A major turning point in the Book of Samuel is a tale that contrasts two men and their allegiances. On the one side is David. He has now traded the vagaries of the wandering warlord for the comforts of kingship. Rather than marching off to war with the rest of the nation, he tarries behind in Jerusalem – in what he presumes to be his bed of roses.

Over against this enthroned, and recumbent, figure stands Uriah the Hittite. A soldier of foreign descent, he demonstrates his belonging among the people of Israel first through his refusal to forsake his comrades in the field, and then later through his death in battle.

“It Is Good to Be the King”

This is not a story of military triumph, as we are used to reading in the accounts of David’s life. We don’t have here any veni, vidi, vici. This is instead a tale of lust and adultery: vidit, cupivit, tulit – “he saw, he desired, he took.”

It all begins with David’s siesta in the palace, after he had sent Israel off on a campaign of conquest. He arises from his couch, takes a stroll on his roof, looks down on the homes of other Israelites, and notices a “very beautiful” woman bathing. He knows she’s married to one of his soldiers on the front lines. Even so he has her brought to him, and he sleeps with her.