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BATHSHEBA
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RETURN TO HOME PAGE
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THE STORY OF BATHSHEBA
Bible Study Resource:
Women of the Old Testament
Bathsheba: wife of King David and mother of King Solomon
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ON THIS PAGE:
What the story is
about:
Bathsheba
and King David
The
Struggle for the Throne
Summary
Reigns of Saul, David and Solomon
Women's
Lives in the Era
Activities and
Focus Questions
Interesting
Websites
Activities and Focus Questions
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Bathsheba: Bat
'daughter of', sheba 'abundance, plenty'. The Book of Chronicles, written long
after she died, changed her name to Bathshua,
since sheba might link her with the sibitti, the
Seven Spirit Demons of Babylonian mythology, or the constellation of the
Seven Sisters, the Pleiades
- both important in the fertility cults. The
writer of Chronicles tried to distance Bathsheba from a connection with
them by calling her Bath-shua.
Solomon, Hebrew 'shelomoh', means ‘his replacement’,
perhaps referring to Bathsheba’s first baby who died soon after birth.
Uriah means ‘Yahweh is my light’.
David means ‘beloved’.
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The Nebra Disc, dating from about 1,600BC, the earliest image of the
Pleiades stars whose position in the sky at a certain time of
year signaled the beginning of the harvest
What the story is about:
Bathsheba was the beloved wife of King David and the most powerful woman during the period of
the monarchy. After his death she
occupied the most prestigious position a woman could hold, Queen
Mother. She took part in court intrigues and influenced political events
that gave the succession to her son Solomon. (See end
of this page for historical background to this story and information
about women's lives.)
The story of Bathsheba has
special significance for Christians. In the gospel of Matthew, four women
are included in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:2-17). Bathsheba is the
fourth of these women.
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The story of Bathsheba contains two different episodes in Jewish history:
1 Bathsheba and King David (2 Samuel 11:1-26, 12:15-25)
Bathsheba was seen by King David as she bathed, and subsequently became
pregnant to him. Her husband Uriah was murdered by David, and she then
married the King. Her baby died. She had a second son, who was called
Solomon.
2 The struggle for the throne (1 Kings 1:1-37, 2:10-25)
David lost his sexual potency and political clout in old age, and a
regency was arranged. In a palace coup, Bathsheba and her adviser Nathan
secured the throne for Solomon, even though there was an older, more
popular brother who was expected to succeed David. Solomon took the
throne, honored his mother, and was advised by her.
For a short version of Bathsheba's story, see BIBLE
MEN AND WOMEN: BATHSHEBA
For David, see BIBLE MEN
AND WOMEN: DAVID
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BATHSHEBA AND KING DAVID
(2 Samuel 11:1-26, 12:15-25)
Bathsheba was the
- beautiful grand-daughter of Ahitophel, shrewd military
and political counselor of David
- daughter of Eliam, a member of the
elite warrior group called The Thirty
- wife of Uriah, who was also
one of The Thirty and a high-ranking professional soldier.
Her father and husband were stationed at
Jerusalem, directly under the control of the king. They were David’s
personal bodyguards, his champions, renowned for their bravery. She was
thus a member of an elite warrior family, something like the wife of a
high-ranking samurai. Since her grandfather, father and husband
were close allies of David's, it is safe to assume that she and David had
already met before the famous scene where David sees her bathing.
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Ancient Greek armor of about the same period as Uriah,
and a Canaanite Bronze Age sword
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It happened late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was
walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof
a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to
inquire about the woman. It was reported “This is Bathsheba daughter of
Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite”. So David sent messengers to get
her, and she came to him, and he lay with her.’
Read 2 Samuel 11:2-4.
Bathsheba was most probably on the house's flat roof, a tented
area often used by the women of the family for a variety of tasks. To get
an idea of what this sort of house looked like, see the reconstructions of
biblical houses at BIBLE
ARCHITECTURE: HOUSING.
In this
case Bathsheba was washing herself after her menstrual period. The text
makes a point of this post-menstrual purification, to show she was not
carrying Uriah’s child, but was at the stage in her menstrual cycle when
she was likely to conceive.
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 King
David was on the roof terrace of the palace above, looking down - windows
of palaces were often screened by latticework (the mother of Sisera in
Judges 5:28 watched the road through a lattice, and a statue found in the
northern city of Ugarit shows a woman at a latticed window).
When David saw Bathsheba bathing he may have been screened from
sight by a lattice, so that she did not know he was there. Or she may have
been quite aware she was being watched. In any case, David saw her young
body and desired her. At the time, Bathsheba’s husband Uriah was away,
fighting with the army - something David knew.
Bathsheba was summoned to the palace. She went. Did she go willingly?
Feminist literature likes to think she was a victim taken to the palace
against her will, but the text gives a clue that she went willingly. The
sentence reads '...David sent messengers to get her, and she went....',
suggesting that, though young, she was ambitious and strong-willed enough
to seize her chance - even though it must have meant ignoring the pleas of
the other women of
Uriah's household.
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While she was at the palace she and David had sexual intercourse.
Afterwards, she returned to her home, and we hear no more until a few
months later, when she realized she was pregnant. She sent a message to David to tell
him, and
David responded by sending for Uriah. When the soldier-husband arrived in
Jerusalem and reported to David, the king told him to down to his home and wife. He hoped that Uriah would
make love to his wife, and that the child might be passed off as Uriah's.
‘But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the
servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.’
Read 2 Samuel 11:6-13.
Uriah seems to have known what was going on, and why he was summoned.
There were plenty of people to tell him - outraged family
members who had seen Bathsheba go to the palace, soldier-friends who had
watched her pass through the guard-house at the entrance of the palace -
the reconstruction of the gates at Gezer at BIBLE
ARCHAEOLOGY: WAR
shows the sort of gates Bathsheba had to pass through. Note the
compartments at the side of each gate. These provided shelter for guards
on duty, and she and David's messenger could not have passed through
without the soldiers seeing them. The events of that night would have been known to many people.
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But Uriah did not confront David with what he knew. Instead, he took
the line of passive resistance. He told David he would not break the rules
of soldiers on active service - ancient people believed that sexual
intercourse robbed a man of some of his physical strength, so during
active service soldiers were required to abstain from sexual intercourse.
Uriah would not visit his wife and have intercourse with her, since he was
still technically on active service.
Despite every inducement, Uriah stuck to this line of behavior, and David
found himself backed into a corner. Enraged, he secretly ordered that
Uriah be killed in battle. When, soon after Uriah had returned to the
army, he was sent into battle to storm the walls of a city. Under secret
instructions from their commander, the soldiers around him pulled back and left
Uriah alone,
so that he was cut down by the enemy.
‘When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made
lamentation for him.'
Did Bathsheba know that
David had arranged to have her husband killed? Did she mourn for the death of
a good man? Or was her mourning just pretence? It is impossible
to tell. The story of Bathsheba's seduction as we have it in the Bible was
edited by court story-tellers during the reign of her son Solomon, and doubtless
influenced by Bathsheba and her son. This is why
it is so hard to tell what really happened: we only know two things: what Bathsheba
wanted us to know, and what she was forced to concede because it was
already public knowledge.
With Uriah now dead, David married Bathsheba and she went to live in the
harem of the palace - a relatively small harem, since Israel at the time
was only an emerging power. The baby she was expecting died soon
after birth, but she had a second son whom she named Solomon, ‘his
replacement’ - a replacement for the baby who died, or for her
murdered husband? The choice of name is ambiguous.
Read 2 Samuel 11:14-27, 12:15-25.
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A room from the harem complex in Topkapi Palace,
Istanbul
The harem that Bathsheba lived in would have been
richly decorated
but much smaller than the one illustrated here
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THE STRUGGLE FOR THE THRONE
(1 Kings 1:1-37, 2:10-25)
Years passed, and Bathsheba and King David grew
older. We hear nothing about Bathsheba's life during these long years, and
know only that she lived in the royal harem and produced a number of
children to David.
Eventually, concerns arose about the king’s continuing virility -
in ancient Middle Eastern societies the sexual potency of the king was
closely linked with the state of the nation. If the king was no longer
able to have sexual relations, it was a bad omen for the well-being of the
country.
‘So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout all the territory
of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the
king. The girl was very beautiful.’
Read 1 Kings 1:1-37.
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'David's Promise',
Frederick Goodall
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When, despite her beauty, the king could not have
sexual relations with Abishag, it was considered time for a co-regency.
This meant that someone would rule alongside David, to help him. Most
people took it for granted that this co-regent would be the next
king. David’s oldest surviving son was Adonijah, a young man impatient for power.
Not waiting for David to die, he proclaimed himself king and was accepted
as such by many people. The text implies this was done without David's
knowledge. It was a palace coup.
Bathsheba and Solomon did not support him, because if Adonijah
became king they would almost certainly be killed. Solomon must also have
been seen as a contender for the throne, and in this particular grab
for power, the loser would die. But Bathsheba was not going to give
in without a struggle.
‘So Bathsheba went to the king in his room. She bowed and did
obeisance to the king, and the king said “What do you wish?” She said
to him “My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying:
Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne.
But now suddenly Adonijah has become king, though you, my lord the king,
do not know it”.’
Read 1 Kings 1:15-40.
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Working with her chief adviser Nathan, Bathsheba warned David what was
happening behind his back. In a brilliant speech, she made him suspicious
of Adonijah by describing the young man's support among the army. She told
him that almost alone among his children, Solomon remained loyal. She
appealed to his protective nature by telling him she feared for her own
life. And she astutely reminded David that he, not Adonijah, was king.
David roused himself from senility and swore to her that her son Solomon
would rule as king. He ordered this to be announced to all the people.
With the authority of a royal command and the backing of David's
well-disciplined mercenary troops, Bathsheba outmanoeuvred Adonijah in his
attempted coup d’etat and secured the throne for her own
son.
After David’s death Solomon became king and Bathsheba accepted the title
of Queen Mother - the most powerful position a woman could hold and the
first woman in the history of Israel to hold this title.
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The Throne of Tutankhamon
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 Solomon's
hold on the throne was not initially strong enough for him to kill his
half-brother outright, though this would have to be done
if Solomon was to have a firm grasp on power. So after he ascended the
throne, Solomon allowed his half-brother Adonijah to live - for the time
being. But the situation had to be resolved, and no-one knew this
better than Bathsheba. The text at this stage contains an episode that is,
at the very least, hard to believe.
Adonijah approached Bathsheba with an odd request: to help him get Abishag
as his wife.
On the surface, this seems a harmless thing to ask. But Abishag was considered one of David’s wives, and marriage to a widow of the
previous king was a way of making a claim on the throne. It is hard to
believe Adonijah would have made such a request, to Bathsheba of all
people. She knew only too well that Adonijah was very dangerous and could
never marry Abishag.
The whole episode seems to be an invented pretext to execute Adonijah.
Solomon may have been reluctant to do this (or have wished to appear so)
and it may have taken a public accusation of treason, made by Bathsheba,
to give him a reason for killing his half-brother.
‘So Bathsheba went to
King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. He rose to meet her,
and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a throne brought
for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right.’
Read 1 Kings 2:10-25.
Prodded into action by his mother, Solomon snuffed out the threat posed by
his half-brother by ordering his death. There was no trial, just a swift
execution. This is the last we hear of Bathsheba. Her son was secure on
the throne and her own position was safe. She could rest on her laurels.
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Summary
Bathsheba was capable, subtle, and gifted. She
produced a son, Solomon, whose wisdom and intellectual brilliance would be
known throughout history. Her son presided over a court famous for its
literature, culture, wealth, architectural achievements, and consolidation
of Israel as a nation-state. Bathsheba should receive a good share of the
credit for the fact that Solomon reigned at all.
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THE REIGNS OF SAUL, DAVID AND SOLOMON
The reigns of Saul, David and Solomon cover the period from about 1020BC
until about 922BC, ending with the death of Solomon. During these years Israel
experienced a brief period of independence from the great foreign
powers surrounding it.
Saul was the first leader of this period. He fought to gain independence
from the Philistines who had superior technology, fortified positions and better
organization, all of which gave them the edge over the Hebrew tribal
groups.
With the support of the prophet Samuel who gave him religious and
psychological backing, Saul was at first victorious.
However, he may have been mentally unstable and could not count on consistent
loyalty from his followers - the young David for one undermined Saul's
authority. Thus he was not able to gain a complete victory over the
Philistines, and in a battle with them Saul was defeated and
his favorite son Jonathan killed. Saul committed suicide.
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Canaan/Israel, as divided among the Twelve Tribes
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David, waiting in the wings,
took over as leader of the Israelite people. For a short version of
David's story, see BIBLE
PEOPLE: DAVID.
He was a subtle, brilliant and
unscrupulous
man: a military leader, poet, musician, schemer and diplomat. Much of his
reign was spent in fighting to gain territory and incorporate newly
acquired lands into the kingdom of Israel.
David used a combination of
military power and diplomacy to lessen the threat of the Philistines and
to take over Canaanite towns. At certain times in his reign he held the
territories of Ammon, Moab, Edom, west of the Jordan, and Damascus. He
made treaties with those regions he did not conquer.
The extension of territory demanded a control center and Jerusalem soon
replaced Hebron as the capital of David's kingdom. Here he established a
religious, political and military center, so that Jerusalem became the
unifying focus for the Israelites.
Under Solomon, son of Bathsheba and David, Israel became an
established kingdom, with a codified system of laws, a governing
bureaucracy, and extensive foreign connections. Trade was promoted,
mineral wealth was exploited, and the army was enlarged and modernized.
The notion of the ‘wisdom of Solomon’ probably arose from the
heightened intellectualism at the court of Solomon: literature, historical
chronicles and poetry flourished. We should thank the court recorders
for the stories from this period - but be aware of their bias as well.
The loose tribal confederation that had
governed the Jewish people since the original settlement in Canaan (by
Abraham and Sarah) was replaced by
- a centralized government located in Jerusalem, and
- a dynastic monarchy, kingship now passing from
father to son - previously it had been by popular acclamation.
For a short version of the life of Solomon, see BIBLE
MEN AND WOMEN: SOLOMON
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WOMEN’S LIVES IN THIS ERA
Before this, land ownership had been common at all economic levels.
Almost all family groups had owned some land. Now, however, ownership
was increasingly concentrated in the
hands of the royal family, nobles and priests. Peasant men and women
were often dispossessed of land their families had held for many
generations.
- Large estates, not smallholdings, became the norm
- Tenant faming became more and more common
- Day-laboring and short-term employment meant a
loss of financial security
- Slavery for debt became common.
The people most affected were those who were neither rich nor poor. This
large group was made up of peasant farming families who occupied a status
loosely equivalent to the lower middle-class in modern society. Land was
still the basis of wealth, and agriculture was still the mainstay of the
economy, but ordinary people who produced the nation's food were not
as well off as they had been. Their surplus output now supported a large,
non-producing population, including the army, the civil bureaucrats and
the official priesthood.
Jerusalem dominated the thinking and the government of Israel, and
inevitably small villages became less important. So the focus of
power moved away from the family unit, based in the village, towards the
public, urban sphere. This sphere was limited almost entirely to men. It
included
- the army, which became larger and more organized,
no longer a voluntary tribal militia
- the state bureaucracy which controlled tax,
legislation and administration
- the religious bureaucracy, including the
priesthood.
All of these were centered in Jerusalem and were limited to males. For the
first time, women found themselves having very little say in the public
life of the state.
For additional information on the lives of women
in the Bible, see the links to
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ACTIVITIES
AND FOCUS QUESTIONS
What Is Truth?
The story of Bathsheba as we have it was probably written for court
records during the reign of Solomon - when Bathsheba was still alive. It
is therefore biased in her favor, and omits any details or events that
might have cast her in a bad light, only including them if they were
common knowledge and could not be disputed.
Re-write Bathsheba's story from a different, less sympathetic perspective,
for example from the viewpoint of Uriah's sister, or Adonijah's mother.
Focus Questions
1. What are the most interesting moments in the story? Why do these
particular moments appeal to me?
2. In the story, who speaks and who listens? Who acts? Who gets what they
want? If you were in the story, which person would you want to be friends
with? Which person would you want to avoid?
3. What is God's interaction with the main characters? What does this tell
you about the narrator's image of God? Do you agree with this image?
4. What is happening on either side of the story, in the chapters before
and after it? Does this help you understand what is happening?
5. The narrator/editor has chosen to tell some things and leave other
things out. What has been left out of the story that you would like to
know?
6. Are the characteristics and actions of the people in the story still
present in the world? How is the story relevant to modern life, especially
your own?
Reconstruction of the
Temple of Solomon
Details of the Palace of Solomon where Bathsheba lived can be found in 1
Kings 7. As well as the throne room, it contained the royal apartments.
Here the harem lived in rooms surrounding an interior courtyard. It was a
magnificent building, decorated with costly Lebanese cedar, gold, bronze
and ivory.
The Temple of Solomon has completely vanished, but it is still possible to
estimate the details of its construction. See BIBLE
TOP TEN: BUILDINGS
or BIBLE
ARCHITECTURE: JERUSALEM
for images and information. Also look at
· the description given in 1 Kings 5, 6 and the end
section of 7
· archaeological remains of temples built in
surrounding cities
· modern reconstructions of the Temple.
Using this information
· write a full description of the Temple, or
· make a detailed drawing of it, or
· build a scale model of it.
Your presentation should include information on
· its dimensions and measurements
· the types of building materials used
· possible decoration
· different areas and what they were used for
· the constraints the architects/builders had to
deal with, for example, site, building materials, and purpose of the
building.
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A modern reconstruction of the
interior of Solomon's
Temple.
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Royal Women in Ancient Times
Research the lives of royal women in the empires and kingdoms of the
ancient Middle East and Mediterranean area, including:
· their influence and position at court - how did they go about
getting what they wanted?
· their daily lives - how did they display their power and status?
see, for example, the jewelry they wore, at
BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY:
JEWELRY
· their likely interests
· their role in religion ritual
How was the life of a royal wife in the Egyptian court
different from Bathsheba’s life?
Design a poster that compares details of the court life of Bathsheba with
similar royal wives in other courts throughout the ancient world.
______________________________________________________________
INTERESTING
SITES - stories, pictures, reconstructions
KING
IN SEX ROMP WITH NAKED WOMAN!!!
BIBLE PEOPLE:
BATHSHEBA
KING
DAVID - THE FLAWED HERO
BIBLE PEOPLE: DAVID
BATHING
ON THE ROOF - HOUSES IN ANCIENT ISRAEL
BIBLE
ARCHITECTURE: HOUSING
WAR
IN ANCIENT ISRAEL - BATHSHEBA WAS FROM A WARRIOR FAMILY
BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: WAR
WISE
KING? FOOLISH MAN? SOLOMON'S STORY
BIBLE PEOPLE: SOLOMON
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Bathsheba - Bible Woman - Women of
the Old Testament Bible Study Resource
Bathsheba, wife of King David and mother of King Solomon
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