Daily Archives: June 5, 2009

When it comes to David and Bathsheba, the majority of Biblical commentaries fall into one of two camps. Most despise the evil woman, a temptress who considered David’s godly character a challenge for her feminine talents. Others weep heavily for this poor young girl who became the victim of a sinful king’s unabated libido. Today we’re going to weigh the case of instigation. Was “the act” volitional on Bathsheba’s part? Did she invite the king’s interest? Or was this a royally-sanctioned rape? Did she have any choice in the matter? Who started it? And what difference does it make to us?

I’m going to make a couple stretches here, speculation you might expect from a legal prosecutor. I admit: most of these unfair assumptions are made toward Bathsheba. It’s not that I dislike her; I actually like her very much. It’s just that we don’t really know her. The poor woman is shrouded in missing details, while we know nearly everything about David. Bear with me while I state the case. It will all be brought into balance throughout our study together.

The Case Against Bathsheba:

She bathed on her roof. Naked. In the afternoon. Within plain sight of the king’s palace. If he could see her, she could probably see him. It’s not like they had one-way mirrors in Jerusalem back then; there were no tinted windows. Bathsheba might have known David was watching her bathe, yet she made no effort to dissuade his admiration. (The historian Josephus even notes it was a “cold” bath. I’m guessing that means her headlights were on.) Not exactly the behavior of a modest, devoted wife.

Did she protest at all? She didn’t refuse his guards when they came to get her from Uriah’s home. She didn’t protest when the king made his intentions clear. She didn’t tell anyone after she went home the next morning. Even when she realized she was pregnant, she didn’t tell her husband, her Read the rest of this entry →