anonymous infantryman. Known as “the Hittite,” though his name is distinctly Hebrew,27 Uriah is a member of David’s military elite known as “the Thirty” (23:39). The king desires the wife of one of his chief officers. Is this another reason that David was happy to evacuate the palace of any military personnel, including Bathsheba’s husband? Again, the narrator is silent. Could David take the wife of one of his soldiers with impunity? On two occasions, Abraham fears that rulers more powerful than