2 Samuel 11:8

2Sa 11:8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a mess [of meat] from the king.

Ver. 8. Go down to thy house and wash thy feet,] i.e., Cura corpus et recrea te cum uxore tua, Refresh thyself after thy travel, and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

And there followed him a mess of meat from the king.] Ferculum regium, a mess royal, that Uriah might pamper his flesh, and then lie with his wife. Veneris enim stimuli sunt deliciae regale,: ut sine Cerere et Libero friget Venus. {a}

{a} Terent.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Sa 11:8-9. David said, Go down to thy house — Not doubting but he would there converse with his wife, and so hide their sin and shame. There followed him a mess of meat from the king — In token of David’s peculiar favour and kindness to him; and that, eating freely of good cheer, he might be the more desirous of enjoying the company of his wife. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house — Like a true soldier, he lay all night in the guard-chamber, and did not go home to his wife. This he did by the secret influence of God upon his mind, and the order of his wise providence, that David’s sin might be brought to light notwithstanding all his contrivances to conceal it.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11:8 and relax: David assumed that Uriah would have sex with Bathsheba while on this weekend pass. Then everyone except Bathsheba would assume that the child was Uriah’s, conceived on this night. • a gift: David might not have even cared whether the husband and wife were intimate. Uriah’s return to his house would stifle any rumors as to how and when Bathsheba became pregnant.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

David thought that if Uriah lay with his wife, his fault might be cloaked.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house--This sudden recall, the manner of the king, his frivolous questions (Sa2 11:7), and his urgency for Uriah to sleep in his own house, probably awakened suspicions of the cause of this procedure.

there followed him a mess of meat from the king--A portion of meat from the royal table, sent to one's own house or lodgings, is one of the greatest compliments which an Eastern prince can pay.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 8. Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet.] Uriah had come off a journey, and needed this refreshment; but David's design was that he should go and lie with his wife, that the child now conceived should pass for his, the honour of Bath-sheba be screened, and his own crime concealed. At this time he had no design of the murder of Uriah, nor of taking Bath-sheba to wife.

A mess of meat from the king.] All this was artfully contrived.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(8) A mess of meat.—Lit. a present. The same word is used in Gen_43:34, and no doubt refers to some choice dish sent by the king to the guest whom he wished to honour.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. wash thy feet] An indispensable refreshment after a journey in the East, where sandals only were worn. Cp. Gen_18:4; Gen_43:24; Luk_7:44.

a mess of meat from the king] A portion from the king’s table as a mark of honour for his faithful servant. Cp. Gen_43:34.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And David said to Uriah, go down to thy house, and wash thy feet,.... For his refreshment, and to prepare for bed, which was what he wanted to get him to:

and Uriah departed out of the king's house; in order as it might seem to the king to go to his own:

and there followed him a mess of meat from the king: no doubt a delicious dish, to eat with his wife before he went to bed, to excite him the more to desire the enjoyment of her this mess consisted, according to Abarbinel, of bread, wine, and flesh; and who also observes, after Ben Gersom, that the word may be interpreted of a torch to light him home to his house, being night.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Feet. As they did not wear stockings, this practice was very common after a journey. David thus insinuated that Urias might take his rest, and go to his wife, that so he might suppose that the child was his own, and the crime of Bethsabee might be concealed. (Calmet) --- King, as a mark of honour, but in reality that he might be more excited to indulge his pleasures. (Abulensis) (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Go down to thy house; not doubting but he would there converse with his wife, and so cover their sin and shame.

Wash thy feet; as travellers there used to do. There followed him a mess of meat; seemingly as testimony of David’s respect and affection to him; but really to cheer up his spirits, and dispose him to desire his wife’s company.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

DAVID’S ARTIFICES TO CONCEAL HIS SIN AND TO KILL URIAH, 2Sa_11:6-27.

8. Go down to thy house and wash thy feet — David’s ostensible object in sending for Uriah was to learn how the war prospered; and, being apparently pleased with his report of affairs, he directs him to go home and rest himself before returning to the scenes of war. Washing the feet was customary after a journey and before retiring to sleep. Gen_18:4; Gen_19:2. But the king’s real design was to have Uriah pass the night with his wife, that the child already conceived by her might not be regarded as the fruit of their adultery.

There followed him a mess — As a royal present to convince him of the king’s affection for him. Very likely David feared that his sin was known or suspected, for the guilty soul is ever clouded with such suspicions.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A mess (of meat); really, a royal present (see Est_2:18; Jer_40:5; Amo_5:11, where it is translated burdens of wheat, but really means presents of wheat, forced from the poor) though originally a portion of food sent to a guest from the table of the giver of a. (Gen_43:34) Uriah, as one of David"s thirty-seven heroes, would hold a high rank in the army, though the statement given by Josephus, that he was Joab"s armour bearer, is probably a mere conjecture, made with the view of explaining what seemed to him strange, that a foreigner should hold so distinguished a place among the captains of Israel. David sends for him, on the pretext that he wanted full information of Joab"s plans, and the state of the army, and the progress of the siege of Rabbah. And so prompt is Uriah, that he goes to the king still soiled with travel, and without calling at his house. And David makes his inquiries, listens with apparent interest to the narrative of the war, and, after receiving a full report, bids Uriah go home and rest and refresh himself after the journey. He sends him, moreover, a present, such probably as was usual after special service, but large and liberal, so as to put Uriah in good humour. But the old soldier cared for war more than for pleasure, and, instead of going to his house, spent the night in the guard room with the soldiers and others who were in attendance upon the king. (see 1Ki_14:27, 1Ki_14:28) All would be eager for news of friends and relatives, and it was a far greater delight to Uriah to chat with his old comrades than to be resting luxuriously in his own home.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Go down - Not doubting but he would there converse with his wife, and so cover their sin and shame.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The king's meal. [Yonasan translates:] the king's meal.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.