שמואל ב, פרק י״ב, פסוק כ׳

Upon receiving the tragic news of his child's death, David undergoes a sudden and surprising transformation. He rises from his deep grief and immediately returns to his daily routine, acting as if the ordeal is completely behind him [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. He begins by removing all physical signs of his sorrow. He washes himself, anoints his body with oil [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ], and changes his clothes, which had become covered in dust from his time lying on the ground [מצודת דוד]. Following this, he asks to be brought food [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This rapid shift in behavior presents a significant difficulty. The acts of washing, anointing with oil, and changing clothes are strictly forbidden for someone in a state of mourning. How could David engage in these activities?

To resolve this, two main explanations are offered [רד״ק]. The first suggests that David performed these actions before the actual burial, a period when the formal laws of mourning do not yet apply. His intention was to present himself respectfully at the house of God to pray [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. He went to bow down and express gratitude, fulfilling the duty to bless and thank God for tragedy just as one does for good fortune [רד״ק, מצודת דוד].

Another perspective proposes that David was not legally obligated to observe the mourning rituals at all [רד״ק]. Because the infant died on his seventh day, he fell under the category of a child who does not survive past thirty days. By law, such a loss does not require formal mourning unless it is absolutely certain that a full-term pregnancy was completed. According to this view, David's servants were not shocked by a violation of religious law, but rather by his lack of natural human grief. Instead of weeping, he immediately attended to his physical needs. However, there is a strong reservation to this approach. David almost certainly knew the exact time of conception and was therefore aware that the pregnancy had reached its full term. Consequently, the formal obligations of mourning would indeed have applied to Him [רד״ק].