Why didn’t David go out to battle in this particular military campaign? (2 Samuel 11:1; see 10:7)
David and Bathsheba 11 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
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Asked November 09 2019
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Jack Gutknecht
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Tim Maas
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As I read 2 Samuel, David's men did not prohibit him from going out to battle with them any more until chapter 21, after David had nearly been killed by Ishbebinob the Philistine, because David had grown weary during the battle, and had to be saved by Abishai. Although the Bible does not specify a reason for David remaining behind at Jersualem while Joab and the rest of the army besieged the Ammonites at Rabbah (as noted earlier in chapter 11 of 2 Samuel), it seems to me that it might have been because the army was staging a siege (which can involve an indeterminate, and perhaps lengthy, amount of time), and would have required David's absence from Jerusalem, and from personal performance of his royal duties there, for longer than he could allow, or believed advisable. Alternatively, perhaps David regarded the army's mission (even if it involved a siege) as not being of sufficient difficulty or priority to require his personal presence.
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