He wrote in the letter, saying, “Send Uriah to the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck, and die.”
When Joab kept watch on the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew that valiant men were. The men of the city went out, and fought with Joab. Some of the people fell, even of David’s servants; and Uriah the Hittite died also. Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; and he commanded the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the things concerning the war to the king, it shall be that, if the king’s wrath arise, and he asks you, ‘Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Didn’t you know that they would shoot from the wall? Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Didn’t a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’ ”
So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for. The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us, and came out to us into the field, and we were on them even to the entrance of the gate. The shooters shot at your servants from off the wall; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.”
Then David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Make your battle stronger against the city, and overthrow it.’ Encourage him.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv15, 20, 21, 23, 25 Hebrew, saying.
Hebrew, saying.
Except God continually uphold us with his mighty spirit, the most perfect fall headlong into all vice and abomination.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15–25 2Sa 11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying,…
2Sa 11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
Ver. 15. Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle.] Here David schemes it indeed with hellish skill: little thinking how heavily this crimson sin would shortly lie upon his conscience, putting him to no less pain than if all his bones had been broken. {Psa 51:8-14} Joab possibly might not know the cause of this bloody letter, but gather by it that Uriah had some way deserved death, howbeit he could not but know that by the law none should be put to death without witnesses, two or three, produced against him; his obedience, therefore, to so tyrannical a command cannot be justified.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 21, 23, 25 So far is David from repenting upon these just…
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.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv15–25 And he wrote in the letter, saying,.... Giving the…
And he wrote in the letter, saying,.... Giving the following orders to Joab:
set ye Uriah is the forefront of the hottest battle: over against that part of the city where the enemy was strongest, and the battle the fiercest, and the stones and arrows were cast the thickest:
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and retire ye from him; leave him to himself to combat the enemy alone; who seeing him deserted, would sally out upon him, and the few that might be with him, and slay him:
that he may be smitten, and die; thus he sought to add murder to adultery, and that in the basest manner, and which he accomplished; and this is often the case, that murder follows adultery, either by way of revenge for it, or in order to cover it, as here.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v15 He arose - So far is David from repenting,…
He arose - So far is David from repenting, that he seeks to cover one sin with another. How are the beginnings of sin to be dreaded! For who knows where it will end? David hath sinned, therefore Uriah must die! That innocent, valiant, gallant man, who was ready to die for his prince's honour, must die by his prince's hand! See how fleshly lusts war against the soul, and what devastations they make in that war! How they blind the eyes, fear the conscience, harden the heart, and destroy all sense of honour and justice!
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv17, 20, 25 Verse 17. Uriah the Hitite died also.] He was…
Verse 17. Uriah the Hitite died also.] He was led to the attack of a place defended by valiant men; and in the heat of the assault, Joab and his men retired from this brave soldier, who cheerfully gave up his life for his king and his country.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 25 2Sa 11:15. Retire ye from him, that he may…
2Sa 11:15. Retire ye from him, that he may be smitten and die — Thus swift is the progress of vice! thus does it lead from bad to worse! thus does it corrupt man’s whole nature, and bring him to such degeneracy as he could not before have thought himself capable of! So far is David from repenting, that he seeks to cover one scandalous and wicked action by another still more scandalous and wicked; to conceal the great crime of adultery by the still greater crime of murder! How are the beginnings of sin to be dreaded! for who knows where they will end? David hath sinned, therefore Uriah must die. That innocent, valiant, gallant man, who was ready to die for his prince’s honour, must die by his prince’s hand! See how fleshly lusts war against the soul, and what devastation they make in that war! How they blind the eyes, sear the conscience, harden the heart, and destroy all sense of honour and justice! See the shameful and deplorable change which they have made in David. Is this the man whose heart smote him because he had cut off Saul’s skirt? who more than once generously saved the life of his most bitter enemy when he had it in his power; but who is now using the basest contrivances to take away the life of a most worthy and faithful servant? Is this he that executed judgment and justice to all his people; and that exercised himself in God’s laws day and night, conscious what extraordinary favours he had received from him, and the infinite obligations he was under to him; the just, the generous, the pious David? Yes, this is the very man. Alas! how can he do such unjust and base actions? How can he be so ungrateful to his heavenly benefactor, as thus to transgress and trample under foot his law in the most capital of all its articles? How can he give such scandal and cause of stumbling to his subjects, whose piety and virtue he was appointed to promote? And how can he thus expose to contempt and reproach the true religion among the idolatrous nations all around? Alas! sin, through its deceitfulness, has gained entrance, and re-established its empire in his soul! Sin has produced this horrid transformation in the mind and heart of one of the bravest and worthiest of men. Reader, take warning, and withstand the first assaults of evil, lest, if they once prevail, they deprive thee of all religious and moral sense and feeling, and plunge thee into the greatest depth of guilt and baseness, to the present dishonour of God and religion, and thy own everlasting ruin and misery!
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv16, 17, 21 Observed the city - In the sense of besieging…
Observed the city - In the sense of besieging it closely.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv15, 17, 19, 21 Die. We no longer behold the genius of that…
Die. We no longer behold the genius of that David who would not hurt his persecutor. What a change does a shameful passion introduce in the whole conduct of a man! and how does one false step conduct from one abyss to another! Proprium humani ingenii est odisse quem læseris. (Tacitus) --- David could no longer bear the sight of a man whom he had injured so grievously. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 24, 25 15. That he may be smitten — By a…
15. That he may be smitten — By a similar device Saul had once sought the bringing about of David’s death. Comp. 1Sa_18:17; 1Sa_18:25.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25 15. that he may be smitten, and die] So…
15. that he may be smitten, and die] So blinded was David by his passion, and so eager to screen himself and Bath-sheba from the disgrace of exposure, that he did not shrink from plotting the murder of one of his bravest soldiers. The King’s command was sufficient warrant to Joab, without inquiry into the reason for it.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 21, 25 (15) Retire ye from him.—This part of David’s orders…
(15) Retire ye from him.—This part of David’s orders was not carried out. Perhaps Joab thought it would make the stratagem too evident, or perhaps it was impracticable. At all events, the consequence was that others were slain with Uriah, and thus a larger blood-guiltiness fell upon David.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv16, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25 When Joab observed the city; Revised Version, kept watch…
When Joab observed the city; Revised Version, kept watch upon the city. This does net mean, as some suppose, that Joab sent a body of men to examine the fortifications with a view to an assault, and so provoked a sally. The verb simply refers to the ordinary operations of a siege, which usually resolved itself into a long blockade, continued until starvation compelled a surrender; and to hasten this the people of the villages were forced into the town, by the rule that all left outside were put to the sword. To maintain the blockade, men were posted at all fit points round the city, and these were constantly assailed by the besieged. Joab then placed Uriah at a post which was especially the object of attack; and when the usual sally took place and was repulsed, Joab seems to have ordered Uriah to pursue them up to the very gate, where they would be exposed to a shower of arrows from the walls. Others fell besides Uriah, and that the loss was considerable, and the result of bad generalship, though designedly such, seems probable from the deprecation of the king"s anger in ver. 20.
Vers. 16-21. (RABBAH.)
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Complicity in sin.
Here are three men: David, a great but sinful king, bent on the destruction of a faithful servant; Uriah, a brave but injured soldier, sent unconsciously to his doom; and Joab, an able but unscrupulous general, (2Sa_3:22-30) become a willing agent and ready accomplice in his execution "with the sword of the children of Ammon". (2Sa_12:9)
1. There is seldom wanting a suitable accomplice in effecting a sinful purpose, however iniquitous it may be. The character of Joab was well known to David. "It was his very wickedness that commended him to the king as the most fitting instrument for carrying out his infamous design." He had formerly deprecated his wickedness; (2Sa_3:29, 2Sa_3:39) but now that he had himself fallen into sin, he associated himself with it, and made use of it for his own ends, although, as he afterwards found, to his own cost. "How Joab must have rejoiced when David sank down to his own level!
2. In serving another, such an accomplice is chiefly concerned aboutserving himself. He seeks supremely his own advantage. Joab acted not from loyalty, but self-love. "To make himself great, powerful, indispensable, was the object of his life" (Plumptre). "Possibly he had some information that Bathsheba had been with David" ("Speaker"s Commentary"). Anyhow, perceiving the design of the king against Uriah, he served him, in order that he might gain complete power over him; and in this he succeeded. "When David made him a partner and secret agent of his guilty purpose touching Uriah, he sold himself into his hands, and in that fatal letter he sealed away his liberty and surrendered himself up to this his unscrupulous accomplice" (Blunt). "All fellowship in sin begets despotism." Henceforth Joab did with the king very much as he pleased.
1. No authority of man can justify the violation of the Law of God. How often have men imagined that the command or sanction of one in authority
2. has been a sufficient warrant for doing what their own consciences condemned, and laid the blame of their conduct on the instigator thereof rather than on themselves! Joab probably needed little self excuse; but it ever he should want a defence, he might plead the king"s letter. He was reckless of human life; to effect his purpose made a greater sacrifice of it than the king intended (ver. 17), and became more hardened than ever in wickedness. "We ought to obey God rather than men.
3. There may be exemption from punishment when there is no exonerationfrom blame. "How must this example needs harden Joab against the conscience of Abner"s blood! while he cannot but think, "David cannot avenge that in me which he acteth himself (Hall). Nevertheless, his guilt, in the sight of God, remains; and judgment comes at last. D. (Ecc_12:14)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv16, 18, 21, 22, 24 the siege upon the city
the siege upon the city
The word "siege" can be expressed with the verbs "surround" and "attack." AT: "his army surround and attack the city" (See: Abstract Nouns)
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some of the soldiers of David fell
The word "fell" is a polite way to refer to the soldiers being killed. AT: "David's soldiers were killed" or "they killed some of David's soldiers" (See: Euphemism)
and Uriah the Hittite was also killed there
This can be stated in active form. AT: "including Uriah the Hittite" or "and the men of the city also killed Uriah the Hittite" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
siege
assign
Uriah
Hittite
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv16, 21, 25 11:16-17 Uriah was not the only casualty: David sacrificed…
11:16-17 Uriah was not the only casualty: David sacrificed several other Israelite soldiers while attempting to hide his sin.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.