2Sa 11:4 | NET2full | STEP | David sent some messengers to get her. She came to him and he went to bed with her. (Now at that time she was in the process of purifying herself from her menstrual uncleanness .) Then she returned to her home .

2 Samuel 11:4

4 David sent some messengers to get her. ^{▼▼tn Heb “and David sent messengers and he took her.”} She came to ^{▼▼tn The expression בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations, the implied purpose for approaching someone. Here it refers only to the stage of approaching while the next verb describes the result. That she is the subject of this verb (while David is the subject of the next verb) probably indicates that the act was consensual.} him and he went to bed with her. ^{▼▼tn Heb “he lay down with her.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakav) “to lie down” can be a euphemism for going to bed for sexual relations.} (Now at that time she was in the process of purifying herself from her menstrual uncleanness.) ^{▼▼tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause further heightens the tension by letting the reader know that Bathsheba, having just completed her menstrual cycle, is ripe for conception. See P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 286. Since she just had her period, it will also be obvious to those close to the scene that Uriah, who has been away fighting, cannot be the father of the child.} Then she returned to her home.