Poole on 2 Samuel 11:14-27: David's Murder of Uriah

Verse 14:[1]  And it came to pass in the morning, that David (see 1 Kings 21:8, 9) wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

[He wrote a letter, etc.]  Thus Prœtus (as it is found among the fables [Sanchez]) gave to Bellerophon a letter for Iobates, whereby the death of Bellerophon was commanded.[2]  Homer and others make mention of this (Grotius).  Now, that this fable proceeded from the history of Uriah, is plausible.  Iobates does not much differ from Joab:  neither is it uncommon for the Poets to include in their fables true things, even canonical histories, as in the flood, Samson, etc., as we have seen (Tirinus out of Sanchez).  Hence the proverb, He bears the letters of Uriah or Bellerophon.  Plautus[3] in Bacchides, Thy son has been making a Bellerophon of me; I myself brought this letter, that I might be bound (Drusius’ Proverbs 1:5:36).

Verse 15:[4]  And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest (Heb. strong[5]) battle, and retire ye from him (Heb. from after him[6]), that he may (2 Sam. 12:9) be smitten, and die.

[From the opposite of the battle, etc., ‎אֶל־מוּל֙ פְּנֵ֤י הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ הַֽחֲזָקָ֔ה]  In the opposite direction to (or from the opposite of [Septuagint, Junius and Tremellius], in the front of[7] [Syriac, Arabic]) the strong battle (Pagnine, similarly the Septuagint, Jonathan) (the battle line [Arabic], the fiercer fighting [Munster], the imminent strong fighting [Tigurinus], the mightiest warriors, Metonymy [Junius]).  As if caught in the greatest crime (Tirinus).  Thus sin is begotten by sin (Isidore[8] in Serarius).  He stole, 1.  A wife by adultery:  2.  A mind by inebriation:  3.  And now honor from one innocent:  4.  Next also his life:  And in a new degree of wretchedness he wills him to be an accomplice in his own murder (Tirinus).

[And abandon ye him, etc.]  If those that desert good comrades in such dangers sin, what does he do who commands them to be deserted?  Tiberius was exposing Germanicus, so hateful to himself, to treachery and misfortunes;[9] Tacitus’ Annals 2 (Grotius).  Unhappy David falls entirely.  Previously he had spared his enemy, Saul:  now he spares not the bravest of soldiers and the most faithful of friends.  Previously he had hated deceits:[10]  now he hates simplicity and trustworthiness (Martyr).

That he may be smitten and die:  So far is David from repenting upon these just and great occasions, that he seeks to cover one sin with another; and to hide his adultery with murder, even the murder of a most excellent person, and that in a most malicious and perfidious manner.

Verse 16:[11]  And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.

[Joab placed Uriah]  In this obedience Joab acted unjustly.  He knew the Law of God, that the guilty ought to be removed only with witnesses consulted.[12]  The command of princes and tyrants does not take away the guilt of those attendants and executioners, that kill or torture pious men:  Otherwise those captains of fifty in 2 Kings 1 had been able to excuse themselves.  Moreover, this is often the fruit of the beauty of a wife, that on account of her the husband perishes (Martyr).  Others thus:  Joab obeyed, thinking Uriah to have committed some crime against the king, and so death was deserved; yet the king willed to punish him in such a way that he might spare his honor (Munster out of Lyra).

Where…valiant men were:  Placed there to defend it, because that part of the city was supposed either the weakest, or the place designed for the assault.  Joab having formerly committed a base murder upon Abner, was ready to execute this wicked command of the king; that so he being involved in the same guilt with him, might the more willingly receive him into favour.

Verse 17:[13]  And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab:  and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

[And they fell, ‎וַיִּפֹּל]  A Singular in the place of the Plural.  He fell, that is, they died (Vatablus).  It aggravats this sin, that for the sake of Uriah others also were killed (Lyra).

Verse 18:[14]  Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war…

[All the words of the battle (thus Vatablus), ‎אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הַמִּלְחָמָֽה׃]  That is, the outcome of the battle (Vatablus); the business of the battle (Jonathan in Vatablus).

Verse 19:[15]  And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king…

Verse 20:[16]  And if so be that the king’s wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?

[Or did ye not know that many would be sent down from the wall?אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־יֹר֖וּ מֵעַ֥ל הַחוֹמָֽה׃]  That they were going to shoot from the wall? (Munster, etc.).  How the besieged would shot from the wall? (Junius and Tremellius).

Verse 21:[17]  Who smote (Judg. 9:53) Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth (Judg. 6:32, Jerubbaal[18])? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

[The son of Jerubbaal]  Hebrew:  יְרֻבֶּשֶׁת/Jerubbesheth (Vatablus, Pagnine).  בּשֶׁת/bosehth is expressly taken for the shameful idol Baal in Jeremiah 11:13[19] (Malvenda).

Jerubbesheth, called also Jerubbaal, Judges 9:1.  See the note on 2 Samuel 2:8.

[Thou shalt say, Uriah is dead also]  So that by the mention of the desired outcome he might mollify the indignation of the king (Menochius).

Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also; which he knew would be acceptable news to the king, and therefore allay his wrath.  This indeed might make the messenger suspect that David had a hand in Uriah’s death; and possibly Joab might say so for that very reason, that these matters by degrees being known, David might be hardened in sin, and so Joab might have the greater interest in him.

Verse 22:[20]  So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.

[All that he had instructed him, ‎כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר שְׁלָח֖וֹ (similarly the Septuagint, Jonathan, Syriac, Arabic)]  All with which he had sent (Montanus).  Because of, or for which he had been sent (Munster, Tigurinus, thus Mariana, Pagnine, Junius and Tremellius).

Verse 23:[21]  And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.

[And he said, …they prevailed (thus Munster), ‎ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הַמַּלְאָךְ֙ אֶל־דָּוִ֔ד כִּֽי־גָבְר֤וּ עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙ הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים]  And he said, that they prevailed (Montanus, Septuagint, Jonathan).  And he said, …when conducting themselves bravely, etc. (Junius and Tremellius, similarly Castalio).

[With an attack made, we pursued, etc., ‎וַנִּהְיֶ֥ה עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם]  And we were against, or upon, them (Montanus, Vatablus, Septuagint), that is, with our strength recovered, we rushed upon them (Vatablus).  We repulsed them (Jonathan).  And we were close to them (Junius and Tremellius, similarly the Syriac, Munster).

We were upon them even unto the entering of the gate:  We beat them back, and pursued them even to the gate.

Verse 24:[22]  And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king’s servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

Verse 25:[23]  Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee (Heb. be evil in thine eyes[24]), for the sword devoureth one as well as another (Heb. so and such[25]):  make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it:  and encourage thou him.

[Let not this thing dishearten thee]  In these words the joy of the soul guilty of ill-wishing stands out.  See how adultery changes a holy man.  He hardened himself against all sorrows (Martyr); so that he might humor his lust, he devours all things.  He readily bears the slaying of his men, for whose welfare he ought to have provided (Sanchez).  Let not this thing dishearten thee,אַל־יֵרַ֤ע בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה.  Let not be evil אֶת־הַדָּבָר, that thing, or word (Montanus, etc.).  אֶת here is not the sign of the accusative, as the Hebrews note (Vatablus).

Let not this thing displease thee; be not dejected or discouraged by this sad occasion.

[Now this one, and now that, כָזֹ֥ה וְכָזֶ֖ה]  Thus and thus; that is, the outcome of battle is diverse (Vatablus).

[Strengthen, etc.]  That is, command the soldiers to be of good courage and mighty in the capturing and overthrowing of the city (Vatablus).

[Exhort them]  Hebrew:  strengthen him,[26] namely, Joab (Vatablus).  Thus the Apostrophe is to the messenger; or rather, strengthen that, that is, the people, or the army (Malvenda).  That; that is, the soldiery, or the army; for מִלְחָמָה/ battle precedes.  For a relative is often put for an antecedent, which is to be elicited from the text itself.  Thus in Numbers 7:89, when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak ‎אִתּוֹ, with Him; that is, with God, as the following words show (Glassius’ “Grammar” 195.

Encourage thou him, that is, Joab, to proceed in the siege.

Verse 26:[27]  And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.

[And she mourned him]  With tears of which sort Cæsar cried for Pompey[28] (Grotius, Sanchez).  Concerning which Lucan[29] speaks truly:  Tears not willingly falling did he shed, and he sent groans out of a happy heart.[30]  She was mourning in mourning dress (Martyr).  For how long a time she mourned, it is not expressed; either for seven days, after the custom of the Hebrews, Ecclesiasticus 22:12[31] (Tostatus in Menochius, Serarius); or somewhat longer, which is more probable, to hide the adultery (Menochius).  The period of mourning (which for Roman women was a year, or ten month, within which time it was not permitted to them to marry) was not set in the Law for the Hebrews; yet they did have a certain time, within which a woman did not marry, as we see here.  It is thought to have been a month, out of Deuteronomy 21:13, where she is commanded to bewail her parents for a month, etc.  From this narration it appears that the mourning was not long-lasting.  For if she had been made his wife much later, she would have given birth too soon, neither could the adultery be hidden (Martyr).  Add that the boy, conceived quite a bit earlier, was born in the house of David (Sanchez).

Verse 27:[32]  And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she (2 Sam. 12:9) became his wife, and bare him a son.  But the thing that David had done displeased (Heb. was evil in the eyes of[33]) the LORD.

When the mourning was past; which was seven days, Genesis 50:10; 1 Samuel 31:13.  Nor could the nature of the thing admit of longer delay lest the too early birth of the child might discover David’s sin.

[He brought her into his house, and she was made a wife for him]  Question:  Whether an adulterer could marry an adulteress?  Response:  Papal laws state that such a marriage is invalid (Willet, Martyr), lest men be turned to the murder of husbands, so that they might get possession of their wives (Martyr).  [Others otherwise:]  Scripture determines nothing concerning this matter, neither does it place this among the impediments to matrimony; the reason for which, nevertheless, could be, that such were to be stoned by the Law of Moses[34] (Willet).  God did not separate David and Beth-sheba (Martyr).  These nuptials were not invalid, neither was the son illegitimate.  For many things in this lineage are not properly done, which nevertheless are established.  Neither is Bath-sheba expressly mentioned in the genealogy of Christ in vain; so that the Jews, instructed by her example, might be less repelled by those foreigners that, formerly covered with vices, had emended their lives (Grotius).  [See more things in the following words.]

David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife; by which it appears that David continued in the state of impenitency for divers months together, and this notwithstanding his frequent attendance upon God’s ordinances; which is an eminent instance of the corruption of man’s nature, which is even in the best; and, without Divine assistance, is too strong for them; of the deceitfulness of sin, and of the tremendous judgment of God in punishing one sin, by delivering a man up to another.

[And this word displeased]  That is, this thing (Grotius), this entire matter (Malvenda).  Therefore, this was another sin, to take her to wife, whose husband the adulterer had killed, as it is taught in 2 Samuel 12:9, 10, where murder and marriage are enumerated as distinct sins; whence it is evident that such marriages were forbidden to them; yet (if contracted) not altogether nul (Serarius, Lapide).  Such marriages are disadvantageous, and are able both to be hindered, and to be punished, by the Magistrate; yet, if they be consummated, they are not to be made void (Willet out of Osiander).  It displeased, the adultery bound to the marriage, 2 Samuel 12:9.  Yet the marriage was not invalid, etc. (Grotius) [as we said out of the author].  [Others thus:]  It displease Him, not that he had married her, etc. (for by no law was this forbidden to be done; and in another respect in this manner he was consulting her reputation, who was liable to stoning), but the adultery and murder; unless perhaps we should say that this displeased Him, that he married her out of sexual passion, and not out of love for offspring (Menochius).  In vain do the Jews excuse both this and the murder of Uriah, otherwise than Nathan showed him, and he himself acknowledged, Psalm 51, and Josephus, who with good reason calls it πταῖσμα δεινὸν, a dreadful failure; and God judged this in 2 Samuel 11:27; 12:11 (Grotius on verse 4).  The Hebrews feign, that those departing for war were accustomed to give a bill of divorcement to their wives remaining at home; so that, if they should perchance be killed, they might be able freely to marry others (Martyr):  and so David lawfully came together with Bath-sheba (Sanchez).  But, 1.  this is not found in the sacred books.  2.  Why then is David reproved for this? or why did he was Uriah to cohabitate with here, which was not lawful with one divorced? (Deuteronomy 24:2), or why did not David marry her with Uriah yet living? (Martyr).  [See more things in Tostatus and in Sanchez.]  Moreover, it is to be observed, that David remained for a long time in this filth.  In the meantime, he was celebrating Sabbaths, was present in sacred assemblies, was purifying himself with others.  But the immortal God, with what disposition?  He did nothing truly, nothing piously, but all things of hypocrisy (Martyr on verse 5).

The thing that David had done, that is, his adultery and murder, as is evident from the next chapter.

[1] Hebrew:  ‎וַיְהִ֣י בַבֹּ֔קֶר וַיִּכְתֹּ֥ב דָּוִ֛ד סֵ֖פֶר אֶל־יוֹאָ֑ב וַיִּשְׁלַ֖ח בְּיַ֥ד אוּרִיָּֽה׃

[2] In Greek mythology, Bellerophon was a Corinthian hero, son of Poseidon, the great slayer of monsters before Hercules, killing the Chimera and taming Pegasus.  During a stay with Prœtus, king of Tiryns, Bellerophon refused the advances of Prœtus’ wife.  Bellerophon’s rejection moved her to accuse him of attempting to rape her.  The requirements of hospitality prevented Prœtus from taking vengeance on Bellerophon himself, so he sent Bellerophon to King Iobates with a sealed letter, asking for Bellerophon’s execution.

[3] Titus Maccius Plautus (254-184 BC) was a Roman playwright.  Only twenty-one of his nearly one hundred and thirty comedies survive.

[4] Hebrew:  ‎וַיִּכְתֹּ֥ב בַּסֵּ֖פֶר לֵאמֹ֑ר הָב֣וּ אֶת־אֽוּרִיָּ֗ה אֶל־מוּל֙ פְּנֵ֤י הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ הַֽחֲזָקָ֔ה וְשַׁבְתֶּ֥ם מֵאַחֲרָ֖יו וְנִכָּ֥ה וָמֵֽת׃ ס

[5] Hebrew:  ‎הַחֲזָקָה.

[6] Hebrew:  ‎מֵאַחֲרָיו.

[7] ‎מוּל can signify opposite, or front.

[8] Isidore (c. 560-636) was Archbishop of Seville and a bright and shining light of learning in the intellectual darkness of his age.  He presided over the Second Council of Seville (619), which ruled against Arianism, and the Fourth Council of Toledo (633), which required bishops to establish seminaries in their principal cities.

[9] Tiberias reigned as Roman Emperor from 14 to 37.  Germanicus Julius Cæsar was Tiberias’ nephew and adopted son.  He received his prænomen for his military exploits against the Germanic tribes.  Germanicus’ successes and popularity with the army made him an object of envy.

[10] See, for example, Psalm 101.

[11] Hebrew:  ‎וַיְהִ֕י בִּשְׁמ֥וֹר יוֹאָ֖ב אֶל־הָעִ֑יר וַיִּתֵּן֙ אֶת־א֣וּרִיָּ֔ה אֶל־הַמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָדַ֔ע כִּ֥י אַנְשֵׁי־חַ֖יִל שָֽׁם׃

[12] See Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15.

[13] Hebrew:  ‎וַיֵּ֙צְא֜וּ אַנְשֵׁ֤י הָעִיר֙ וַיִּלָּחֲמ֣וּ אֶת־יוֹאָ֔ב וַיִּפֹּ֥ל מִן־הָעָ֖ם מֵעַבְדֵ֣י דָוִ֑ד וַיָּ֕מָת גַּ֖ם אוּרִיָּ֥ה הַחִתִּֽי׃

[14] Hebrew:  ‎וַיִּשְׁלַ֖ח יוֹאָ֑ב וַיַּגֵּ֣ד לְדָוִ֔ד אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הַמִּלְחָמָֽה׃

[15] Hebrew:  ‎וַיְצַ֥ו אֶת־הַמַּלְאָ֖ךְ לֵאמֹ֑ר כְּכַלּוֹתְךָ֗ אֵ֛ת כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֥י הַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה לְדַבֵּ֥ר אֶל־הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

[16] Hebrew:  ‎וְהָיָ֗ה אִֽם־תַּעֲלֶה֙ חֲמַ֣ת הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וְאָמַ֣ר לְךָ֔ מַדּ֛וּעַ נִגַּשְׁתֶּ֥ם אֶל־הָעִ֖יר לְהִלָּחֵ֑ם הֲל֣וֹא יְדַעְתֶּ֔ם אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־יֹר֖וּ מֵעַ֥ל הַחוֹמָֽה׃

[17] Hebrew:  ‎מִי־הִכָּ֞ה אֶת־אֲבִימֶ֣לֶךְ בֶּן־יְרֻבֶּ֗שֶׁת הֲלֽוֹא־אִשָּׁ֡ה הִשְׁלִ֣יכָה עָלָיו֩ פֶּ֙לַח רֶ֜כֶב מֵעַ֤ל הַֽחוֹמָה֙ וַיָּ֣מָת בְּתֵבֵ֔ץ לָ֥מָּה נִגַּשְׁתֶּ֖ם אֶל־הַֽחוֹמָ֑ה וְאָ֣מַרְתָּ֔ גַּ֗ם עַבְדְּךָ֛ אוּרִיָּ֥ה הַחִתִּ֖י מֵֽת׃

[18] Judges 6:32:  “Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal (‎יְרֻבַּעַל), saying, Let Baal plead against him (‎יָ֤רֶב בּוֹ֙ הַבַּ֔עַל), because he hath thrown down his altar.”

[19] Jeremiah 11:13:  “For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing (‎לַבֹּשֶׁת), even altars to burn incense unto Baal.”

[20] Hebrew:  ‎וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ הַמַּלְאָ֑ךְ וַיָּבֹא֙ וַיַּגֵּ֣ד לְדָוִ֔ד אֵ֛ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר שְׁלָח֖וֹ יוֹאָֽב׃

[21] Hebrew:  וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הַמַּלְאָךְ֙ אֶל־דָּוִ֔ד כִּֽי־גָבְר֤וּ עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙ הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים וַיֵּצְא֥וּ אֵלֵ֖ינוּ הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה וַנִּהְיֶ֥ה עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם עַד־פֶּ֥תַח הַשָּֽׁעַר׃

[22] Hebrew:  וַיֹּרְא֙וּ הַמּוֹרִִ֤אים אֶל־עֲבָדֶ֙ךָ֙ מֵעַ֣ל הַחוֹמָ֔ה וַיָּמ֖וּתוּ מֵעַבְדֵ֣י הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וְגַ֗ם עַבְדְּךָ֛ אוּרִיָּ֥ה הַחִתִּ֖י מֵֽת׃ ס

[23] Hebrew: וַיֹּ֙אמֶר דָּוִ֜ד אֶל־הַמַּלְאָ֗ךְ כֹּֽה־תֹאמַ֤ר אֶל־יוֹאָב֙ אַל־יֵרַ֤ע בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה כִּֽי־כָזֹ֥ה וְכָזֶ֖ה תֹּאכַ֣ל הֶחָ֑רֶב הַחֲזֵ֙ק מִלְחַמְתְּךָ֧ אֶל־הָעִ֛יר וְהָרְסָ֖הּ וְחַזְּקֵֽהוּ׃

[24] Hebrew:  ‎יֵרַ֤ע בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙.

[25] Hebrew:  ‎כָזֹ֥ה וְכָזֶ֖ה.

[26] Hebrew:  ‎וְחַזְּקֵהוּ.

[27] Hebrew:  ‎וַתִּשְׁמַע֙ אֵ֣שֶׁת אֽוּרִיָּ֔ה כִּי־מֵ֖ת אוּרִיָּ֣ה אִישָׁ֑הּ וַתִּסְפֹּ֖ד עַל־בַּעְלָֽהּ׃

[28] Gnæus Pompeius Magnus (106-48 BC) was a Roman general and stateman, instrumental in Rome’s transition from Republic to Empire.  He was an ally of Cæsar and Crassus, forming the First Triumvirate.  However, Pompey’s loyalties ultimately landed on the Roman Senate, leading to civil war with Cæsar, Pompey’s defeat at Pharsalus, and assassination in Egypt.

[29] Marcus Annæus Lucanus (39-65) was a Roman poet.

[30] The Civil War 9.

[31] Ecclesiasticus 22:12:  “Seven days do men mourn for him that is dead; but for a fool and an ungodly man all the days of his life.”

[32] Hebrew: ‎וַיַּעֲבֹ֣ר הָאֵ֗בֶל וַיִּשְׁלַ֙ח דָּוִ֜ד וַיַּאַסְפָ֤הּ אֶל־בֵּיתוֹ֙ וַתְּהִי־ל֣וֹ לְאִשָּׁ֔ה וַתֵּ֥לֶד ל֖וֹ בֵּ֑ן וַיֵּ֧רַע הַדָּבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה דָוִ֖ד בְּעֵינֵ֥י יְהוָֽה׃ פ

[33] Hebrew:  ‎בְּעֵינֵ֥י—‎וַיֵּ֧רַע.

[34] Deuteronomy 22:20-24; John 8:3-5.