2 Samuel 11:3

Enquired after the woman. When the temptation arose, David did not resist it, but descended from the roof with the determination to bring the evil thoughts of his heart into action. It was the tempter who had suggested the sin, and David should have turned him aside with a “Get thee behind me, Satan” (Mark 8:33). Instead, he listened to the seducer, and obeyed the voice of Satan instead of the voice of God. If David had paused for a moment, if he had turned his thoughts upward to heaven to pray, if he had allowed his mind to engage itself with the responsibilities of his kingly office or given himself to the conduct of the affairs of state, the spell of the enemy would have been broken. The conduct of David in this instance is a sad commentary on what a most godly man may become when he forsakes the Lord, even for a moment. The experience is recorded as a lesson to others who might also be tempted. It is not God’s plan to cover up or excuse sin, even on the part of the greatest heroes or saints. David’s sin was followed by deep repentance and divine forgiveness; nevertheless its fruitage of evil overclouded all the remaining years of his life.

Eliam. Given as Ammiel in 1 Chron. 3:5. Eliam and Ammiel are actually the same name, with the two parts of the name transposed, as is frequently the case in Scripture. Compare Hananiah (1 Chron. 3:19) and Joanna (Luke 3:27), Jehoahaz and Ahaziah (2 Chron. 21:17; cf. 2 Chron. 22:1). If this Eliam is the same as the one mentioned in 2 Sam. 23:34, then Bath-sheba’s father was one of David’s “mighty men” at arms, and Bath-sheba was the granddaughter of Ahithophel, the well-known counselor of David and Absalom (2 Sam. 15:12, 31).

Uriah the Hittite. The name of Uriah, like that of Eliam, appears in the list of David’s greatest heroes (ch. 23:39). Everything indicates that Uriah was a brave soldier and a man of upright character. The Hittites as a people were warlike and brave. David’s offense was particularly grievous since Bath-sheba was a married woman and her husband was one of David’s most noble and trusted officers, a man of an alien race who had been brought in contact with the religion of the true God.