2 Samuel 12:6

6 He must repay for the lamb four times over for his crime and his stinginess!"

2 Samuel 12:6 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 12:6

And he shall restore the lamb fourfold
Which was according to the law in ( Exodus 22:1 ) ; but Kimchi thinks, because the word is of the dual number, it signifies double the number, and that the sentence was to restore eight lambs, because he being a rich man stole from the poor man; so Mr. Weemse ^F19 renders it, twice four, twice as much as was commanded in the law; for the Hebrews, he observes, double in the dual number till they come to seven:

because he did this thing;
committed this theft:

and because he had no pity;
on the poor man, but took his all. The Jews observe, that accordingly David was punished with the loss of four of his children, that which was born of Bathsheba, Ammon, Tamar, and Absalom; so most of the commentators, but Ben Gersom, instead of Tamar, has Adonijah.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 Of the Moral Law, l. 2. ch. 10. p. 252. Vid. Gusset. Ebr. Comment. p. 776.

2 Samuel 12:6 In-Context

4 "One day a traveler dropped in on the rich man. He was too stingy to take an animal from his own herds or flocks to make a meal for his visitor, so he took the poor man's lamb and prepared a meal to set before his guest."

5 David exploded in anger. "As surely as God lives," he said to Nathan, "the man who did this ought to be lynched!

6 He must repay for the lamb four times over for his crime and his stinginess!"

7 "You're the man!" said Nathan. "And here's what God, the God of Israel, has to say to you: I made you king over Israel. I freed you from the fist of Saul.

8 I gave you your master's daughter and other wives to have and to hold. I gave you both Israel and Judah. And if that hadn't been enough, I'd have gladly thrown in much more.