The Story of Bathsheba
A Study of the Women in the Genealogy of Jesus
2 Samuel 11
Part 4
What we first notice about Bathsheba is that she is not mentioned by name in the genealogy of Jesus. However, we know it is Bathsheba as Matthew writes, “David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife.” There is little doubt that we are talking about Bathsheba, so why doesn’t Matthew record her name? Matthew may have felt she was an unrepentant adulteress and wanted to emphasize that she belonged to another man. He may also have emphasized that she was a foreigner by describing her as the wife of Uriah who was a Hittite.
The mystery that surrounds the story of Bathsheba and David is one that is never fully explained to us. From the story we can draw many different conclusions for motive, but we simply do not have the rest of the story. It is clear, however, that this story contains sin in the way of lust, adultery and murder.
Bathsheba came from a notable family of the upper classes. Her father was Eliam, one of the mighty men of David (2 Samuel 23:34) and her grandfather, Ahithophel, was one of David’s chief counselors (2 Samuel 15:12). Her husband was Uriah, the Hittite, the right hand man to Joab and another of David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:39). David knew this family.
One evening while Bathsheba was bathing, King David saw her from his rooftop; he lusted for her, sent for her, slept with her and impregnated her. This is all told in four short verses at the beginning of 2 Samuel 11:2–5. There has been a lot of speculation about the feelings and motivations of those two individuals, but no one knows the truth. One theory is that Bathsheba knew exactly what she was doing and shamelessly schemed her way into the royal palace. Another is that she was a victim of circumstances and although not seeming to resist, she was at the mercy of a King who demanded and took what he wanted. We don’t know if she resisted David, or was treated with violence and, therefore, had no choice in this situation.
David’s sin was not in seeing her, but choosing to keep his eyes on her. Because he was king and could take what he wanted, he allowed himself to indulge his desire. This act of sin had terrible ramifications for both David and Bathsheba. Because of her pregnancy, David schemed to have Uriah placed in the front of battle so that he would die and David could claim Bathsheba. He did all this after a feeble attempt to unite Uriah with Bathsheba so they could claim the child was her husband’s.
David and Bathsheba lost this child, but went on to have a loving marriage that produced four sons—Solomon, Nathan, Shimea and Shobab.
Questions
- Why do you think Bathsheba was bathing at night in the open? Did the fault lie with her or David? Cite Scripture to prove your point.
- What was the price that Bathsheba paid personally for her adultery?
- Why would Uriah not go to his wife when David brought him home? (Sam. 19:6–13)
- What do you learn of Bathsheba’s character in the Scripture? (See 2 Samuel 11:26, 1 Kings 1:15–17, 29–31, 1 Kings 2:19–20.
- Mary, the mother of Jesus, also descended from the line of Bathsheba. Which son is named as Mary’s ancestor (Luke 3:31)?
- God’s grace is greater than any of our failures. How did God’s grace prevail for Bathsheba?
- Think of a time when you judged someone without knowing the facts. How could you have acted differently?
- When have you been unjustly judged for something that people didn’t understand? How did that make you feel?
Digging Deeper
One commentator said that the bathing incident might not have been as wrong as it seems in this scripture. In the culture of that day it was common for women to either go to the public wells or in the case of Bathsheba, a private well, to wash themselves in the cool of the evening. Therefore, it was not out of the custom of her time. Also, part of the custom was that women draped a cloth over them when they bathed and Bathsheba may not have been naked. Finally, we are given no indication that Bathsheba knew that David was watching her. She would not have access to the King’s schedule and may have thought he was in battle with his men.
The Talmud Jewish oral law (Shabbos 56b) tells us that during wartime David’s troops could give their wives conditional divorces so that if they died their wives would be able to remarry. It is possible that Bathsheba could have been considered unmarried—a stretch, but possible.
