Alternative Views of Bathsheba in the David and Bathsheba Story

Review of the previous post

The previous post, post number 21 of 23, discusses how both David and Bathsheba paid a price for the transgression.

Preview of this post

This post, post number 22 of 23, discusses how Bathsheba’s proactive participation in this event as well as later events changed the course of history.

Bathsheba as a proactive woman

As discussed in the series  “An Alternative View of the David and Bathsheba Story,” Bathsheba was at least a co-conspirator and perhaps was the driver of the entire episode. Bathsheba’s courage in her advocacy for her son, Solomon, to be David’s successor could be viewed as changing the course of the kingdom’s history. This advocacy required great courage and cunning (she had to use Nathan and devise a plot to attain the objective) as David’s remaining son, Adonijah, was planning on being the successor. Had Bathsheba not succeeded in her bold and decisive endeavor of confronting David, who knows who would have succeeded David and what the consequences might have been. The country could have been thrown into a state of instability, political chaos, or even civil war had David succumbed to an impulse to appoint Adonijah (who was leading an insurrection against David) instead of Solomon.  When David agreed with Bathsheba, she was elevated to an equal with the great King David and became his ally and equal in placing Solomon on the throne. By being instrumental in bringing Solomon to the throne, the agreement between David and Bathsheba could be said to be the keystone in the beginning of Israel’s golden age. Even after Solomon ascended to the throne, Bathsheba plotted to have Adonijah removed from the scene by requesting that Solomon grant Adonijah David’s last concubine, Abishag (which would be a clear challenge to Solomon’s authority) so Solomon would have Adonijah killed thereby removing the last vestige of any challenge to Solomon’s right to the throne^[1]. Bathsheba could thus be viewed as having an important say in the history of the kingdom, perhaps even in saving the country. Certainly, she was no wallflower during David’s reign. However, like most other women in the Bible, Bathsheba is really only known through the men who surrounded her.

Preview of the next post

The next post, post number 23 of 23, is the last post in this series and presents some thoughts on the meaning of this episode.

^[1] 1 Kings 2:12-25.