2 Samuel 11 Footnotes

11:8-9 Uriah was on active military duty and devoted to the Lord. Service in battle was considered an act of service to the Lord, and David had required his men to refrain from sexual contact while on duty (1Sm 21:5; see Ex 19:15). Based on the example of Achan (Jos 7), Uriah knew that if even one soldier offended God by violating a divine guideline the whole army might be punished. To protect his fellow soldiers he ignored David’s suggestion that he sleep with his wife (“wash your feet” is a euphemism for intercourse).

11:21 Abimelech was the son of Gideon, also called Jerubbaal (Jdg 6:32; 9:1). To avoid pronouncing or writing the title of the Canaanite deity Baal (Ex 23:13), the author of 2 Samuel substituted the word bosheth (“shame, abomination”) as an element in Gideon’s alternate name.