Daily Tanach Monday Shmuel 2 Chapter 11 Part 2: Dovid and Batsheva

• Uriah is told to remain by the palace: Dovid told Uriah to remain in the area of the palace for that day, and the next day he would be summoned. So, Uriah remained in Yerushalayim that day and the next day. The next day, Dovid called Uriah to a meal and he ate with Dovid and was given to drink to the point of drunkenness. That evening, instead of Uriah going home [as Dovid intended], once again Uriah remained by the palace gates with the guards.
• Dovid arranges the death of Uriah: In the morning [after realizing that his plan was not going to work], Dovid wrote a letter to Yoav and had it sent with Uriah to bring to him. Dovid requested [of Yoav his general] in the letter to position Uriah on the front lines of a heavy battle and when the battle gets fierce, the other soldiers are to abandon him, thus causing him to be killed. [This was done in order so Dovid can then Halachically marry Batsheva and cover up the pregnancy.^[1]] [Yoav did as he was told,] and Yoav went to guard the [enemy] city and positioned Uriah in an area where he knew that the soldiers were found, and the people of the city came out and fought with Yoav, and servants of Dovid fell in the battle, and Uriah Hachiti was killed.
• Dovid is informed of the outcome of the war: Yoav sent a messenger to inform Dovid of all the details of the war. He instructed the messenger saying, that when he finishes telling the king all about the details of the war, then if the wrath of the king is ignited and he says to you, “Why did you approach the city, as you should’ve known better that they would’ve had the archery set up on top of the walls in order to shoot arrows at you and kill you, who else had killed Avimelech the son of Yerubashes [i.e. Gidon[2]], had not a woman thrown onto him a weal of a wagon from the wall and he died, so why would you go and approach the wall [as you did and cause so many of my soldiers to die]?” If he says this to you then you should answer the king that also your servant Uriah Hachiti was killed. So, the messenger went and arrived and informed Dovid of all that Yoav had sent him to tell the king. The messenger said to Dovid, that when the enemy overcame us and ambushed us in the field, we were able to overcome them and push them back until the gate of the city. However, the archers who were on top of the wall of the city shot arrows at your servants and many of the king’s servants died including your servant Uriah Hachiti who was also killed. Dovid replied to the messenger, this is what you should tell Yoav, “Don’t be discouraged by what happened as it is normal that people die during the war. Strengthen yourself in the war against the city and destroy it.” Dovid then instructed the messenger to say words of comfort and encouragement to Yoav to strengthen him.
• Dovid marries Batsheva: The wife of Uriah heard about the death of her husband Uriah, and she eulogized her husband and mourned his death. After the period of mourning passed, Dovid sent for Batsheva to be brought to him and he gathered her into his home and married her, taking her as his wife, and they had a son [seven months later]. The matter that Dovid had done was evil in the eyes of Hashem.

[1] Metzudos David 11:15; Rashi 11:15 that the Get was given retroactively, and it would hence remove the sin of Eishes Ish from the incident.

[2] Rashi 11:21