Bathsheba: Reclaiming Your Agency
Content Warning: sexual assault, abuse of power, pregnancy/child loss
Scripture
2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Kings 1-2
Literary
Genre
Historical narrative within the Hebrew Bible’s history books, focusing on the establishment of the monarchy and its successions before exile.
Author
The author is unknown, but it is likely more than one author. It was edited during the time of the split kingdoms and exile. So it is likely a compilation of accounts from prophets, priests, and/or court scribes.
Audience
The people of Israel and Judah are the key audience. This provides some of their history to ground them in exile, but it also provides a complex portrayal of their most celebrated king, the monarchy of Israel, and those who get caught up in the midst of it all, like Bathsheba.
Characters
- Bathsheba: Initially the wife of Uriah, becomes David's wife and Solomon's mother
- David: King of Israel, commits adultery with Bathsheba and arranges Uriah's death
- Uriah: Bathsheba's first husband, one of David's loyal soldiers
- Nathan: Prophet who confronts David about his sin
- Solomon: Son of David and Bathsheba, becomes king after David
- Adonijah: Another son of David who attempts to claim the throne
Themes
Voice and Silence
In the first part of the story, we don’t hear from Bathsheba at all. Her voice is gone, and she is there at the whim of David. This continues until the impotence of David (in which she is vocal for the first time) and death of David in 1 Kings (in which she becomes an advisor to David’s son, the king).
Power and Its Abuse
Though a part of perennial discourse, the text indicates that David, at the very least, misused his power — not only in “taking” Bathsheba but also in the murder of Uriah and its cover up. Nathan essentially accuses David of theft in his story. David is not innocent, and that is evident in how the story is constructed. In modern dynamics, we would say this kind of abuse of power within a sexual relationship would be considered sexual assault — though they didn’t have the same language and frameworks at the time of writing.
Redemption and Restoration
We often think about Bathsheba only in the context of David’s story. But when put together with the mention of her in 1 Kings, we see her full story arc. She is harmed and sinned against by one king and restored, honored, and influential under another. So we also see God at work in the life of a woman after the removal of an abusive influence in her life.
Women's Agency in Patriarchal Systems
Though Bathsheba was the victim of David, it does seem that she held some manner of influence — being able to establish her son as king when he was not the first in the line of succession. Within a male-dominated power structure, Bathsheba found a way to navigate the complex power structures and influence decisions amidst the patriarchy. It’s important here to note that Bathsheba’s livelihood as a woman is tied to the men in her life — husband and son. By navigating these structures and having her son on the throne, she was assured of being cared for by God.
The Faithfulness of a Foreigner
Throughout the story, David is frustrated by Bathsheba’s husband and his commitment to the rules and rituals — like abstinence during a campaign (which we see later in 1 Samuel to be the case), than David is. And it’s not just that the King is not following the rules of the military, but we also see him intervening in the mourning rituals of Bathsheba, by marrying her and laying with her. He does the same after she loses the child conceived by their encounter. In this way, he robs her of her agency to grieve twice.
Language
- "Sent and took": These verbs emphasizing David's abuse of power (2 Samuel 11:4)
- "Lying with": Euphemism for sexual relations, here in a context of power imbalance
- "My lord the king": Bathsheba's formal address to David, showing protocol and strategy, a way of Bathsheba using her limited influence to make a difference (1 Kings 1:17-21)
Lifetime
Monarchy in Israel
At this point, we are in the second and third generation of Israel’s monarchy. Because of the nature of its establishment by God in the narrative, the succession is chosen by God and not by blood or the people. So when we get to 1 Kings, that’s why there is a challenge because there is no specific procedure for choosing the next king. The kingdom has been split, allegiances are varied, and this young monarchy is not ready for all of that.
Women's Status in Ancient Israel
As a reminder, women were largely property and a way of forging alliances or accumulating power. They had little no influence of their own and few social rights, especially related to their bodies, sexuality, and marriage.
David’s Pacing
When David is on the roof of the palace, he is meant to be at war with his soldiers. The role of a king at the time was largely for military leadership. So this is one of the ways he shirks his duties as king, and yet, he does what his soldiers do when on the roof. He is restless, and he is prowling. The verb for him walking on the roof is used throughout 1 Samuel to talk about the movements of soldiers. He is a soldier at home, instead of the battlefield, and yet he continues to hunt like a soldier would. He is stalking prey.
Bath Rituals
Bathsheba's bathing was likely related to ritual purification after menstruation. The story is establishing a couple of things with this part of the narrative: a) she was pious by following the usual rituals and b) she was decidedly not pregnant before David took her.
Prophetic Role
Prophets like Nathan served as moral voices for Israel, and specifically in this case, to the king. He is the only one David seems to listen to when it comes to moral matters, and he may be the only one with authority for it.
Lenses
- Bathsheba is a survivor reclaiming her agency.
- The story is a critique of unchecked royal power.
- Bathsheba rose to have a role in shaping Israel's future through Solomon when her future was robbed by David.
- The narrative can serve as an exploration of justice, consequences, and restoration.
- Bathsheba is a model of strategic influence within patriarchal systems.
- Bathsheba’s story serves as a starting point for exploration of sexual ethics as well.
Woven Together
Bathsheba's journey from silenced victim to influential royal advisor powerfully illustrates the reclamation of voice and agency within oppressive systems. Initially robbed of choice and voice by King David's abuse of power, Bathsheba eventually regains her voice as his sexual prowess is quelled by impotence and uses it to secure her son’s spot on the throne — demonstrating her skill with words and diplomacy even within her cultural constraints.
As Queen Mother during Solomon's reign, Bathsheba's influence reaches its peak. Her position at the king's right hand and Solomon's respectful response underscore the restoration of her dignity and the power of her reclaimed voice. She uses this newfound influence not just for personal gain, but to shape the future of the nation.
Bathsheba's story challenges us to consider how silenced voices can be reclaimed and amplified. Her journey from silence to influential speech offers a model of resilience and hope. It reminds us that trauma doesn't define one's entire story, and that wisdom and positive influence can emerge from adversity … helping us to consider how those who have experience trauma can reclaim their stories and how we can challenge the systems and people that hurt them.
Conversation Starters
1. How does Bathsheba's journey from silence to influential speech resonate with experiences in your life or community?
2. In what ways do you see "hesed" (loyal love) displayed or absent in Bathsheba's story?
3. Who are the "Nathan figures" in our society today, speaking truth to power? How can we support them?
4. How might Bathsheba's strategic use of her voice in the royal court inform our approach to advocating for justice today?
5. Where have you seen examples of people turning traumatic experiences into sources of wisdom and influence?