The Hebrew text again has the transition expression sometimes rendered “And it came to pass” (King James Version) at the beginning of this verse. But the beginning of a new paragraph is considered an adequate way to represent this term in many translations. Others use a word like “then” (An American Translation).

The text gives no indication as to whether the letter that David wrote was sealed. Nor do we know whether Uriah was able to read. But in any case it is very likely that it was sealed, and almost certain that Uriah did not read the letter that ensured his death after it had been delivered to Joab. Archaeological evidence suggests that a letter written in this time period was probably written on an ostracon, that is, a fragment of pottery.

Sent it by the hand of Uriah: some other ways of saying this are “made Uriah take it to him” or “gave it to Uriah to give to Joab.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .