Bathsheba

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=**Bathsheba**=

The daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. The name Bathsheba means “daughter of the oath”. It can also be associate with the Hebrew word for “seven” possibly “the daughter born on the seventh day.”1 = = =**Ancestry**=

Bathsheba was recognized not only by her husband’s name but also her father. Her father Eliam, was the son of Ahithophel of Gilo meaning she would be the granddaughter of David’s most trusted counselor.(2 Samuel 15:12) Not only was her father one of David’s best fighters but her husband was the most honored soldier in David’s army. = = =**Adultery**=

King David noticed a woman bathing from the roof of his palace (2 Samuel 11:2-10). He immediately sent a messenger to find out about the woman. The messenger reported the woman was “Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah.” Disregarding the relations, David brought Bathsheba into his palace and slept with her. She purified herself from her monthly uncleanness. Bathsheba conceived and sent word to David, saying she was pregnant. “Bathsheba’s purification has created exegetical problem by disregarding the ritual law regarding the purification process”2 “However it was more likely that the parenthetic note was intended to stress that it was the prime time for conception and that Uriah couldn’t have been the father of the child.”2 = = =**Solomon’s Promise**=

David and Bathsheba are co-conspirators in a political scheme to marry. Their nuptial agreement is similar to David’s other political marriages (1 Samuel 18:20-29, 2 Samuel 2:13-15). From this view Bathsheba may not be an innocent victim but a willing partner in the affair who wishes her own son to become David’s royal successor.1Bathsheba in 1 Kings 1 longs for her King to fulfill the oath to make Solomon king. She is seen as an important figure in the cruel political world surrounding her son Solomon’s rise to power. The prophet Nathan is a prominent figure in persuading Bathsheba into forcing David to bring Adonijah down from the throne. David finally gives into the proposals in1 Kings 1:28-35 proclaiming Solomon “King”. = = =**Genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1)**=

“The one who had been Uriah’s wife” is a curious way to refer to Bathsheba.”3 Perhaps it draws attention to David’s sin in killing Uriah during battle. This encourages the fact that Bathsheba was a gentile since Uriah was a Hittite. With the mention of Bathsheba, Matthew has now included in Jesus genealogy the names of four women of which all were evidently Gentiles with corrupt pasts. This is a demonstration of grace being shown though a sinful, Gentile women among the Davidic Covenant.


 * 1) Gale A Yee, //The Anchor Bible Dictionary//, 1st ed. (New York: Doubleday, 1992) 628
 * 2) A. A Anderson, //2 Samuel// (Dallas, Tex: Word Books, 1989) 154
 * 3) Robert D Bergen, //1, 2 Samuel// (Nashville, Tenn: Broadman & Holman, 1996) 45

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