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拔示巴_百度百科

百度百科網(wǎng)頁新聞貼吧知道網(wǎng)盤圖片視頻地圖文庫資訊采購百科百度首頁登錄注冊進入詞條全站搜索幫助首頁秒懂百科特色百科知識專題加入百科百科團隊權(quán)威合作下載百科APP個人中心拔示巴播報討論上傳視頻古以色列聯(lián)合國大衛(wèi)王的妻子收藏查看我的收藏0有用+10拔示巴（Bathsheba），是《圣經(jīng)》中的一個重要的美女，她原來是大衛(wèi)下屬烏利亞的妻子。有一次大衛(wèi)在房頂上行走，看到拔示巴在裸體洗澡，他就愛上了美麗的拔示巴，誘奸拔示巴懷孕后，大衛(wèi)借故殺死了拔示巴的丈夫烏利亞。上帝懲罰大衛(wèi)，刀劍永遠不離開他的家并殺死了他們通奸而生的長子。在拔示巴成為了大衛(wèi)的妃嬪后，又為大衛(wèi)生了一個孩子，他們的孩子就是著名的所羅門王。中文名拔示巴外文名Bathsheba國????籍以色列職????業(yè)王后主要成就通奸大衛(wèi)王，生下所羅門王，輔佐所羅門繼承王位前????夫烏利亞丈????夫大衛(wèi)王兒????子所羅門目錄1人物簡介2人物背景人物簡介播報編輯拔示巴收到大衛(wèi)的來信，Willem Drost繪拔示巴（希伯來語：?? ???）是《圣經(jīng)》中的人物，曾經(jīng)是烏利亞妻子后來成為大衛(wèi)王的妻子，也是所羅門的母親。人物背景播報編輯沐浴的拔示巴林布蘭繪, 1654.拔示巴是以連的女兒（撒母耳記下11章3節(jié)）；但是根據(jù)歷代志上3章5節(jié)，她的父親名叫亞米利。她先成為赫梯人烏利亞的妻子，后來又嫁給了大衛(wèi)王，并與后者生下了兒子所羅門。一些學者斷定，她的父親以連就是撒母耳記下23章34節(jié)提到的30勇士中基羅人亞希多弗的兒子以連。大衛(wèi)誘惑拔示巴的故事，記載在撒母耳記下11章以及下列各章，在歷代志中省略了該段。一天，大衛(wèi)王在王宮的平頂上游行，看見赫梯人烏利亞的妻子拔示巴正在沐浴。大衛(wèi)立刻渴望得到她，并與她通奸，使她懷孕。大衛(wèi)為了掩蓋自己的罪行，將正在前方作戰(zhàn)的烏利亞從軍中召集回來，希望烏利亞與拔示巴同房，如此他就可以不被發(fā)現(xiàn)是這孩子的父親。但是，烏利亞不愿意違反古代以色列關(guān)于現(xiàn)役軍人的規(guī)定，沒有回家住宿，而是留在王宮軍隊中。拔示巴，讓-里奧·杰洛姆繪在讓烏利亞與拔示巴同房的再三努力歸于失敗之后，大衛(wèi)王寫信給他的將軍約押，信中命令約押派遣烏利亞作戰(zhàn)，然后在激烈的戰(zhàn)斗中將他拋棄，使他死在敵人手中。大衛(wèi)于是派遣不知情的烏利亞本人帶去了這封葬送他性命的信件。烏利亞陣亡后，大衛(wèi)將孀居的拔示巴娶為妻室。根據(jù)撒母耳記的記載，大衛(wèi)的舉動使耶和華感到不悅，差遣先知拿單來責備大衛(wèi)王。先知拿單向大衛(wèi)講了一個富人取走貧窮鄰居所珍愛的的羊羔的比喻（撒母耳記下12章1-6節(jié)），激起大衛(wèi)對那人邪惡行徑的惱怒，這時先知拿單指出，這個比喻正可以應用于大衛(wèi)本人與拔示巴的行為。大衛(wèi)立刻為自己的罪懺悔，表達了真摯的悔改。拔示巴與大衛(wèi)的孩子罹患嚴重的疾病，出生后數(shù)日就夭折。大衛(wèi)王在嬰孩生病期間一直禁食，為嬰孩迫切祈禱。當嬰孩夭折時，大衛(wèi)則將此作為懲罰，接受了現(xiàn)實。拔示巴此外，先知拿單的預言還說到，由于這次謀殺，大衛(wèi)的家族將被混亂所折磨。數(shù)年后，大衛(wèi)的愛子之一押沙龍，發(fā)動了一次叛亂，使王國陷于內(nèi)戰(zhàn)。此外，為了證明新國王的權(quán)利，押沙龍在眾人面前公開與他父親的看守宮殿的十位妃嬪親近。押沙龍戰(zhàn)敗后，大衛(wèi) 王來到耶路撒冷，進了宮殿，就把從前留下看守宮殿的十個妃嬪禁閉在冷宮，養(yǎng)活她們，不與她們親近。她們?nèi)缤褘D被禁，直到死的日子?！度瞿付浵?20:3 》在大衛(wèi)年老時，拔示巴保護了她兒子所羅門的王位繼承權(quán)，取代大衛(wèi)幸存的長子亞多尼雅。在馬太福音1章6節(jié)，大衛(wèi)從烏利亞的妻子生所羅門和大衛(wèi)被列在耶穌的先祖之中。拔示巴是大衛(wèi)著名的謀士亞希多弗的孫女。根據(jù)《米德拉什》的描述，是撒旦的介入，制造了日后大衛(wèi)與拔示巴罪孽深重的關(guān)系：某日拔示巴在家中頂樓沐浴，或許藉屏風隱私。不料，撒旦偽裝成一只飛鳥而至，大衛(wèi)向它射擊，擊中了屏風，致使屏風毀損而在無意間瞥見了拔示巴優(yōu)美的胴體（Sanhedrin 107a）。新手上路成長任務編輯入門編輯規(guī)則本人編輯我有疑問內(nèi)容質(zhì)疑在線客服官方貼吧意見反饋投訴建議舉報不良信息未通過詞條申訴投訴侵權(quán)信息封禁查詢與解封?2024?Baidu?使用百度前必讀?|?百科協(xié)議?|?隱私政策?|?百度百科合作平臺?|?京ICP證030173號?京公網(wǎng)安備110000020000

Bathsheba | Description & Biblical Account | Britannica

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What Do We Know About Bathsheba in the Bible?

The story of Bathsheba in the Bible is often eclipsed by the story of David. Bathsheba’s story has drawn, however, hers is a story of redemption. Let’s look at the story from Bathsheba’s view instead of David’s.

Danielle Bernock

Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Updated

Sep 12, 2023

Bathsheba's story in the Bible is marked by a complex interplay of power, sin, repentance, and redemption. The first time Bathsheba’s name is mentioned in the Bible is in 2 Samuel 11:3. The man whom King David sent to find out about her identified her as, “Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite” (2 Samuel 11:3). The prior verse says while she was bathing, the king was walking around on the roof of the palace and saw her. Next thing she knew, messengers from the king were at her house to take her to the palace.We will answer specific questions that many have about what happened to Bathsheba but for in brief summary: ?One day, David saw Bathsheba bathing and was overcome with lust. He had her brought to him and they slept together. Bathsheba later became pregnant. David tried to cover up his sin by sending Uriah back to the battlefield, hoping that he would be killed. However, Uriah refused to go home and sleep with his wife, knowing that it would be considered unfaithfulness to his comrades who were still fighting. David then had Uriah put in the front line of battle, where he was killed. Bathsheba mourned the death of her husband, but she eventually married David. They had a son together, Solomon. However, David's sin was not forgotten by God. The first child that Bathsheba bore to David died, and David was punished for his adultery and murder.Bathsheba Was TakenBathsheba’s husband, one of the King’s “Mighty Men” was away at war. It’s plausible she thought King David wanted to speak with her about her husband, Uriah. Maybe he was injured. Or perhaps the king had news about her father Eliam, also one of the king’s “Mighty Men.” Still, she might have thought it could be about her grandfather Ahithophel, one of King David’s Chief Advisors. Surely, it must be about them because he cared about them.If these were her thoughts, she was sadly mistaken.Why Was Bathsheba Bathing and What Really Happened?David had her brought to the palace to sleep with her because he’d been watching her bathe and saw she was “very beautiful” (2 Samuel 11:2).This bathing was not your everyday bath, but a specific kind. Bathsheba had just finished her monthly cycle and was performing ceremonial bathing to be "cleansed from her uncleanness”(2 Samuel 11:4). Some suggest Bathsheba was seducing King David by bathing within his sight. But, really, she was only following the Law of Moses with this ceremonial cleansing.Did King David Rape Bathsheba?Some argue Bathsheba was complicit.“Perhaps out of loyalty to the ‘hero of the Old Testament’ contemporary evangelicals often speak of this story as more of ‘sordid affair’ which, while horrific and sinful, seems to most of us a lesser sin than the sin of rape,” The Gospel Coalition stated.But the Bible says David sent messengers who “took” her. This word (Strong’s 3947) in the original Hebrew means to seize, take captive, to be captured, etc. Bathsheba lived in a time when women were looked upon as property. She had no right to resist the King. Not when being taken from her home. Not when he wanted to have sex with her. Not when being sent back home immediately after.Bathsheba Was a Woman Who Suffered Greatly1. Bathsheba suffered the loss of her husband.?When Bathsheba found herself pregnant, she sent word to the king, likely in a panic. Not long after this, her husband was reported dead. It isn’t clear whether Bathsheba knew that David killed her husband or not. But whoever killed him, her husband was dead, and she was now a pregnant widow.Grieving the loss of her husband was likely augmented by the hormones raging from her pregnancy. In her devasted state, King David took her again, this time as his wife. There’s no evidence she had a choice. Her life as she knew it before her ceremonial bath was gone forever.

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2. She suffered the loss of her newborn baby.?After Bathsheba moved in with the king, perhaps she thought that would be the end of her sorrow. Sadly, it wasn’t. Her newborn baby died just seven days after the prophet Nathan rebuked King David (2 Samuel 12:1-23). We know from 2 Samuel 12:14 that David knew why the baby boy died. Did Bathsheba know why? The Bible doesn’t say. And if she knew it was because of David’s sin, because God held him responsible, how might that have made her feel?God Redeemed Bathsheba’s Pain1. God gave Bathsheba a son, Solomon.?The next verse after her baby died covers a nine-month period.“Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went into her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon” (2 Samuel 12:24).David’s actions may not seem like a comfort to Bathsheba at first. But perhaps he wanted to give her what she’d just lost. In Hebrew (Strong’s 5162), the word “comforted” means to pity, be sorry, to repent, and to avenge.She not only had another son, but God himself loved this child and told the prophet, Nathan, to name him Jedidiah, meaning “beloved by the LORD.” Bathsheba was given what many today call a "rainbow baby.”2. God included Bathsheba in the lineage of Christ.?There are five women listed in the genealogy of Jesus. Bathsheba is one of them, but she is the only one without a name. “…David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife” (Matthew 1:6).Her son, named Jedidiah by God but referred to as Solomon, is speculated as being King Lemuel, the writer of Proverbs 31. If King Solomon was King Lemuel, that would make Bathsheba the Proverbs 31 woman.Even if Bathsheba was not the honored woman in Proverbs 31, her son, the king, honored and respected her as detailed in 1 Kings 2:19: “So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king's mother, and she sat on his right.”Despite her difficult circumstances, Bathsheba remained faithful to God. She was a strong and courageous woman who played an important role in the history of Israel. She was the mother of Solomon, who became a great king, and she was also instrumental in ensuring that Solomon succeeded David to the throne.Bathsheba was a woman who endured much suffering and overcame.Sources1timothy4-13.com. “Uriah’s Wife.” Susan E. Todd.TheOrthodoxLife. “Bathsheba is the Virtuous Woman of Proverbs 3.” 2015.?iStock/Getty Images Plus/JadeThaiCatwalk

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Bathsheba: Bible

Rachel Adelman

Last updated

June 23, 2021

David's Promise to Bathsheba, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, 1642-43. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.?

In Brief

The biblical narratives featuring Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12; 1 Kings 1-2) entail adultery and bloodshed, prophetic rebuke and tragic consequences, and the breaking and making of the throne. From his roof, King David (reigns c. 1005–965?BCE) sees beautiful Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, bathing, and he lies with her. Uriah is summoned from the front to cover for the resulting pregnancy, but when he refuses to go home, the king has him slain in battle. David then marries the widowed Bathsheba, who bears a son. In response to the adultery and murder, the prophet curses David’s House, the first consequence being the death of the infant conceived in adultery. Yet Bathsheba ensures that their second son, Solomon (reigns c. 968–928?BCE), becomes successor to the throne.

Contents

1 ?Bathsheba’s First Appearance

2 ?The Consequences of the Adultery

3 ?The Birth of Solomon and the Making of a King

4?Bibliography

Bathsheba’s First Appearance

Rembrandt van Rijn, 1654, “Bathsheba with King David’s Letter”, Oil on Canvas (142?cm ×?142?cm (56?in ×?56?in), The Louvre, Paris

In the first scene of the Bathsheba narrative, David, who remains in the palace while his troops are deployed in war, spies a woman bathing from his rooftop after a late afternoon siesta. Set against the background of the siege of the Ammonite town, Rabbah (1 Sam 11:1; 12:26–31), the battle occasions Bathsheba’s husband Uriah’s absence from home and the adultery, his summons from the front to cover for the resultant pregnancy, and his eventual death. The contrast between David and Uriah implies a searing critique of the king’s power, when the corrupt king takes his loyal soldier’s wife to bed. Bathsheba is first introduced by name when the king sends messengers to enquire after the woman, who report: “Is this not Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?” (11:3). Her father and husband are both members of David’s elite vanguard (2 Sam 23:34, 39); her grandfather, Ahitophel, father of Eliam, is one of the king’s wisest counselors (who later betrays David in allying with Absalom, chs. 15–16). Despite her status as a married woman and the illustrious men with whom she is affiliated, David summons her for his pleasure (2 Sam 11:4–5):

So David sent messengers, and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her.

(she was purifying herself of her uncleanness). And she returned to her house.

The woman conceived; and she sent [word] to David, and said: “I am pregnant.”

Bathsheba’s role in these few terse lines reveals very little of her feeling or character. She plays an almost entirely passive role in this chapter and utters only three words (two in Hebrew). The parenthetical aside about her purifying herself may refer back to the roof bath as a ritual cleansing at the end of her period, which would affirm David’s paternity. Alternatively, the purification takes place after they lie together and alludes the ritual of cleansing following sexual relations (Lev 15:15-17). Yet Bathsheba cannot wash herself of the consequences, and a month or two later she is compelled to send word that she is pregnant. She alone carries the results of the tryst in her body.?

Did Bathsheba lie with the king willingly? Some readers suggest that she deliberately positions herself on the roof, bathing naked within David’s purview so that he would take her and make her one of his wives, and thus she would perhaps bear the future king. It seems, however, that he wants her only for that one time; she alone risks the death penalty for adultery, given her husband’s absence, the resulting pregnancy, and the king’s absolute power. Others suggest that she is raped, since she has no wherewithal to resists the king’s summons, though the language does not imply force. As the story unravels, the narrative seems to exonerate Bathsheba of any guilt and is exclusively concerned with the king’s degeneracy. While David has no intention of continuing the liaison, the pregnancy embroils him.

The Consequences of the Adultery

To David’s credit, he does not deny his role in the conception. In order to cover for his paternity and free Bathsheba from suspicion of adultery, he summons Uriah from the front to sleep with his wife. But the soldier repeatedly refuses to go to his house, swearing loyalty to the troops (2 Sam 11:11). David then sends him back to the front, with a letter to the general, Joab, to set Uriah up to be slain in battle. After hearing of Uriah’s death, Bathsheba laments over him (v. 26). David waits the requisite mourning period and then summons her to become his wife. She bears him a son, the progeny of their illicit union, yet “the thing was evil in the eyes of the LORD” (v. 27).?

Nathan, the prophet, is then sent to the king to rebuke him and awaken his conscience by way of a parable. Though David confesses and repents, he suffers the consequences of his sins: the sword will never leave his house and another man will possess his wives in public (2 Sam 12:11–12; see 16:21–22). Post-haste, the doom-toll plays itself out, first with the illness and death of the infant son (12:15–20); then the incestuous rape of David’s daughter, Tamar ?by Amnon, his firstborn son (13:1–22); and finally the murder of Amnon, by the next in line to the throne, Absalom (13:23–37), who stages an insurrection against his father, instigates a civil war, and is slain in battle. Indeed, justice is meted out tragically, the sons mirroring and amplifying the sins of the father.

While David’s elaborate mourning for the infant son is drawn out over several verses (2 Sam 12:15–23), we only hear of Bathsheba’s response when he turns to console her (v. 24). This is the one time she is identified as “his wife”; throughout the rest of the story, she is referred to as “wife of Uriah” (2 Sam 11:3, 22, 26; 12:9, 10, 15; cf. Matt 1:6). In these early scenes, Bathsheba is almost without agency—merely a married woman and the object of the king’s lust.

The Birth of Solomon and the Making of a King

Yet Bathsheba plays a more active role in guaranteeing that her second son becomes successor to the throne. She intimates his royal future by naming him “Solomon [Shlomoh]” (2 Sam 12:24), which suggests well-being or wholeness [shlm]. We see here an early alliance between Bathsheba and Nathan, the prophet, who gives the child a second name, “Jedidiyah [Yedidyah],” meaning “friend” or “beloved of God.” Indeed, this son will become heir to the crown and build the temple in Jerusalem (see 2 Sam 7:12–14).

In the opening chapters of the book of Kings, Bathsheba plays an active role to ensure that her son is designated heir to the throne. David, feeble with old age, does not know that his son, Adonijah, the presumptive heir, has set himself up as king. Nor does he “know” (in the biblical sense) the beautiful young woman, Abishag, who lies with him to keep him warm. Far from his former self, the king has declined into sexual and political impotence. Nathan then colludes with Bathsheba to “remind” David of his oath to her to make Solomon, their son, king (though no oath is recorded earlier in the biblical account). She follows the prophet’s script (1 Kgs 1:11–14) but adds God’s name to the oath: “My lord, you yourself swore by the LORD your God to your handmaid, saying: ‘Indeed Solomon your son shall reign as king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’” (v. 17). She then emphasizes the danger she and her son are in, given their exclusion from Adonijah’s alliance (v. 20). When Nathan corroborates her words, David, in turn, swears in the name of God and Israel to make Solomon king. ?

In yet another invocation of an oath, Bathsheba plays a pivotal role—either wittingly or unwittingly—in eliminating the rival brother, Adonijah son of Haggith. Again she plays the messenger to her son, the king, in requesting Abishag as wife on behalf of Adonijah (1 Kgs 2:13–25). Seeing the request as a bid for the throne, Solomon utters an oath to have his brother executed. As a consequence of her role in the succession narrative, her name “Bathsheba,” which might mean “daughter of abundance” or “daughter of seven,” takes on a whole new meaning as “woman of oath [bat-shvu‘a(chǎn)h].”? Given her contrasting roles—the earlier passive and opaque, the latter influential and perhaps conniving—we can read her story as either two very different characters or as a narrative of psychological transformation.

Bibliography

Adelman, Rachel. The Female Ruse: Women’s Deception and Divine Sanction in the Hebrew Bible. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2017.Berlin, Adele.?Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative.?Sheffield: Almond Press, 1983; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1994.Ehrlich, Carl, S., “Bathsheba the Kingmaker.” TheTorah.com (2020). Last UpdatedJanuary 6, 2021. https://thetorah.com/article/bathsheba-the-kingmaker.Exum, Cheryl J., Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993.Garsiel, Moshe. Biblical Names: A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and Puns. Translated by Phyllis Hackett. Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University Press, 1991.Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. Reading the Women of the Bible. New York: Schocken Books, 2002.Koenig, Sara, M. Isn’t This Bathsheba?: A Study in Characterization. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2011.Yee, Gale A. “’Fraught with Background’: Literary Ambiguity in II Samuel 11.” Interpretation 42 (1988): 240–53.

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How to cite this pageAdelman, Rachel. "Bathsheba: Bible." Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. 23 June 2021. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on March 8, 2024) .

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Bathsheba

Sara Koenig

Biblical Figures

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Did You Know?

Bathsheba’s name has nothing to do with her bathing: it means “daughter of abundance,” “daughter of seven,” or “daughter of an oath.”

In Chronicles, Bathsheba’s story is missing, and her name is changed to Bathshua, which has been translated as “daughter of wealth,” “daughter of a cry for help,” or “daughter of error” (1Chr 3:5).

Bathsheba is an Israelite, but because she was married to Uriah the Hittite, some interpreters thought that she was also a foreigner.

Bathsheba is one of the four women mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew, though she is not named but referred to as “the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

Because David “took” Bathsheba from Uriah, one of his punishments was that his wives would be “taken” by another and slept with out in the open; Absalom did this to David’s concubines (2Sam 16:22).

Bathsheba’s grandfather Ahithophel was the advisor for David’s son Absalom, when Absalom attempted a coup on his father’s throne.

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Bathsheba’s relatively short story is packed with scandal and intrigue. Bathsheba is bathing when David first sees her. Despite her being married, David sends for Bathsheba and has sex with her. She becomes pregnant, and after other attempts to cover up his misconduct, David commands that her husband Uriah be killed in battle. Bathsheba becomes David’s wife and bears his son. But Nathan the prophet confronts David about his sins, and God punishes David through the death of Bathsheba’s child. Bathsheba and David have a second child, Solomon, who succeeds his father as king, though he is not the oldest living son. The lack of details in Bathsheba’s story has resulted in her character being read in multiple ways.?

Why is Bathsheba interpreted in such different ways?

The chapters where Bathsheba appears are especially terse, even for biblical Hebrew narrative. Particularly in 2 Samuel, Bathsheba’s motives and emotions go undescribed when certain actions are narrated. The gaps in the text have been filled by interpreters who characterize her on the spectrum from passive victim to active seductress.?

Bathsheba’s first action is bathing, and many have understood her bath to be some sort of exhibitionist act to tempt and seduce David. In songs and art, Bathsheba bathes “on the roof” or naked in the open air. Second, 2Sam 11:4 says that Bathsheba comes to David when summoned. Those details could be related, Bathsheba bathing in the hopes that David would see her and send for her. Bathsheba’s third action in 2Sam 11 is to send a message to David announcing her pregnancy. Perhaps she wanted to have his child and be his queen. In 2Sam 11:26, Bathsheba laments Uriah’s death, but maybe those are crocodile tears.

Each one of these actions, however, can be read differently. The text specifies that her bath was an obligatory act of purification and clarifies that David—not Bathsheba—was on the roof. The story is set during the spring, when kings are at war, and even if Bathsheba were in a place in the line of sight of the palace, she could have expected that David was away (as was her husband, a soldier in David’s army). In the early Greek translation of the Bible, the clause in 2Sam 11:4 reads “he came to her,” such that all initiative in the sexual encounter is David’s. Moreover, David was the king; could any subject, especially a woman, reasonably refuse to come when summoned? She might send the message to hold David accountable, and her grief over Uriah’s death could be honest.

Does Bathsheba’s character change from 2 Samuel to 1 Kings?

As Bathsheba’s story continues in 1 Kings, she can still be interpreted in more than one way: as cunning queen or unwitting pawn of other men. In 1Kgs 1, at Nathan’s behest, Bathsheba reminds the aged David that he had promised that Solomon would be king. David then commands that Solomon be crowned king instead of Adonijah, the oldest son and rightful successor to the throne. Because David’s %%promise is nowhere narrated, some assume that Bathsheba opportunistically invents a backstory that enables her to become the royal mother. Others assume that Nathan initiated Solomon’s coronation, using Bathsheba—who does what Nathan tells her—to persuade David.

Adonijah asks Bathsheba to request that Solomon give Abishag (David’s former attendant) to him as a wife (1Kgs 2). She does, but Solomon interprets Adonijah’s request as a bid for the throne. Solomon not only refuses but has Adonijah killed. Bathsheba could be unaware of the implications of Adonijah’s request, foolishly agreeing to do what he asks. But it could also be that Bathsheba, the wise royal mother, knows that Adonijah’s request would give Solomon a reason to dispatch his rival for the throne.

After Bathsheba’s story ends, readers may reread its beginning in light of this new information about her and characterize her consistently throughout the narrative. Those who see the cunning and powerful woman help her son become the undisputed king see her wanting power in 2 Samuel, going so far as to seduce David. Alternatively, some readers see Bathsheba continually used by more powerful male characters in the story. Still another possibility is that the victim of events in 2 Samuel becomes the queen who makes things happen in 1 Kings. Either way, the character Bathsheba perplexes and intrigues.

Bibliography

Koenig, Sara M. Isn’t This Bathsheba? A Study in Characterization. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2011.

Exum, J. Cheryl. Plotted, Shot, and Painted: Cultural Representations of Biblical Women. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2012.

Aschkenasy, Nehama. Woman at the Window: Biblical Tales of Oppression and Escape. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1998.

Bach, Alice. Women, Seduction and Betrayal in Biblical Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

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Sara Koenig

Sara Koenig is associate professor of biblical studies at Seattle Pacific University. She is the author of Isn’t This Bathsheba? (Wipf & Stock, 2011). She also contributes regularly to workingpreacher.org and is currently working on a book about Bathsheba’s reception history for the University of South Carolina Press.

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USP

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BYO

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CCB

CCBT

ERV-ZH

CNVS

CNVT

CSBS

CSBT

CUVS

CUV

CUVMPS

CUVMPT

RCU17SS

RCU17TS

Update

David and Bathsheba11?In the spring,(A) at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab(B) out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army.(C) They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.(D) But David remained in Jerusalem. 2?One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof(E) of the palace. From the roof he saw(F) a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3?and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba,(G) the daughter of Eliam(H) and the wife of Uriah(I) the Hittite.” 4?Then David sent messengers to get her.(J) She came to him, and he slept(K) with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.)(L) Then she went back home. 5?The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” 6?So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah(M) the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7?When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8?Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.”(N) So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9?But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. 10?David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?” 11?Uriah said to David, “The ark(O) and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,[a] and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love(P) to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 12?Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13?At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home. 14?In the morning David wrote a letter(Q) to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15?In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down(R) and die.(S)” 16?So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17?When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. 18?Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19?He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20?the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21?Who killed Abimelek(T) son of Jerub-Besheth[b]? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall,(U) so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’” 22?The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23?The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24?Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.” 25?David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.” 26?When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27?After the time of mourning(V) was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased(W) the Lord. Nathan Rebukes David(X)12?The Lord sent Nathan(Y) to David.(Z) When he came to him,(AA) he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2?The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3?but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4?“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5?David(AB) burned with anger(AC) against the man(AD) and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives,(AE) the man who did this must die! 6?He must pay for that lamb four times over,(AF) because he did such a thing and had no pity.” 7?Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!(AG) This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed(AH) you(AI) king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8?I gave your master’s house to you,(AJ) and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9?Why did you despise(AK) the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down(AL) Uriah(AM) the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed(AN) him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10?Now, therefore, the sword(AO) will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11?“This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household(AP) I am going to bring calamity on you.(AQ) Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.(AR) 12?You did it in secret,(AS) but I will do this thing in broad daylight(AT) before all Israel.’” 13?Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned(AU) against the Lord.”Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away(AV) your sin.(AW) You are not going to die.(AX) 14?But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[c] the Lord,(AY) the son born to you will die.” 15?After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck(AZ) the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16?David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying(BA) in sackcloth[d] on the ground. 17?The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused,(BB) and he would not eat any food with them.(BC) 18?On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” 19?David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” 20?Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed,(BD) put on lotions and changed his clothes,(BE) he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. 21?His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept,(BF) but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!” 22?He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows?(BG) The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’(BH) 23?But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him,(BI) but he will not return to me.”(BJ) 24?Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba,(BK) and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon.(BL) The Lord loved him; 25?and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.[e](BM) 26?Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah(BN) of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. 27?Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28?Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.” 29?So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. 30?David took the crown(BO) from their king’s[f] head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent[g] of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31?and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.[h] David did this to all the Ammonite(BP) towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

Footnotes2 Samuel 11:11 Or staying at Sukkoth

2 Samuel 11:21 Also known as Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon)

2 Samuel 12:14 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text for the enemies of

2 Samuel 12:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text does not have in sackcloth.

2 Samuel 12:25 Jedidiah means loved by the Lord.

2 Samuel 12:30 Or from Milkom’s (that is, Molek’s)

2 Samuel 12:30 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms

2 Samuel 12:31 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.

Cross references2 Samuel 11:1 : 1Ki 20:22, 26

2 Samuel 11:1 : S 2Sa 2:18

2 Samuel 11:1 : 1Ch 20:1

2 Samuel 11:1 : S Dt 3:11

2 Samuel 11:2 : S Dt 22:8; S Jos 2:8

2 Samuel 11:2 : Mt 5:28

2 Samuel 11:3 : 1Ch 3:5

2 Samuel 11:3 : 2Sa 23:34

2 Samuel 11:3 : 2Sa 23:39

2 Samuel 11:4 : S Lev 20:10; Ps 51 Title; Jas 1:14-15

2 Samuel 11:4 : Dt 22:22

2 Samuel 11:4 : S Lev 15:25-30

2 Samuel 11:6 : 1Ch 11:41

2 Samuel 11:8 : S Ge 18:4

2 Samuel 11:11 : 2Sa 7:2

2 Samuel 11:11 : S 1Sa 21:5

2 Samuel 11:14 : 1Ki 21:8

2 Samuel 11:15 : ver 14-17; 2Sa 12:9

2 Samuel 11:15 : 2Sa 12:12

2 Samuel 11:21 : S Jdg 8:31

2 Samuel 11:21 : Jdg 9:50-54

2 Samuel 11:27 : Dt 34:8

2 Samuel 11:27 : 2Sa 12:9; Ps 51:4-5

2 Samuel 12:1 : 11:1; 12:29-31pp — 1Ch 20:1-3

2 Samuel 12:1 : S 2Sa 7:2

2 Samuel 12:1 : Ps 51 Title

2 Samuel 12:1 : 2Sa 14:4

2 Samuel 12:5 : 1Ki 20:40

2 Samuel 12:5 : S Ge 34:7

2 Samuel 12:5 : Ro 2:1

2 Samuel 12:5 : S 1Sa 14:39

2 Samuel 12:6 : Ex 22:1

2 Samuel 12:7 : 2Sa 14:13; Da 4:22

2 Samuel 12:7 : S 1Sa 2:35

2 Samuel 12:7 : 1Ki 20:42

2 Samuel 12:8 : S 2Sa 9:7

2 Samuel 12:9 : S Nu 15:31; S 1Sa 13:14

2 Samuel 12:9 : S 2Sa 11:15

2 Samuel 12:9 : 1Ki 15:5

2 Samuel 12:9 : Ps 26:9; 51:14

2 Samuel 12:10 : 2Sa 13:28; 18:14-15; 1Ki 2:25

2 Samuel 12:11 : 2Sa 16:11

2 Samuel 12:11 : Dt 28:30; 2Sa 16:21-22

2 Samuel 12:11 : S Dt 17:17

2 Samuel 12:12 : 2Sa 11:4-15

2 Samuel 12:12 : 2Sa 16:22

2 Samuel 12:13 : S Ge 13:13; S 20:6; S Nu 22:34

2 Samuel 12:13 : Ps 32:1-5; 51:1, 9; 103:12; Isa 43:25; 44:22; Zec 3:4, 9

2 Samuel 12:13 : Pr 28:13; Jer 2:35; Mic 7:18-19

2 Samuel 12:13 : Lev 20:10; 24:17

2 Samuel 12:14 : Isa 52:5; Ro 2:24

2 Samuel 12:15 : S 1Sa 25:38

2 Samuel 12:16 : Ps 5:7; 95:6

2 Samuel 12:17 : S Ge 37:35; S 1Sa 1:7

2 Samuel 12:17 : S 2Sa 3:35; Da 6:18

2 Samuel 12:20 : Mt 6:17

2 Samuel 12:20 : S Ge 41:14

2 Samuel 12:21 : Jdg 20:26

2 Samuel 12:22 : Jnh 3:9

2 Samuel 12:22 : Isa 38:1-5

2 Samuel 12:23 : Ge 37:35

2 Samuel 12:23 : S 1Sa 31:13; 2Sa 13:39; Job 7:10; 10:21

2 Samuel 12:24 : 1Ki 1:11

2 Samuel 12:24 : 1Ki 1:10; 1Ch 22:9; 28:5; Mt 1:6

2 Samuel 12:25 : Ne 13:26

2 Samuel 12:26 : S Dt 3:11

2 Samuel 12:30 : Est 8:15; Ps 21:3; 132:18

2 Samuel 12:31 : S 1Sa 14:47

2 Samuel 102 Samuel 13Next

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New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version?, NIV? Copyright ?1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.? Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright ? 2019 by Zondervan.

BATHSHEBA in the BIBLE: power behind the throne

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Vashti, discarded queen

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Hannah prayed for a son

Judith beheads Holofernes

Mary Magdalene, apostle

Mary, Jesus’ mother

Mary of Nazareth’s world

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Bathsheba (Heb. ???????????, in?1 Chron. 3:5 ???????????),?wife of David and mother of Solomon. Bathsheba was originally the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of David’s warriors. During the war against Rabbath-Ammon (II Sam. 11), David saw Bathsheba and ordered her brought to his palace. When David knew that she was pregnant by him, he attempted to return Uriah to his house (see II Sam. 11:6–13). Failing to do so, he sought and found a pretext to have Uriah killed in battle (11:14–27); he then married Bathsheba. The prophet Nathan rebuked David for this act (12:1–12), but subsequently took Bathsheba’s side and supported the enthronement of her son Solomon (I Kings 1:8ff.). She later agreed to present to Solomon Adonijah’s request for David’s concubine Abishag. In addition to Solomon, Bathsheba gave birth to at least three other sons, Shimea, Shobab, and Nathan (I Chron. 3:5). It seems that her first son, who died soon after his birth because of the sin of his father, is included in this list (II Sam. 12:13ff.).

According to II Samuel 11:3, Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam, and according to I Chronicles 3:5, she was the daughter of Ammiel, who the rabbis of the Talmud (Sanh. 69b) identify with Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite (II Sam. 23:34); hence the opinion of early commentators (Kim?i and Levi b. Gershom) and several recent scholars that the opposition of Ahithophel to David during the revolt of Absalom stemmed from his wish to avenge Uriah’s death. Others believe that these opinions are unacceptable, because, if indeed Eliam was the son of the famous Ahithophel, the Bible would not have failed to mention the fact. It is also difficult to believe that Ahithophel, if he was the grandfather of Bathsheba, would have taken part in such an action which would undoubtedly have endangered the position of his granddaughter and her son in the royal court. On the other hand, there is reason to suppose that Bathsheba was of a family that existed in Jerusalem before its conquest by David.

[Yehoshua M. Grintz]

In the Aggadah

If she was Ahithophel’s granddaughter, the prophecies which he believed foretold his own royal destiny, in fact applied to her (Sanh. 101b). Bathsheba was predestined for David; his sin was that he took her before the appointed time (Sanh. 107a). She was not guilty of adultery since it was the custom that soldiers going to war gave their wives bills of divorce which were to become valid should they fail to return and Uriah did fall in battle (Ket. 9b). She was a prophet in that she foresaw that her son would be the wisest of men. She is numbered among the 22 women of valor (Mid. Hag. to Gen. 23:1).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bright, Hist, 181, 188n., 189, 230; de Vaux, Anc Isr, index; M.Z. Segal, Sifrei Shemu’el (19642), 299, 326–7; S. Yeivin, Me?karim be-Toledot Yisrael ve-Ar?o (1960), 198–207, 230–1; Noth, Personennamen, 146–7. IN THE AGGADAH: Ginzberg, Legends, 4 (1947), 94–95, 103–4; 6 (1946), 256–7, 264–5.

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Bathsheba: Midrash and Aggadah

Tamar Kadari

David's Promise to Bathsheba, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, 1642-43. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.?

In Brief

As in the Bible, Bathsheba plays a secondary role in the midrashim about her husband, King David, and her son, King Solomon. Though her thoughts and feelings are never mentioned, she is never punished for her and David’s relationship, which implies that the rabbis viewed her as a righteous, guiltless woman. The rabbis further emphasize that God forgave David for his sin against Bathsheba’s husband Uriah, and endorsed David’s marriage to Bathsheba. During Solomon’s life, the rabbis portray Bathsheba as a positive influence on Solomon, rebuking him when he strayed from righteousness.

Contents

1 ?Bathsheba, A Fitting Wife for David

2 ?The Sin of David and Bathsheba

3 ?The Request for Pardon

4 ?The Sin Does Not Abate

5 ?Bathsheba and the Aged David

6 ?Bathsheba, Solomon’s Mother

7?Bibliography

Bathsheba is portrayed by the A type of non-halakhic literary activitiy of the Rabbis for interpreting non-legal material according to special principles of interpretation (hermeneutical rules).midrash as a modest woman who carefully observed the laws of family purity, but who found herself, without any conscious action on her part, in an adulterous affair with the king. The Rabbis are concerned with the causes and harsh consequences of David’s sin, but completely disregard Bathsheba’s desires or thoughts. Many dicta present David’s grief at the sin that he committed and the heavy price that this exacted. Bathsheba is not punished nor does she ask for forgiveness, thus indicating her guiltlessness in the eyes of the Rabbis. The midrashim repeatedly emphasize that God forgave David for his sin, and thereby endorse his marriage to Bathsheba. According to another homiletical approach, Bathsheba had been designated as David’s wife during the six days of Creation; the fact that her son Solomon continued the royal dynasty of the Davidic line cleared David and Bathsheba of any reproach.

The midrash also examines Bathsheba’s role as the mother of Solomon, the heir to the throne. Her standing did not diminish after David’s death, and she continued to educate her son, reproaching him for his unseemly behavior when he drank to excess and married the daughter of Pharaoh. The rabbis apply to Bathsheba the verse from the “Woman of Valor” poem (Prov. 31:22): “She makes covers for herself; her clothing is linen and purple,” since she bore Solomon, who was dressed in linen and purple, and ruled from one end of the world to the other (Midrash Mishlei 31:22).

Bathsheba, A Fitting Wife for David

According to the Rabbis Ecclesiastes 4:9 describes the marriage of David and Bathsheba: “Two are better than one.” Bathsheba was a fitting wife for David, and had been thus designated already in the week of Creation, but she came to him through suffering [resulting from sin]. Another approach concurs that she had been appointed for David during the six days of Creation, but “he enjoyed her as an unripe fruit,” that is, he married her before the proper time, when the fruit [the fig] was still unripe. He rather should have waited until she was ready for him, after the death of Uriah (BT Sanhedrin 107a). This exposition is based on a wordplay, since, in the Rabbinic period, bat sheva was the name of an especially fine type of fig (see Codification of basic Jewish Oral Law; edited and arranged by R. Judah ha-Nasi c. 200 C.E.Mishnah Ma’aserot 2:8).

The Sin of David and Bathsheba

The (Aramaic) A work containing a collection of tanna'itic beraitot, organized into a series of tractates each of which parallels a tractate of the Mishnah.Tosefta establishes that the Biblical account of the sin of David and Bathsheba is one of the passages that are not read in the public readings from the Torah she-bi-khetav: Lit. "the written Torah." The Bible; the Pentateuch; Tanakh (the Pentateuch, Prophets and Hagiographia)Torah and the Prophets (haftarot), nor are they rendered into the vernacular [i.e., Aramaic] before the public. Notwithstanding this, the teacher may read these verses in the usual manner in which he teaches verses of Scripture (T. Lit. "scroll." Designation of the five scrolls of the Bible (Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther). The Scroll of Esther is read on Purim from a parchment scroll.Megillah 3:38). The Tosefta apparently finds value in teaching the story, from which we can learn something, but deems a public airing unsuitable; it should rather be studied in the more intimate context of a teacher’s lessons to his pupils.

The midrash asserts that the affair of David and Bathsheba was a trial that David brought upon himself, and which he failed. David asked: “Master of the Universe! Why is it said [in prayer]: ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,’ but not ‘the God of David’?” God replied: “I put the Patriarchs to the test, and they withstood My trials, but I did not put you to the test” (BT Sanhedrin 107a–b). According to another tradition, David asks God: “Why is it said [in prayer] ‘the shield of Abraham,’ and not ‘the shield of David’?” To which God replied: “I put Abraham to ten tests, but I did not try you” (Midrash Tehillim [ed. Buber], 18:25). David said to Him: “Master of the Universe! ‘Probe me, O Lord, and try me’ (Ps. 26:2).” God responded: “I will try you, and I will grant you a boon that I did not afford them. I did not inform the Patriarchs with what I would try them, but you I tell that I will try you with a sexual matter.” When David heard how he would sin, he changed his night couch to a day couch (i.e., he engaged in intercourse during the day, so that he would be sated and not have sinful thoughts about any woman). It is therefore said (II Sam. 11:2): “Late one afternoon, David rose from his couch,” for it was then that he arose from intercourse. The Rabbis note that when he acted so, he forgot one fact: man has a small organ that when fed becomes hungry [and desires more], but when starved is satisfied (BT Sanhedrin 107a). His lying with his wives that day was of no avail, and so when he saw Bathsheba in the afternoon he nevertheless lusted after her.

The midrash portrays Bathsheba as a modest woman and relates how she washed her hair under a bucket, hidden from all. David was walking about on the roof when Satan came and appeared to him as a bird. David shot an arrow at the bird, but the bird flew away, and the arrow hit the bucket and broke it. Thus Bathsheba was revealed to David as she was bathing (BT Sanhedrin 107a). This exegesis is most likely based on Ps. 11:1–2 [which is attributed to David], that describes how the upright fall under the arrows of the wicked: “How can you say to me, ‘Take to the hills like a bird! For see, the wicked bend the bow, they set their arrow on the string to shoot from the shadows at the upright.’” In the midrashic tale, Satan embodies the wicked one, whose arrows ensnare the upright David and cause him to sin. An arrow striking home is a recurring motif in world literature, used to depict sudden and uncontrollable falling in love. Thus, David’s hitting the bucket behind which Bathsheba was concealed symbolizes his unbridled falling in love with her. His inability to hit his initial target (the bird) represents his inability to withstand the trial that he undertook.

The Rabbis assert that God punished David for the Bathsheba episode. David sealed his own fate when he said (II Sam. 12:6): “He shall pay for the lamb four times over,” and was penalized by the death of four of his children: the first child born to Bathsheba, Amnon, Tamar [who was raped], and Absalom. David also suffered personally as part of this divine recompense: he was afflicted with leprosy for six months, the Sanhedrin separated from him, and the Shekhinah (Divine Presence) departed from him (BT The Day of Atonement, which falls on the 10th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei and is devoted to prayer and fasting.Yoma 22b).

The midrash presents an event that preceded the David and Bathsheba episode and that revealed the former’s weakness. When Abigail, wife of Nabal the Carmelite, came to David clandestinely to plead for the lives of her family (I Sam. 25), David fell thrall to her beauty and could not overcome his lust, despite her being a married woman. Abigail took a resolute stand against David’s advances, thereby saving him from sin. Abigail told him (v. 31): “Do not let this be a cause of stumbling. When she said “this,” she prophetically foretold that he would stumble in another episode, that of Bathsheba (BT Megillah 14a-b). David had not yet ascended the throne in the encounter with Abigail, he was a man without possessions and was in flight from Saul, in danger of his life. Abigail was a woman of high station and power and therefore could resist him. In the David and Bathsheba episode, however, the balance of power was reversed. David was the all-powerful monarch, while Bathsheba was the wife of one of his subordinates and hence incapable of offering any resistance.

In contrast with the prevalent view that perceives David as sinning with Bathsheba, a contrary approach maintains that David was blameless and that whoever claims that he sinned is in error. The Lit. "teaching," "study," or "learning." A compilation of the commentary and discussions of the amora'im on the Mishnah. When not specified, "Talmud" refers to the Babylonian Talmud.Talmud relates that Rabbi Judah the Prince, who was descended from the Davidic line, sought to defend David: he argued that when Nathan the prophet reproached David, telling him (II Sam. 12:9): “Why then have you flouted the command of the Lord and done what displeases Him?”, he chastised him about something that he wanted to do, but did not commit. (David might have intended to sin, but his actions did not exceed the bounds of the The legal corpus of Jewish laws and observances as prescribed in the Torah and interpreted by rabbinic authorities, beginning with those of the Mishnah and Talmud.halakhah). David did not engage in adultery, because it was customary during the monarchy of the Davidic line for a man to write a conditional writ of divorce for his wife when he set out for war, which stipulated that, if he were to die in battle, his wife would be retroactively divorced from the time of his departure for the battlefield. This practice was meant to prevent women from becoming agunot (“chained” women barred from remarrying). Since Uriah had prepared such a writ of divorce for Bathsheba and he was killed in the fighting, Bathsheba was no longer a married woman when David had sexual relations with her. Furthermore, since Bathsheba was then unmarried, this act of intercourse constituted an act of marriage. Despite its unseemly nature, the act did not formally constitute a transgression. Nor did David commit any crime in the death of Uriah, since the latter was rebellious. He did not obey David when the king ordered him to go down to his house, but rather refused, arguing (II Sam. 11:11): “My master Joab and Your Majesty’s men are camped in the open,” and the mastery of another is not to be mentioned before the king. Uriah was deemed to be rebellious against David, a crime punishable by death, even without being tried before the Sanhedrin, as was the accepted procedure (BT SabbathShabbat 56a). The Talmud presents this attempt to exonerate David as tendentious, and seemingly criticizes the attempt to find him completely blameless, just as it shows that this advocacy comes from the circles of David’s descendants, who occupy the position of Nasi (Patriarch).

The Request for Pardon

The midrashim portray David’s great distress after he acknowledges his sin, which finds expression in the Psalms that he composed. David says (Ps. 17:3): “You have visited me at night, probed my mind, You have tested me and found nothing amiss [zamoti]; I determined that my mouth should not transgress”—if only a muzzle [zamam] had been put to my mouth, so that I would not request a trial and then fail it (BT Sanhedrin 107a).

David asks forgiveness of God, saying: “Master of the Universe! ‘Who can be aware of errors?’ [Ps. 19:13; i.e., exculpate me of my errors].” He [God] said to him: “You are forgiven.” He further asked: “‘Clear me of unperceived guilt’ [ibid.; i.e., of the sins I committed secretly, unperceived by others].” He said to him: “You are forgiven.” He [David] continued to request: “‘And from willful sins keep Your servant’ [ibid., v. 14; pardon me for the sins I committed willingly].” He said to him: “You are forgiven.” He [David] implored: “‘Let them not dominate me’—let the sages not speak disparagingly of me.” “He said to him: You are forgiven.” “‘Then shall I be clear of grave offense’ [ibid.], that they not write of my offense [that the episode of David and Bathsheba not be mentioned in Scripture].” God told him: “This is not possible.” He [David] implored Him: “Master of the Universe! Forgive me for that entire sin!” God said to him: “Your son Solomon will already write, in his wisdom [Prov. 6:28–29]: ‘Can a man walk on live coals without scorching his feet? It is the same with one who sleeps with his fellow’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.’” [This passage portrays the sin of adultery as a burn, whose marks are visible forever.] David asked: “Is there no remedy for this sin?” God answered him: “Accept upon yourself tribulations.” He accepted. David suffered for six months, the Shekhinah departed from him, and the Sanhedrin, which always convened in his presence, separated from him. After all this, he appealed to God: “Master of the Universe! pardon me for that iniquity.” He said to him: “You are forgiven.” David asked God for a sign [Ps. 86:17]: “‘Show me a sign of Your favor, that my enemies may see and be frustrated, because You, O Lord, have given me aid and comfort.’” God responded: “In your lifetime I will not proclaim that you have been forgiven, but I will do so during the lifetime of your son Solomon” (BT Sanhedrin 107a; see below, for the narrative of Solomon and the Temple gates).

The Rabbis relate that David observed many fasts to obtain divine forgiveness for this transgression, until his flesh was weakened and his blood no longer flowed freely, leading him to say [Ps. 35:15]: “But when I stumble, they gleefully gather; wretches gather against me, I know not why; they tear at me without end” (BT Sanhedrin 107a).

In the midrashic exposition of “Answer me when I call, O God, my vindicator! You freed me from distress” (Ps. 4:2), David attests that he was aggrieved for three things, and the Lord comforted him by assuring him of divine forgiveness: the Temple, the episode with Bathsheba, and the kingship of Solomon. In regard to the Temple, the Lord comforted him when he purchased the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, on which the Temple would be built, saying of it (I Chron. 22:1): “Here will be the House of the Lord.” Concerning the episode of David and Bathsheba, the Israelites spoke against David, saying: “Can it be that he captured the ewe [took Bathsheba], killed the shepherd [Uriah], and had Israel fall by the sword [when he sent the people, together with Uriah, against the Philistines], and yet he has salvation [pardon]?” God comforted him, and said [II Sam. 12:13]: “The Lord has remitted your sin; you shall not die.” As regards his heir and successor, the Israelites asked: “Did David think that his kingdom would sprout forth from Bathsheba’s son?” God provided solace, and said to him [I Chron. 22:9–10]: “But you will have a son […] Solomon will be his name […] and I will establish his throne of kingship over Israel forever” (Midrash Tehillim 4:2).

These midrashim, which present the request for forgiveness by David, who undertakes tribulations and mortifications, and is punished in diverse ways, clearly delineate the approach that David did, in fact, sin, but was eventually absolved.

The Sin Does Not Abate

Although God pardoned David for his sin with Bathsheba, people did not forget the matter, and it continued to haunt David, Bathsheba and their son Solomon all their lives. As for David, the midrash relates that when the four court-imposed types of execution were discussed in the Beit Midrash (house of study), the sages would interrupt their study and ask David: “What is the penalty for adultery?”, to which he would reply: “The adulterer is punished by strangulation, and he has a portion in the World to Come, but those who shame their fellow have no portion in the World to Come” (BT Sanhedrin 107a). David thereby alluded that when they publicly embarrassed him and reminded him of his transgression, they committed a sin much graver than his.

Bathsheba, as well, was the subject of slander, together with David. When David fled to Jerusalem in the wake of his son Absalom’s revolt, Bathsheba’s carriage preceded him. Shimei son of Gera witnessed this and “insulted [David] outrageously [nimrezet]” (I Kings 2:8). The Rabbis learn of the content of this curse from the word “nimrezet,” which they understand as an acrostic for all the curses that Shimei directed at David: no’ef (adulterer, for having taken Bathsheba); Moavi (Moabite, as a descendant of Ruth); rozeah (murderer, for killing Uriah); zorer (oppressor, for causing the deaths of Israelites); to’evah (abomination). A large portion of these curses describe the sins David committed in his taking of Bathsheba (Midrash Tehillim 3:3).

Speaking of Solomon’s difficulties ensuing from his origins, the midrash notes that he completed the labor of building the Temple on the first day of Marheshvan (I Kings 6:38). Despite the fact that all of the work was finished, the Temple remained locked for an additional twelve months. Everyone slandered Solomon, saying: “Is he not the son of Bathsheba? How can God have His Shekhinah rest within his handiwork?” God, however, delayed the opening of the gates, since he thought to include the rejoicing of the Temple in the month of Ethanim, that is the month of Tishrei (I Kings 8:2), in which Abraham had been born. Once the Temple was opened in the month of holidays, the sacrifices were offered, and the fire descended, God said, “Now the labor has been completed” (Pesikta Rabbati [ed. Friedmann (Ish-Shalom)], para. 6). According to another tradition, when Solomon built the Temple he sought to bring the Ark into the Holy of Holies, but the gates stuck to each other and he could not open them. He uttered twenty-four psalms, but his prayer was not answered. He said [Ps. 24: 7]: “O gates, lift up your heads! Up high, you everlasting doors, so the King of glory may come in!”, but he was not answered. He then said [v. 9]: “O gates, lift up your heads! Lift them up, you everlasting doors, so the King of glory may come in!”, but he was not answered. Once he mentioned his father’s name and said [II Chron. 6:42]: “O Lord God, do not reject Your anointed one; remember the loyalty of Your servant David,” he was immediately answered. At that moment the faces of David’s enemies turned as black as the bottom of a pot and all Israel knew that God had pardoned him for that sin (BT Sanhedrin 107a-b).

Bathsheba and the Aged David

When David was old and advanced in years, he was served by a beautiful young maiden named Abishag the Shunammite, whose task was to lie in his bosom and warm him, but the king was not intimate with her (I Kings 1:1–4). The midrash explains that Abishag was unwilling to remain in the problematic status of a maiden who was together with the king but without being wed to him, and she therefore demanded that David marry her. David refused, claiming that the king may not have many wives. Abishag did not accept this response, and countered the king’s argument with the saying: “When the thief has nothing to steal, he becomes peace-loving.” In other words, you are old and your vigor has waned, so you claim that I am forbidden to you. Abishag thereby alluded to the episode with Bathsheba, in which David did not hesitate to transgress the laws of the Torah, by engaging in intercourse with a married woman and causing her husband’s death. Now, however, when his desire has lessened, he presents himself as the guardian of the Torah’s laws. In order to prove to Abishag that this is not the case, David summons Bathsheba to him, in Abishag’s presence, and shows her that he still is sexually potent. The Rabbis relate that “at that time Bathsheba dried herself with thirteen cloths,” that is, they engaged in intercourse thirteen times, corresponding to the number of Hebrew words in I Kings 1:15: “So Bathsheba went in to the king in his chamber. The king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was waiting on the king.” David thus showed Abishag that the main reason for his refusal was his observance of the limits imposed on a king (BT Sanhedrin 22a).

Bathsheba, Solomon’s Mother

When Nathan the prophet told David of the future birth of Solomon, he said (I Chron. 22:9): “But you will have a son,” with “you will have” implying: “as a remedy for your sin” (Midrash Tehillim 4:2). According to the midrash, Solomon’s birth constituted the way in which the Lord informed David that his sin with Bathsheba had been forgiven, for Solomon—the son of Bathsheba—was chosen to rule after David (The interpretations and elaborations of the Mishnah by the amora'im in the academies of Erez Israel. Editing completed c. 500 C.E.Jerusalem Talmud Ta’anit 2:10, 65d).

Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam (II Sam. 11:3), whom the Rabbis identify with Eliam son of Ahitophel (II Sam. 23:34); consequently, Bathsheba was the granddaughter of Ahitophel (BT Sanhedrin 69b). When Ahitophel saw leprosy breaking out on his sexual organ, he thought that he would be king (and therefore joined Absalom in his revolt against David). Ahitophel, however, misinterpreted what he saw, which actually symbolized his granddaughter Bathsheba’s giving birth to Solomon, who would rule all Israel (BT Sanhedrin 101b).

Bathsheba retained her special standing after David’s death, as well. In the midrashic account of Solomon’s judgment of the harlots, Bathsheba sat to his left, and Ruth to his right (Sifrei Zuta on Numbers, 10:29). These two saw Solomon at his best, when he judged with wisdom, following which all the people acknowledged his wisdom and rule. (For the judgment of Solomon, see the entry: Two Prostitutes as Mothers).

As the midrash relates, Bathsheba continued to educate her son Solomon even after he became king. When he celebrated the inauguration of the Temple, he also celebrated his marriage to the daughter of Pharaoh. That night Solomon imbibed a great quantity of wine and enjoyed eighty (or three hundred) different dances before him by the daughter of Pharaoh. The following day he was to open the gates of the Temple, but he slept until the fourth hour of the day, and the keys were under his head. His mother came and chastised him (Lev. Rabbah 12:5). The content of her reproof was based on Prov. 31:1–9, the heading of which is: “The words of Lemuel, king of Massa, with which his mother admonished him.” Since the Book of Proverbs is attributed to Solomon, the Rabbis understood King Lemuel to be Solomon, and these verses describe the reproach by Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. One exegetical approach understands the words “with which his mother admonished him” [yisrato, literally, tortured him]” literally: according to this interpretation, Bathsheba tied Solomon to a pole in order to have him whipped, because of his drinking to excess (BT Sanhedrin 70b). According to another tradition, she took her shoes and slapped him with them here and there (Lev. Rabbah 12:5).

Another hermeneutical approach has her verbally reproaching him. She said to him [Prov. 31:2]: “No, my son! No, O son of my womb! No, O son of my vows!” “My son”—everyone knows that your father was God-fearing, now they will say that it was your mother who caused him to sin. Then she added: “O son of my womb”—all of the women in your father’s house did not see the king again after they became pregnant. I, however, pushed my way in, so that he would have relations with me during my pregnancy, and I had a son who is vigorous and fair-skinned [since intercourse at the end of pregnancy is beneficial for the fetus, and produces a better child]. She then said: “O son of my vows”—all the women of your father’s house took vows that they would bear a son worthy of becoming king. I, however, took vows that I would have a vigorous son, one filled with Torah and fit for prophecy (BT Sanhedrin 70b).

In another tradition, she tells him: “Your father married many women, and when Nathan the prophet came and informed him that one of his sons, who would be named Solomon, would inherit his kingdom, each of the wives said: ‘If I give birth to Solomon, I will offer all the sacrifices in the Torah.’ I, too, took such a vow, and now I stand with my sacrifices in my hand, and you sleep? ‘Do not give your strength to women, your vigor to those who destroy kings’ [Prov. 31:3]. My son, those of the Flood generation were kings, but because they were steeped in licentiousness, they were expunged from the world” (Lev. Rabbah 12:5). She told him [Prov. 31:4]: “Wine is not for kings, O Lemuel; not for kings to drink”—what have you to do with kings who drink wine, become intoxicated, and say: “What need have we of God?” “Nor any strong drink for princes” [ibid.]—you, to whom all the secrets of the world are revealed, you drink wine and become intoxicated? According to another interpretation, she told him: You, to whom all the princes of the world come, you drink wine and become intoxicated? The midrash states that in the end Solomon took his mother’s words to heart, and when he wrote the Book of Proverbs (30:2) he admitted the error of his excessive drinking (BT Sanhedrin 70b). Another exegesis maintains that Solomon became the wisest of men because Bathsheba reproached him and taught him how a king should conduct himself (Tanhuma, Shemot 1).

In her old age, Bathsheba continued to fill her role as the mother and educator of her children. Even when her son already sits on the throne, she does not spare him her criticism, and guides him in the behavior befitting his station. These midrashim illustrate just how far Bathsheba had come: from the wife of an army officer (Uriah), she had become the queen, who comported herself with honor and nobility. She had become cognizant of the trappings and pomp of royalty among the peoples of the world and knew where their unbridled behavior led. Even as queen she did not forget that she was subservient to God’s laws, a message that she sought to transmit to Solomon. Solomon owed his impressive achievements to the education he received from Bathsheba, and his wisdom and knowledge were renowned throughout the world.

Bibliography

Kalmin, Richard. “The Use of Midrash for Social History.” In Current Trends in the Study of Midrash. ed. Carol Bakhos. Brill: Boston, 2006, 133-159.

Karras, Ruth M. “David and Bathsheba: Masculine Sexuality in Medieval Judaism and Christianity.” In God’s Own Gender? Masculinities in World Religion. ed. Daniel Gerster and Michael Krüggeler. Baden-Baden: Ergon Verlag, 2018.

Koenig, Sarah M. Bathsheba Survives. South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2018.

Shimoff, Sandra R. “David and Bathsheba: The Political Function of Rabbinic Aggada.” Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Period 24, no. 2 (1993): 246-56.

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How to cite this pageKadari, Tamar. "Bathsheba: Midrash and Aggadah." Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. 31 December 1999. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on March 8, 2024) .

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10 Things to Know about the Story of David and Bathsheba

Sue Schlesman

Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Updated

Feb 25, 2021

The story of David and Bathsheba is not a love story or at least it didn't start that way. It is told in the book of 2 Samuel 11. Here’s the plot summary, and it’s spicy enough for any Netflix series: King David stays home when he’s supposed to go to war. He can’t sleep (maybe because he’s not fulfilling his purpose?), so he goes for a walk on the roof. He sees a beautiful woman bathing in the next house. He asks someone who she is (“She’s Bathsheba, married to Uriah, one of your elite fighting men”). He sends for her and has sexual relations with her, knowing it's wrong. She finds out she’s pregnant. David sends for Bathsheba’s husband to come home to try to cover up his sin. He talks to Uriah about the battle and sends him home so he’ll sleep with his wife and the affair will be hidden. But Uriah is a man of integrity (he doesn’t want to enjoy anything his fellow-soldiers can’t enjoy), so he sleeps outside the palace. David tries again the next night, this time getting Uriah drunk. Uriah still won’t go home.So David sends Uriah back to the front with a note for Joab, the general, to put Uriah in an exposed position where he’ll be killed—to make sure by pulling the other troops back and leaving him stranded. Joab does it. David has committed adultery and murder. After Bathsheba mourns for her deceased husband, David sends for and marries Bathsheba. The baby has been born and at least nine months have passed, but David has not repented. God sends Nathan the prophet to tell David a story about injustice, and David takes the bait. He’s angry hearing the story. Then Nathan reveals that the story is about David’s sin against Bathsheba and Uriah. Nathan predicts the baby’s death and that violence and abuse will continue in David’s family. David repents and worships. But Nathan’s prophecies still come true.For the full story of David and Bathsheba please read 2 Samuel 11 and for the full story of Nathan confronting David and the consequences of David's actions read 2 Samuel 12.?David and Bathsheba Bible Story - What Happened1. David raped Bathsheba and sent her home. This story is a classic example of a powerful man and a powerless woman. In an ancient kingdom, a king could kill anyone who disobeyed him. Bathsheba had no rights. Did she resist, beg, or comply? We don’t know. We only know that David could do whatever he wanted to do. When David asked about Bathsheba and found out she was married to one of his soldiers, he sent for her anyway, raped her, and then sent her back home. He wasn’t in love with her from what the text reveals. Bathsheba was disposable to David until a pregnancy threatened to expose his actions (rape and then murder) before the nation.

The Bible is clear that what David did was wrong and the Lord condemned him for his actions. The Bible does not say the rape was an act of violence (violent rape elsewhere in the Bible uses a different Hebrew word), it also does not say the sex was mutual, and it also does not say whether Bathsheba has any choice in the matter. We could refer to this rape as 'power rape,' meaning Bathsheba was not in a position to say no (even if she wanted to) when the king called for her and collected her with guards. Paul Carter, in his TGC article 'Did King David Rape Bathsheba?', quotes author Richard M. Davidson:"Just as intercourse between an adult and a minor, even a 'consenting' minor, is today termed 'statutory rape,' so the intercourse between David and his subject Bathsheba (even if Bathsheba, under the psychological pressure of one in power over her, acquiesced to the intercourse) is understood in biblical law, and so presented in this narrative, to be a case of rape—what today we call 'power rape,' and the victimizer, not the victim, is held accountable."1?2. David already had three wives before he married Bathsheba. David’s history suggests that he used many women to balance out his faults (lust, violence, and ego). He won King Saul’s daughter Michal for killing 400 Philistines and cutting off their foreskins. Not exactly romantic. (Actually, Saul promised David his older daughter Merab, hoping the Philistines would kill David. Saul reneged and gave him Michal instead because she was infatuated with David and Saul thought he could use her to get to David (1 Samuel 18:17-20). Later, Saul takes Michal away from David and marries her to another man, Paltiel. Next, David acquires Ahinoam as his wife, followed by Abigail, who impresses him with her wisdom and intelligence. Then when David ascends to the throne of Israel, David orders Michal to be taken from her new husband and children and brought back to the palace, apparently out of spite. Michal’s husband Paltiel trails behind her, weeping (2 Samuel 3:13-17). From that time forward, Michal despises David (2 Samuel 6:16).3. David stopped grooming integrity. A lack of integrity in one area always seeps into a lack of integrity in other areas. Integrity guards your heart, mind, emotions, and actions. David’s laziness in rooting out lust overlaps into a laziness of calling and purpose. He gets distracted by power, fame, and success. He only notices Bathsheba because he’s home when he’s supposed to be leading his troops. As king, his responsibility is to secure a peaceful nation. A warrior, David becomes king to establish and lead Israel as a God-fearing nation, unlike the surrounding nations. Like most of us, David must have grown tired of fighting spiritual and physical enemies. He began making poor decisions in areas of his life where he didn’t think it mattered. Eventually, all of his decisions were made poorly.4. God gave David many opportunities to resist temptation. In addition to David’s free will to stop his adulterous and murderous actions at any point, God also sent Nathan to confront David and remind him that God demanded his obedience. Nathan reminded David that his sin had removed God’s protection and blessing from his life. Even so, it wasn’t too late to ask for forgiveness and return to intimacy with the Father. God always opens pathways to repentance and freedom for us and provides escape routes for every temptation we encounter (1 Corinthians 10:13) If we ignore those, God will provide conviction when we sin (1 John 1:9). And David did repent before the Lord.?David and Bathsheba Lesson5. Repentance didn’t reverse the effects of David’s sin. When believers sin, they bring disgrace and contempt on God’s name; therefore, God punishes believers to bring them back into fellowship and to show the world that He does not excuse or accept sin. Nathan told David a few scary consequences of his sin: 1) His secret sin would be made public. 2) The baby born from David’s sin would die; the death would show unbelieving nations that God did not approve of David’s sin. 3) David’s actions would be repeated in his family for generations. (2 Samuel 12:11-12) Although David fasted and prayed for a week for his baby to survive, God did not answer his request. Instead, God gave David a second son (Solomon) later on—and this son becomes the next king of Israel (leap-frogging over his older brothers from other marriages).6. God restored David to intimate spiritual fellowship. David enjoys a beautiful relationship with God after his sin, writing many more Psalms of worship and thanksgiving. God removes David’s guilt and shame, but God does not remove the natural consequences that David’s sinful patterns produced. Confession and repentance not only makes our hearts whole again; it also resets our physical and emotional states. Psalm 32 relays how David’s sin and restoration affected him physically, psychologically, and spiritually. David’s confession in 2 Samuel 12:13 is beautiful and simple: “I have sinned against the Lord.” First and foremost, our sin is always against God, so it’s his forgiveness we must seek first.7. Bathsheba was a victim who suffered from multiple life-changing traumas in the same year. She was separated from her husband as a military wife, was taken advantage of by her king, grieved a murdered spouse, became pregnant with the king's baby, married the king becoming his fourth wife, and then lost her baby. Her future child(ren) would be raised within a context of sexual misconduct, manipulation, competition, cover-up, and violence just as Nathan predicted. But God blessed Bathsheba with her son Solomon who would become king after his father.8. David’s background influenced him.?David was an insignificant shepherd when God chose him. As the last of Jesse’s eight sons, Jesse thought David was unimportant, and his brothers thought he was an annoying pest (1 Samuel 16-17). But his pursuit of righteousness was a family trait. Many theologians believe that the Proverbs 31 woman, whom Solomon wrote about, was David’s great-grandmother Ruth (Ruth 4:21-22). David and Solomon would have grown up hearing the stories of God’s redemption of their family line through Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer. Twenty-eight generations later, Jesus was born as David’s descendant. Because of Ruth’s choices, David, Solomon, Joseph, and Jesus came through her line.9. David’s children repeated his sins. Nathan prophesied that David’s sin (metaphorically, “the sword”) would never depart from his family. David’s character influenced his children’s character. They watched his lust, self-indulgence, cover-ups, and sexual liaisons. Shortly after David’s affair with Bathsheba, David’s oldest son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar. David refused to discipline Amnon, so Tamar’s brother Absalom killed Amnon in revenge and fled to escape punishment (2 Samuel 13). In rebellion against his father, Absalom mounted a coup against David and briefly took the kingdom (2 Samuel 15-17). Eventually, Joab killed Absalom. Even Solomon was not exempt from David’s sin. In brokering peace and power for Israel among neighboring nations, Solomon acquired 1000 women. He married 700 women of noble birth and took 300 concubines. The women’s pagan backgrounds wooed Solomon away from truth and introduced Israel to idolatry. Our sins always affect future generations.10. God forgave David—and us—of any and all confessed sin. David’s passages of confession and repentance are some of the most-read and most encouraging Psalms in Scripture. Psalm 32 and 51 detail David’s journey to repentance. God in His grace restored David back to a healthy spiritual relationship with Him.?Cultural Application to David’s StoryAdultery is still sin. Today, it’s common to say that someone has fallen out of love, married the wrong person, found the right person, etc., but if either part of love affair is married to someone else, it’s wrong. (Exodus 20:14, 17)Integrity isn’t natural. Our sin nature gravitates toward selfishness and self-pleasure. Doing the right thing, regardless of circumstances, is true righteousness. God calls us to holiness, not convenience. (Galatians 5:16-21)Biblical parenting is counter-cultural. David’s culture accepted polygamy and sexual misconduct from men of power. God never did. David betrayed his parental responsibilities. He did not set a godly example, and he did not call his children to live godly lives. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)Guard your heart. David’s greatest attribute was being called “a man after God’s own heart.” While he pursued relationship with God, he at times neglected to guard it from his own sinful nature. (1 Samuel 13:14)Beware of power. We don’t have to look far to see that power corrupts. Politicians, mega-pastors, coaches, professional athletes, corporate leaders. Are they more prone to sexual sin than regular people? I don’t think so. But power and money makes us feel like we “deserve” certain indulgences we might not have without a position of power. Seek humility because it’s a proven weapon against the sins that come with power and prestige. (James 4:4-10)Reach out for help.?Women had little protection in the ancient world, although the Bible has always outlined rules for treating them justly. Incongruence happens when we ignore or disobey God’s laws. If you ever find yourself as a victim or a victimizer, please remember that God’s love is everlasting, and he is full of grace and mercy. The Holy Spirit is powerful enough to help you overcome trauma, guilt, or regret, but you might need professional help to navigate healing. Please reach out to a trusted pastor, counselor, therapist, or friend and share your struggles. As David’s life shows, nothing good comes of pretending a sin doesn’t exist. (Proverbs 11:14)Lean into God for forgiveness, comfort, and direction. You can lean into God’s calling for your life and let him use your circumstances to create good. If you have perpetrated crimes or taken advantage of others, you can confess your sins and change your habits. You can choose not to excuse or normalize your behavior. (1 John 1:9-10)David and Bathsheba's story is a traumatic one, but also one that God redeems. It stands as a clear warning to every leader, every spouse, and every believer who loves God and feels secure in their own perspectives. The story reveals the consequences of feeding secret lustful desires. Even a heart like David’s can be deceitful and wicked. The heart can fool any of us and destroy the best of us (Jeremiah 17:9). We must all be actively aware of the battle for our hearts (1 Peter 5:8-10) and respond accordingly, with the power of the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 6:10-18)Notes:1. Did King David Rape Bathsheba? A Case Study in Narrative Theology in Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 17/2 (Autumn 2006): 81–95. Article copyright ? 2006 by Richard M. Davidson.Sources:TheGospelCoalition.org, 'Did King David Rape Bathsheba?'ChristianityToday.com, 'Why It's Easier to Accept David as a Murderer Than a Rapist'Photo credit: ?GettyImages/SergioYoneda

Sue Schlesman is an author, teacher, podcaster, and church leader. With a Masters in Theology and Culture, Sue is active in teaching and writing about transformative faith. Her book Soulspeak: Praying Change into Unexpected Places won a Selah Award in 2020. Sue and her husband Shane co-host a podcast, Stress Test, which focuses on leadership health and tension.?This article is part of our People from the Bible Series featuring the most well-known historical names and figures from Scripture. We have compiled these articles to help you study those whom God chose to set before us as examples in His Word. May their lives and walks with God strengthen your faith and encourage your soul.4 Things You May Not Know About Abraham in the Bible 20 Facts You May Not Know About Moses from the Bible Who Was Mary Magdalene in the Bible? Who Were the 12 Disciples of Jesus? Who Was Isaiah & Why Was He Important?

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