the most proper place for it; for which reason David suggests he had sent him thither, and did not require nor need his service among his guards:

why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? which was the fittest place for him in such circumstances.

Geneva Study Bible

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?

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

10. Camest thou not from thy journey] Better, Art not thou come from a journey? David expresses surprise and displeasure that Uriah had not done as men usually do on their return from a journey, and gone to his own home. Uriah’s brave resolution not to enjoy the comforts of his home even for a single night, while his comrades were enduring the hardships of a campaign, bade fair to frustrate David’s scheme for concealing his sin. He may too have had some suspicion of his wife’s unfaithfulness.

2 Samuel 11:10

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

When this was told to David (the next morning), he said to Uriah, "Didst thou not come from the way (i.e., from a journey)? why didst thou not go down (as men generally do when they return from a journey)?" Uriah replied (2 Samuel 11:11), "The ark (ark of the covenant), and Israel, and Judah, dwell in the huts, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord encamp in the field; and should I go to my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? By thy life, and by the life of thy soul, I do no such thing!" בּסּכּות ישׁב, to sit or sojourn in huts, is the same practically as being encamped in the field. Uriah meant to say: Whereas the ark, i.e., Jehovah with the ark, and all Israel, were engaged in conflict with the enemies of God and of His kingdom, and therefore encamped in the open country, it did not become a warrior to seek rest and pleasure in his own home. This answer expressed the feelings and the consciousness of duty which ought to animate one who was fighting for the cause of God, in such plain and unmistakeable terms, that it was well adapted to prick the king to the heart. But David's soul was so beclouded by the wish to keep clear of the consequences of his sin in the eyes of the world, that he did not feel the sting, but simply made a still further attempt to attain his purpose with Uriah. He commanded him to stop in Jerusalem all that day, as he did not intend to send him away till the morrow.