Far from the Madding Crowd a frugal life, and a loan, he has leased and stocked a sheep farm. He falls in love with a newcomer eight years his junior, Bathsheba Everdene, a proud beauty who arrives to live with her aunt, Mrs. Hurst. Over time, Bathsheba and Gabriel grow to like each other well enough, and Bathsheba even saves his life once. However, when he makes her an unadorned offer of marriage, she refuses; she values her independence too much, and him too little. Feeling betrayed and embarrassed, Gabriel offers blunt protestations that only foster her haughtiness. After a few days, she moves to
Uriah the Hittite time, long enough for the original tumult and overwhelming emotional grief suffered by the survivors to have subsided, and by David's day, many residents of non-Israelite descent who followed the Israelite religion had come to be accepted as Israelites. It is likely this included Uriah, as his name in Hebrew means "God is my light". In addition, his status as an officer in the army and as one of David's "mighty men" would indicate acceptance within the ethnic community. The Talmud states two opinions as to who Uriah was. 1) He was a convert to Judaism. 2) He lived amongst