2 Samuel 11:17
ESV
And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died.
NIV
When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
NASB
And the men of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among David’s servants fell; and Uriah the Hittite also died.
CSB
Then the men of the city came out and attacked Joab, and some of the men from David’s soldiers fell in battle; Uriah the Hethite also died.
NLT
And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers.
KJV
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.
NKJV
Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
What does 2 Samuel 11:17 mean?
The king of Israel has ordered the commander of Israel's army to ensure one of Israel's mightiest warriors is killed in battle against the Ammonites. Joab doesn't know why David would order such a thing; he simply conducts David's order (2 Samuel 11:15).Joab assigns Uriah and his men to attack a strategic place at the wall of Rabbah where the most skilled Ammonite fighters are defending their city. Interestingly, Joab joins Uriah and his fighters in the attack, perhaps so he can call for the retreat that will leave Uriah exposed. The plan succeeds, though several other Israelite soldiers are killed along with Uriah.
It's unclear if Joab, who is also David's nephew (1 Chronicles 2:13–17), ever learns why David gave him instructions to kill Uriah. While the army was fighting, David saw Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, bathing on her rooftop. He sent for her and had sex with her. Not long after, she sent a message that she was pregnant (2 Samuel 11:1–5).
At first, David tried to arrange things so that Uriah would believe the baby was his. When that didn't work, David decided to kill Uriah, marry Bathsheba, and let everyone think the baby was legitimate (2 Samuel 11:6–15).
David's instructions remind Joab of the story of Abimelech, who stood too close to the wall of a city he was fighting and got a millstone on the head for his troubles (Judges 9:50–53). Joab probably has no idea that Uriah' death is more closely related to Saul's attempt to kill David. Saul told David that David could marry Saul's daughter if he killed one hundred Philistines. Saul assumed the Philistines would kill David, instead. But David killed two hundred Philistines and returned for his bride (1 Samuel 18:25–29).
Unfortunately, unlike David, Uriah doesn't survive.
