2 Samuel 11:16
ESV
And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men.
NIV
So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were.
NASB
So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men.
CSB
When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were.
NLT
So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting.
KJV
And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
NKJV
So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men.
What does 2 Samuel 11:16 mean?
The most frequent practice for taking an enemy city during this era was siege warfare. An attacking army would surround a city, making it impossible for anyone to go in or out without being killed. Ideally, the attackers would not have to fight but simply wait for those inside the city to surrender when they ran out of water or food.Sometimes, though, a well-stocked city could hold out for far longer than their attackers wanted to wait. In those cases, the attacking army might start looking for ways to breach the walls at vulnerable spots. The defenders might come out to defend the city and keep the invaders from entering.
Joab is an excellent and experienced military commander. He knows the dangers of standing too close to a besieged city wall: in one infamous story, a commander ventured too close and had a millstone dropped on his head (Judges 9). Usually, the danger comes from archers.
When Joab reads the message that Uriah has brought from David, he must be confused. David tells him to put Uriah in the heaviest fighting, by the wall, and then pull back the surrounding soldiers. David wants Uriah dead, and he wants the Ammonites to do it (2 Samuel 11:14–15).
Joab doesn't know that while they were fighting, David got Uriah's wife pregnant. He doesn't know Uriah is completely innocent, but David is trying to hide his sin. He just knows what David has said to do, and so he does it. He sends Uriah into heavy fighting, leaves him without back-up, and lets the Ammonite archers kill him (2 Samuel 11:17–20).
