2 Samuel 11:5

And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5) Sent and told David.—Because her sin must now become known, and by the Law (Leviticus 20:10) adulterers must both be punished with death.

Benson Commentary

2 Samuel 11:5-6. The woman conceived, and sent and told David — She was afraid of infamy, and perhaps of the severity of her husband, who might cause her to be stoned. And therefore she prays David to consult her honour and safety. Send me Uriah the Hittite — It is likely David ordered an account of the state of the war to be sent by him, as a colour for having sent for him home.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

11:1-5 Observe the occasions of David's sin; what led to it. 1. Neglect of his business. He tarried at Jerusalem. When we are out of the way of our duty, we are in temptation. 2. Love of ease: idleness gives great advantage to the tempter. 3. A wandering eye. He had not, like Job, made a covenant with his eyes, or, at this time, he had forgotten it. And observe the steps of the sin. See how the way of sin is down-hill; when men begin to do evil, they cannot soon stop. Observe the aggravations of the sin. How could David rebuke or punish that in others, of which he was conscious that he himself was guilty?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Eliam - Or Ammiel, 1 Chronicles 3:5, the component words being placed in an inverse order. Bath-sheba was the granddaughter of Ahithophel 2 Samuel 23:34.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5. the woman conceived, and sent and told David—Some immediate measures of concealing their sin were necessary, as well for the king's honor as for her safety, for death was the punishment of an adulteress (Le 20:10).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Consider therefore what to do for thy own honour, and for my safety, whom thou hast brought into a most shameful and dangerous condition.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the woman conceived,.... Whereby the sin would be discovered, and shame, and disgrace, or worse, would follow upon it:

and sent and told David, and said, I am with child; this message she sent to David, that he might think of some ways and means to prevent the scandal that would fall both upon him and her, and the danger she was exposed unto; fearing the outcries of the people against her, in acting so unfaithful a part to her husband, so brave a man, who was now fighting for his king and country; and the rage and jealousy of her husband when he should come to the knowledge of it, and the death which by the law she was guilty of, even to be stoned with stones, see John 8:5.

Geneva Study Bible

And the woman conceived, and sent and {d} told David, and said, I am with child.

(d) Fearing lest she be stoned according to the law.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. sent and told David] That he might devise some plan to shield her from the consequences of her sin; for by the Mosaic law she was liable to be put to death (Leviticus 20:10). David accordingly sent for Uriah, in the hope that his return to his wife might cover the shame of his own crime.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - The woman... told David. Her crime was one that made her liable to the penalty of death (Leviticus 20:10), and Uriah was a man likely to exact it; consequently she was in great alarm, and the king shared her anxiety. Already was the punishment beginning to be required from both the guilty sharers in the wickedness. 2 Samuel 11:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

When she discovered that she was with child, she sent word to David. This involved an appeal to him to take the necessary steps to avert the evil consequences of the sin, inasmuch as the law required that both adulterer and adulteress should be put to death (Leviticus 20:10).