II Shmuel 11: A Millstone around your neck and a Millstone one your head

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi · Sep 17, 2026 · 3m

David and Batsheva is one of the more controversial stories in Tanach. Did David sin with Batsheva? Was Batsheva really divorced so it was not an affair? Did David really have Uriah killed for no reason or did Uriah deserve to be killed because he refused an order from the king? There are strong allegiances to each side of the debate. Chapter 11, and the absence of the full story from the book of Chronicles, does seem to indicate that whatever happened it was quite untoward.

Adding to the debate is a non-sequitur that appears in the middle of the story. David sends a message to Yoav to send…