Sanhedrin 107a (קז.) — the Talmud in English

And ultimately they called him his colleague: “We would take counsel together in secret; we would walk amid tumult in the house of God.” And ultimately they called him his student: “Even my trusted friend, in whom I trusted,

who ate my bread, has magnified his heel against me.”

“Who ate my bread”—he studies my Torah; that is, he is a student.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: A person should always

not bring himself to the point of being tested. For David, king of Israel, brought himself to the point of being tested—

and failed.

He said before Him

before the Holy One, blessed be He:

“Master of the Universe! Why do people say

in prayer:

‘God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob,’ but they do not say: ‘God of David’?”

He said

the Holy One, blessed be He:

“They were tested by Me, but you have not been tested by Me”

they were tested before Me and withstood the test, whereas you have not been tested before Me.

He said before Him: “Master of the Universe, test me and try me!” As it is stated: “Test me, O Lord, and try me, etc.”

He said: “I shall test you”

as you requested.

“And I shall do something with you”

and I shall do something to you,

“which I did not tell them”

I did not tell them that I would test them, nor with what I would test them,

“but I am telling you that I shall test you with a matter of sexual immorality”

and I am informing you that I shall test you through a matter of sexual immorality.

Immediately—

“And it came to pass at evening that David arose from his bed, etc.”

This implies that he had lain down during the day.

Rav Yehuda said: He reversed his nighttime bed—

into his daytime bed.

He engaged in marital relations during the day, so that he would be satiated with intercourse and would not think about a woman all day.

And a halakhic teaching was concealed from him: A person has a small limb

the organ of intercourse. If a person

satiates it—

it becomes

hungry.

For, on the contrary, its desire increases.

A

nd if he

starves it—

it becomes

satiated,

for it no longer desires more.

The verse continues:

“And he walked

David

upon the roof of the king’s house, and he saw a woman bathing from the roof; and the woman was very beautiful.”

And this is what happened:

Bath Sheva was washing her hair beneath a hive

she washed her hair beneath a beehive so that he would not see her.

Satan came and appeared to him as a bird

he appeared to David as a bird.

He shot an arrow at it, and it struck the hive

David threw a stone at the bird; the stone struck the hive and broke it, and through this

she was exposed

and he saw her

Bath Sheva was exposed, and David saw her.

Immediately: “And David sent and inquired about the woman, and he said: Is this not Bath Sheva, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, and she was purifying herself from her impurity

for at that moment her impurity ended, and he did not have intercourse with her while she was a menstruant.

And she returned to her house.”

And this is what is written: “You have tested my heart; You have visited me at night; You have refined me and found nothing; my thought shall not pass my mouth.”

“You have tested my heart; You have visited me at night”—this means that You tested me regarding an act of the night, to see whether I could withstand the test. “You have refined me and found nothing”—You intended to refine me, but You did not find me innocent.

He said: “If only a muzzle had fallen into the mouth of one who hates me”

would that a muzzle had been placed in the mouth of my enemies; he was saying this about himself,

“and he would not have said such a thing”

for, by means of that muzzle, he would not have been able to say what he had said—that God should test him and try him.

Rava expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written: “For the leader; of David: In the Lord I have taken refuge. How can you say to my soul: Flee, mountain bird”?

David said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the Universe, forgive me for that sin, lest they say: ‘The mountain among you’

your king

“was driven away by a bird”

was banished by a bird.

Rava expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Against You alone have I sinned, and I have done what is evil in Your eyes, so that You may be justified in Your word,

and vindicated when You judge”?

David said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “It is revealed and known before You that had I wished to subdue my inclination”—

I would have subdued it

it is revealed and known before You that had I wished to overpower my inclination, I would have overpowered it!

“Rather, I said”

rather, I said to myself that I would not overpower my inclination, so that

“they would not say”

that they should not say:

“A servant has defeated his master”

a servant defeated his master through his rebuke, for I had said, “Test me, O Lord, and try me,” and I withstood the test.

Rava expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written: “For I am ready for limping, and my pain is always before me”?

Bath Sheva, daughter of Eliam, was destined for David from the six days of Creation

and this is the meaning of “For I am ready for limping”: that rib was destined and prepared for David.

“But she came to him through pain”

through a test.

And similarly the tanna of the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: Bath Sheva, daughter of Eliam, was destined for David, but he consumed an unripe fruit

that is, he advanced the time at which she was destined for him and had intercourse with her through a transgression, while she was still a married woman. This is like one who eats an unripe fruit, which has not yet fully ripened.

Rava expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered; the wretched gathered against me

the blemished ones

“and I did not know”

and I pretended not to know

“they tore and did not cease”?

David said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “It is revealed and known before You that if they had torn my flesh”—

my blood would not have flowed.

“And furthermore, when they are engaged in

study of

the four forms of execution by the court,

they wish to remind me of that sin, and they

interrupt their study and say to me: ‘David, one who has intercourse with a married woman’—

what is his execution?

I said to them:

indeed,

“One who has intercourse with a married woman is executed by strangulation,”

but

“he has a share in the World-to-Come.”

For his execution is his atonement.

“But”

you whiten my face, and

“one who whitens the face of his fellow in public”—

“has no share in the World-to-Come.”

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Even during David’s illness, he fulfilled eighteen conjugal obligations,

for his eighteen wives, so as not to leave them neglected.

As it is stated: “I am weary with my sighing; I make my bed swim

every night; I drench my couch with my tears.”

That is, even at the time of my sighing, I make my bed swim [the term denotes washing and disgust ] every night through marital intercourse. At the time of my tears, “I drench my couch”; I make my bed repulsive through intercourse.

And Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: David sought to worship idolatry

as it is stated: “And David came as far as the summit, where he would bow to God.” And “summit”—

“means nothing other than idolatry, as it is stated: ‘And the image’s head was of fine gold.’”

“And Hushai the Archite came to meet him, with his garment torn and earth upon his head.” He said to him

Hushai

to David: “Would people say that a king such as you would worship idolatry?!”

He said to him

David said: Is it better that they should say that a

“king such as I”—

“would be killed by his son?”

For they would complain about the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Name of Heaven would thereby be desecrated publicly!

“Better that he worship idolatry,”

and I alone will desecrate the Name—

“so that the Name of Heaven will not be desecrated publicly”

by the entire people.

He said

Hushai said to David: The Holy One, blessed be He, does not punish without reason.

“Why did you take”

why did you marry

“a beautiful captive?”

Absalom’s mother was Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; David captured her in war and had intercourse with her, and Absalom was born to him from her.

He said to him: “A beautiful captive”—

“the Merciful One permitted her.”

The Torah permitted her.

He said to him

Hushai said: Do you not

expound

do you not expound

the juxtaposition of passages? For adjacent to

the passage of the beautiful captive it says:

“When a man has a wayward and rebellious son”?

And they derive from the juxtaposition of the passages:

“Anyone who marries a beautiful captive”—

“will have a wayward and rebellious son.”

Therefore your son has risen against you to kill you.

Rabbi Dostai of Biri expounded: To what may David be compared—

“to a Cuthite merchant,”

who, when selling to a buyer, presses him to add another peruta to the price.

David said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “Who can understand errors,”

who can guard himself from inadvertent sins?!

He said to him

the Holy One, blessed be He:

“You are forgiven”

you are forgiven.

David said to Him:

“And from hidden sins cleanse me,”

cleanse me from a deliberate act that I committed in secret!

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him:

“You are forgiven”

you are forgiven.

David said to Him:

“Also from deliberate sins preserve Your servant,”

cleanse me also from sins that I committed deliberately and publicly!

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him:

“You are forgiven”

you are forgiven.

David said:

“Let them not rule over me; then I shall be complete,” so that the Sages would not discuss me,

so that the Sages of the generations would not expound concerning my sin [“let them not rule over me” uses the term for “parable,” meaning that they should not speak about me; and “then I shall be complete”—I shall be perfect] ,

The Holy One, blessed be He, said:

“You are forgiven.”

This is the comparison to a Cuthite merchant: at first David asked for little, and afterward he added and asked for more.

David said:

“And I shall be clear from great transgression”

809 , so that my disgrace would not be written

that You should erase that passage, and the matter should be forgotten forever,

Regarding this matter

He said to him

the Holy One, blessed be He:

“It is impossible”

to grant your request.

“And what of

the letter

yod that I removed from Sarai

the wife of Abraham [at first her name was “Sarai,” and only afterward did the Holy One, blessed be He, change her name to “Sarah”],

which stood and cried out for many years

because it had been removed from the Torah,

until Joshua came, and I added it to him

that same letter,

as it is stated: ‘And Moses called Hoshea son of

Nun, Joshua’; the entire passage”—

“all the more so”

it is impossible to uproot it.

“And I shall be clear from great transgression.” He said before Him: “Master of the Universe, forgive me for that entire sin!”

He said

the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him:

“Your son Solomon will one day say in his wisdom: ‘Can a man take fire into his lap without his garments being burned? If a man walks upon coals, will his feet not be scorched? So is one who goes in to his fellow’s wife; whoever touches her will not go unpunished.’”

He said to Him: “Is that man to be banished to such an extent?”

That is, will I be banished from the world, and will the sin not be forgiven me?

He said to him: “Accept suffering upon yourself”—

and your sin will be forgiven.

He accepted upon himself

David accepted suffering.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: For six months David was afflicted with leprosy, the Divine Presence departed from him, and the Sanhedrin withdrew from him .

From where do we know that he was

afflicted with leprosy—

As it is written: “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

He required purification with hyssop, as does a leper.

The Divine Presence departed from him—

As it is written: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a generous spirit.”

This indicates that the Divine Presence had departed from him, and he requested that joy be restored to him; through this, the indwelling of the Divine Presence would return to him.

And the Sanhedrin withdrew from him—

As it is written: “Those who fear You shall return to me, etc.”

This indicates that they had withdrawn from him.

His leprosy lasted

six months—

from where do we know this?

As it is written: “And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years,