Uriah the Hittite his feet," meaning to spend time at home and attend to his wife. Uriah refused, claiming a code of honor with his fellow warriors while they were in battle. It was common for warriors in preparation for battle to abstain from sex, as a practice of discipline. After Uriah repeatedly refused to see his wife Bathsheba, David sent him to his commanding officer Joab with a letter that ordered Joab to put Uriah on the front lines of the battle and have the other soldiers move away from him so that he would be killed by enemy soldiers. Despite Uriah's
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