2 Samuel 11:8

8 Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax. ” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace.

2 Samuel 11:8 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 11:8

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.

2 Samuel 11:8 In-Context

6 Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David.

7 When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing.

8 Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax. ” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace.

9 But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.

10 When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?”

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew and wash your feet, an expression that may also have a connotation of ritualistic washing.