Uriah the Hittite As a result of this murder, David was rebuked by the prophet Nathan; furthermore, later turmoil in David's household and throughout the kingdom of Israel, including the death of Bathsheba's baby and the insurrection of prince Absalom, was believed to be the result of David's sins of adultery and murder. Based on the Biblical account, Uriah was probably of the ethnic Hittite minority resident in Israel that had lived in and around the region, "the Land of Canaan", since before the time of Abraham. The Hebrews, upon their entry into Canaan, had been commanded (Deuteronomy 20:16–17) to kill "anything that
Far from the Madding Crowd 50; Hardy extended the reference for the 1895 edition. The village of Puddletown, near Dorchester, is the inspiration for the novel's Weatherbury. Dorchester, in turn, inspired Hardy's Casterbridge. In "The Mayor of Casterbridge", Hardy briefly mentions two characters from "Far from the Madding Crowd" – Farmer Everdene and Farmer Boldwood, both in happier days. In 2003, the novel was listed at number 48 on the BBC's survey The Big Read. In 2007, the book finished 10th on the "Guardian"'s list of greatest love stories of all time. The novel was retold by author F.J. Campbell in "The Islanders", set in