Useful Bible Studies > 2 Samuel Commentary > chapter 11
It is curious to try to match the accounts of the fight, here and in verses 16-17, with David’s plan in verse 15. It seems that there was great confusion. Uriah led a group of soldiers towards the city wall. The enemy soldiers inside the city saw them. They decided to leave the city and to fight against Uriah and the men with him.
David’s plan was that the men with Uriah would run away. They would leave Uriah alone to fight the enemy soldiers. So, those enemy soldiers would kill Uriah.
However, Israel’s soldiers were too brave to run away when the enemy attacked. They fought so hard that the enemy soldiers ran back into their city gate. Uriah and the men with him tried to follow them. They went close to the wall.
That was when the city guards began to shoot arrows from the top of the wall. They killed several of Israel’s brave soldiers.
David did not expect that to happen. However, at some time during the fight, Uriah died as David had intended.
Joab, the army commander, had expected David to be angry (verse 20). However, instead, David sent back a message to encourage Joab. David pretended to him that such things always happen during a war. That was a lie. David had decided on purpose to arrange for Uriah to die. This was not an unfortunate incident during a battle - it was murder, and David was responsible.
Next part: The marriage of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:26-27)
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