Uriah

Uriah (meaning: the LORD is my light) is the name of several men in the Old Testament, the most significant being Uriah the Hittite. (1) Uriah the Hittite was a loyal soldier in David's army, one of the thirty mighty men (2 Sam. 23:39), and the husband of Bathsheba. After David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he arranged for Uriah to be placed at the front of the battle and abandoned so that he would be killed — a calculated murder that the prophet Nathan condemned as a grievous sin against God (2 Sam. 11–12). David's subsequent confession (Ps. 51) and the death of his infant son with Bathsheba are the consequences narrated in Scripture. Uriah appears in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt. 1:6) as a reminder of David's sin and God's grace.

(2) Urijah the high priest in the reign of Ahaz constructed an idolatrous altar on the king's order following a pattern seen in Damascus (2 Kings 16:10–16). (3) A prophet named Urijah son of Shemaiah was killed by Jehoiakim for prophesying against Jerusalem (Jer. 26:20–23). (4) A priest who assisted Ezra at the public reading of the law (Neh. 8:4).