What does this mean? It means that Bathsheba grew up around the palace of David. She was two years old, on our scheme, when David became king. Her father and grandfather were often at the palace. David knew them intimately. Did David bounce Bathsheba on his knee when she was a little girl? It is hard to imagine that he did not! Knowing David, I imagine he often got down on the floor and horsed around with the little kids of the court. I’ll bet David even burped Bathsheba on his shoulder when she was an infant. Boggs, Jean Sutherland, et al. (1988). Degas. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 0-87099-519-7 What did David say to her? We can only imagine, but I suppose it went like this: “Trust me. This isn’t wrong. I’m the king, after all.” And Bathsheba trusted him. After all, unlike the ordinary Israelite, David had lots of wives and concubines. (He wasn’t supposed to, of course, but he did.) Kings, Bathsheba knew, were different from ordinary people.

Bathsheba found herself pregnant. A deceitful David attempted to cover the sin. He invited Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, home for a time, hoping the man of great integrity would have relations with his wife. But Uriah, knowing his men, remained on the field and in battle conditions, refusing such luxury. As a result, David sinned further by penning instructions for Uriah’s “accidental” death on the battlefield. Zamboni, Paolo (2020). "The medical enigma of Rembrandt's Bathsheba". Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. 18 (6): 1268–1270. doi: 10.1111/jth.14801. PMID 32346960. S2CID 216646378. Gabriel, like Bathsheba, changes over the course of the novel as a result of tragedy. For him the tragedy happens rather early on when his dog runs his sheep—which represent his life’s savings and… It appears that Bathsheba willingly cooperated with David in adultery. There is nothing to indicate that she cried out, or rejected him in any way (2 Samuel 11:4). Are we authorized, however, to expect the Bible to record such a protest if she made it?a b Braithwaite, PA; Shugg, D (1983). "Rembrandt's Bathsheba: the dark shadow of the left breast". Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. 65 (5): 337–8. PMC 2494383. PMID 6351705. Could Bathsheba read? Did she have her own copy of the Torah to read? Doubtless not; few people bothered to learn to do so in the pre-Gutenberg world, and there surely weren’t a lot of copies of the Torah around. What she knew of spiritual matters came from men like David. If David said it was all right for her to sleep with him, she had no real reason to question him – or at least not much of one. Another event happened about this same time, which forms a second witness to our chronological suggestion: the rape of Tamar. We are told that Amnon and Absalom were born around the same time, after David became king at Hebron. Let us put their births when David was 31. Amnon must be old enough to have entered adolescence, and old enough to contemplate rape as a possibility, something unlikely in a boy only fifteen or sixteen years old. In David’s fiftieth year, Amnon would have been about nineteen.

One of the advantages of paying very close attention to the details in the Bible, especially chronological and genealogical details, is that they can shed light on situations that don’t seem to make much sense apart from them. One such situation is that of Bathsheba. A study of details leads us to the same kind of horror when we consider Uriah the Hittite. This man was a convert. He was also one of the thirty mighty men (2 Samuel 23:39). Like Eliam, he had been with David before David became king. He was one of David’s good friends and wartime buddies. The look of sorrow in the subject's face has been interpreted as evidence of Stoffels' illness and pregnancy (she gave birth to a daughter in October 1654), [27] Rembrandt's difficulties with the Church stemming from his cohabitation with Stoffels, and the artist's impending bankruptcy. [21] An alternative hypothesis for the model's identity has suggested that Stoffels' head was placed on the body of another model, [22] which is consistent with the result derived from x-rays that Bathsheba's head had been repainted.

Mathetes, Geiriadur Beiblaidd a Duwinyddol (1864); tudalen: 684; erthygl:Bathseba adalwyd 16 Awst 2020 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. In 2 Samuel 13 we find the rape of Tamar by Amnon. We are told explicitly of her protests, which only serve to highlight Amnon’s sin. At the same time, given the facts about Ahithophel and Eliam, we cannot put the seduction of Bathsheba early in David’s reign, or else she becomes too young. If we make her older, then Ahithophel becomes too old to be on the scene with Absalom. Thus, sometime close to the twentieth year of David’s reign becomes necessary for this sad event.

Mad About You", a song on Sting's 1991 album The Soul Cages, explores David's obsession with Bathsheba from David's perspective [43] The answer begins with the fact that Bathsheba was the granddaughter of one of David’s chief counsellors, Ahithophel. Her father, Eliam, was one of David’s thirty mighty men (2 Samuel 11:3 & 23:34). This suggests that Bathsheba was a lot younger than David. Bathsheba was the granddaughter of Ahithophel, David's famous counselor. The Aggadah states that Ahithophel was misled by his knowledge of astrology into believing himself destined to become king of Israel. He therefore induced Absalom to commit an unpardonable crime ( 2 Sam. 16:21), which sooner or later would have brought with it, according to Jewish law, the penalty of death; the motive for this advice being to remove Absalom, and thus to make a way for himself to the throne. His astrological information had been, however, misunderstood by him; for in reality it only predicted that his granddaughter, Bathsheba, the daughter of his son Eliam, would become queen. [13]

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 (Kimḥi 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. Many of us have felt the clutch of grief due to the loss of a loved one. It’s heavy, and boy, does it hurt. Bathsheba experienced the heaviness of grief as well—twice. She mourned for her husband, Uriah, as well as her child born from the adulterous affair with David. Both deaths occurred within a short timeframe. Most certainly, Bathsheba understood the clutch of grief. The father of Bathsheba was Eliam ("Ammiel" in 1 Chronicles 3:5). As this was also the name of a son of Ahithophel, one of David's heroes ( 2 Samuel 23:34), perhaps Bathsheba was a granddaughter of Ahithophel and that the latter's desertion of David at the time of Absalom's rebellion was in revenge for David's conduct toward Bathsheba. [27]