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Easton's Bible Dictionary
the Lord is my light.
(1) A Hittite, the husband of Bathsheba, whom David first seduced, and then after
Uriah's death married. He was one of the band of David's "mighty men." The sad
story of the curel wrongs inflicted upon him by David and of his mournful death
are simply told in the sacred record ( 2
Samuel 11:2 - 12:26).
). (See BATHSHEBA;
DAVID.)
(2) A priest of the house of Ahaz ( Isaiah
8:2 ).
(3) The father of Meremoth, mentioned in Ezra
8:33.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
or Urijah
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(light of Jehovah)
(1) One of the thirty commanders of the thirty bands into which the Israelite
army of David was divided. ( 1 Chronicles 11:41 ; 2 Samuel 23:39 ) Like others
of David's officers he was a foreigner--a Hittite. His name, however and his manner
of speech ( 2 Samuel 11:11 ) indicate that he had adopted the Jewish religion.
He married Bath-sheba a woman of extraordinary beauty, the daughter of Eliam--possibly
the same as the son of Ahithophel, and one of his brother officers, ( 2 Samuel
23:34 ) and hence, perhaps, Uriahs first acquaintance with Bath-sheba. It may
be inferred from Nathan's parable, ( 2 Samuel 12:3 ) that he was passionately
devoted to his wife, and that their union was celebrated in Jerusalem as one of
peculiar tenderness. In the first war with Ammon, B.C. 1035, he followed Joab
to the siege, and with him remained encamped in the open field. ( 2 Samuel 12:11
) He returned to Jerusalem, at an order from the king on the pretext of asking
news of the war--really in the hope that his return to his wife might cover the
shame of his own crime. The king met with an unexpected obstacle in the austere,
soldier-like spirit which guided all Uriahs conduct, and which gives us a high
notion of the character and discipline of Davids officer's. On the morning of
the third day David sent him back to the camp with a letter containing the command
to Joab to cause his destruction in the battle. The device of Joab was to observe
the part of the wall of Rabbath-ammon where the greatest force of the besieged
was congregated, and thither, as a kind of forlorn hope to send Uriah. A sally
took place. Uriah and the officers with him advanced as far as the gate of the
city, and were there shot down by the archers on the wall. Just as Joab had forewarned
the messenger, the king broke into a furious passion on hearing of the loss. The
messenger, as instructed by Joab, calmly continued, and ended the story with the
words, "Thy servant also Uriah the Hittite, is dead." In a moment Davids anger
is appeased. It is one of the touching parts of the story that Uriah falls unconscious
of his wifes dishonor.
(2) High priest in the reign of Ahaz. ( Isaiah 8:2 ; 2 Kings 16:10 - 16 ) He is
probably the same as Urijah the priest, who built the altar for Ahaz. ( 2 Kings
16:10 ) (B.C. about 738.)
(3) A priest of the family of Hakkoz, the head of the seventh course of priests.
( Ezra 8:33 ; Nehemiah 3:4 , Nehemiah 3:21 ) (B.C. 458.)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
u-ri'-a, u-ri'-ja ('uriyah, in Jeremiah 26:20 'uriyahu,
"flame of Yahweh" or "my light is Yahweh"; the Septuagint and the New Testament
Our(e)ias, with variants; the King James Version has Urijah in 2 Kings 16:10 -
16 ; Nehemiah 3:4 , 21 ; 8:4; Jeremiah 26:20):
(1) A Hittite, who had settled in Jerusalem at the time of David and who had entered
David's service. He had become a worshipper of Yahweh (judging from the usual
interpretations of his name) and had married a Hebrew wife, BATH-SHEBA (which
see). David's sin with this woman occurred while Uriah was engaged in warfare,
and David had him recalled to Jerusalem in order to hide what had transpired.
Uriah, however, felt himself bound by the consecration of a soldier (compare 1
Samuel 21:5 ; Deuteronomy 23:10 f) and refused to do violence to his religion,
so that David's ruse was in vain. (The point is missed here by speaking of Uriah's
"chivalrous determination," as in HDB, IV, 837.) David, in desperation, wrote
Joab instructions that were virtually a command to have Uriah murdered, and these
instructions were duly carried out (2 Samuel 11:2 - 27). The inclusion of Uriah's
name in the list of the "mighty men" in 2 Samuel 23:39 parallel Chronicles 11:41
is proof of his reputation as a soldier, and the name is found also in 2 Samuel
12:9 , 10 , 15 ; 1 Kings 15:5 ; Matthew 1:6. On the occurrence in Matthew see
especially Heffern, JBL, XXXI, 69 (1912).
(2) A priest under Ahaz, who carried into effect the latter's commands to introduce
an Assyrian altar into the Temple and to use it for the sacrifices (2 Kings 16:10
- 16; see ALTAR). The same Uriah appears in Isaiah 8:2 as one of the two "faithful
witnesses" taken by Isaiah in the matter of Maher-shalal-hash-baz. This description
has seemed to many to conflict with Uriah's compliancy in obeying Ahaz, but it
must be remembered that
(a) "faithful witness" means simply "one whom
the people will believe," and
(b) the articles in the sanctuary were not held as immutably sacred in the time
of Ahaz as they were in later days. |
The omission of Uriah's name from the list in 1 Chronicles 6:10 - 14 is probably
without significance, as Chronicles records only nine names from Solomon to the
exile, showing that there must be many omissions. The corresponding list in Josephus,
Ant, X, viii, 6, contains 18 names, including Uriah's.
(3) A son of Shemaiah, of Kiriath-jearim, and a contemporary of Jeremiah. He was
a prophet, and his prophecy agreed with Jeremiah's in regards. Jehoiakim, roused
to anger, arrested him, even at the trouble of a pursuit into Egypt, put him to
death and desecrated his body (Jeremiah 20 - 23). The story is told partly in
order to show the greatness of Jeremiah's dangers, partly to bear record of the
goodness of AHIKAM (which see), Jeremiah's protector.
(4) A priest, the father of MEREMOTH (which see) (Ezra 8:33 ; Nehemiah 3:4 , 21
; 1 Esdras 8:62 ("Urias," the King James Version "Iri")).
(5) One of those on Ezra's right hand reading of the Law (Nehemiah 8:4 ; 1 Esdras
9:43 ("Urias")). Quite possibly identical with (4) above.
Burton Scott Easton
Tags:
bible commentary, bible reference, bible study, define, history of, husband of bathsheba, loyal soldier, sent into battle by david to be killed, uriah
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