Bathsheba
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| Bathsheba Bathing |
In the spring, at the time when Kings go off to war, and Uriah,
her husband, was sent out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army,
Bathsheba remained in Jerusalem. It was hard being alone so often, but she knew
what she was getting into when she married Uriah – her father Eliam having been
one of King David’s Mighty Warriors - and it seemed pointless to complain now.
Besides, now that the winter months were long past Bathsheba would finally have
an opportunity to clean herself, so she made her way to the roof of her home
for a bath.
Bathsheba’s servants - her only real friends in
her often empty home - had already drawn her bath, so she slipped off of her
robe and into the warm water. Smiling as she listened to the comforting sound
of their voices - Bathsheba relaxed.
“Excuse me!” a voice called, startling Bathsheba
from her thoughts. “Excuse me!”
Ducking lower into the water to protect her
modesty, Bathsheba looked worriedly toward her servants who ran towards the
door leading to the roof. There a man stood, his back turned respectfully,
waiting at the threshold.
“Umm yes, hello?” Bathsheba answered, still sunk
low in her bath water. “Can I help you?”
“Yes,” the man replied. “David, Head of the
House of David and King of all Jerusalem has requested your presence
immediately.”
“King David?” Bathsheba asked, aghast. “Whatever
for?”
Bathsheba had seen the king once when she was a
very little girl. Her father had been injured and she had been called to the
palace to see him. She had been distressed, rounding the halls frantically
looking for him and she had heard a loud deep chuckle coming from a room along
the hallway. Peeking inside, Bathsheba had seen David, head thrown back in
laughter, eating among his other "Mighty Men". She supposed he had
been handsome, but all she could remember thinking is how wrong it seemed that
he should be here, vibrant and joyful, while her father could be wasting away
in an infirmary bed.
“That is not your concern. He has commanded that
you come immediately.”
“But my husband is away - it isn’t
proper.” She replied, scandalized and a little fearful. “Perhaps I could visit
with him once Uriah returns.”
“No, the King has requested you come now. I will
wait for you downstairs.” With that the strange man turned and disappeared down
the stairs.
Bathsheba's servants watched the man leave
before turning to Bathsheba, wringing their hands nervously.
"What should we do ma'am?" Sarah, her
head maid and closest confidant, asked after the long silence.
“Well,” Bathsheba sighed, looking toward her
servants. “What does one wear to meet a king?”
The meeting with King David had not gone well.
Bathsheba was, she supposed, flattered by the Kings attention. Who wouldn’t
want to be declared beautiful by a man like him, who had surely seen many
beautiful things? But unfortunately the King had not wanted to just admire her
from afar. And so, terrified of the consequences of displeasing him, Bathsheba
had slept with King David. And, yes, he was a king but he was also a man who
had led her own father into battle and, no, Uriah wasn’t the best husband all the
time but he was her husband and Kind David was nothing but
another powerful man lording his control over her.
Bathsheba told David about the child after he
sent for her a fifth time, not sure what else to do or who else to turn to. It
was the first time Bathsheba ever saw David afraid – how satisfying, she
thought! Finally, the King seems to realize that what he is doing is wrong,
sleeping with another man's wife.
“Send me Uriah the Hittite,” David commanded.
"And when he arrives, he will come to you Bathsheba and you will lie with
him and all of this will be resolved." And then she was sent away again
Resolved. All of this would be resolved. How
could any of this be resolved? As if it wasn't bad enough that David could
force her to sleep with him, now he could force her to sleep with her own
husband as well. She knew it was the best solution of course, but it still
infuriated her the way this man wielded his power over her. Still she called
for her servants, avoiding their gazes just as they avoided hers, and prepared
the home for her husband’s arrival.
Uriah never came and a month later Bathsheba’s
husband died. Uriah had been sent to the front where the fighting was fiercest
and that the enemy had been too much for him. As to who had sent him there,
that was abundantly clear. King David, unable to hide his infidelity by forcing
her husband to sleep with her had killed him and planned to take Bathsheba for
himself. Bathsheba couldn’t quite decide how to feel – Uriah had been, at
best, absent from her life. Since they had married she could count on one hand
the months they’d had together without interruption from war or fighting. But
he had always tried to be kind and he had certainly provided for her. Now he
was dead. And now the man – the king – who had put all of this
into motion was sending for Bathsheba, calling her to live in his palace with
his other wives.
Cradling her growing belly as her maids began packing up her belongings, she considered what was to come. Until this point David had controlled everything about their relationship. He may be king but she was no longer a scared, defenseless woman who he could take advantage of. She was the mother of his child and with any luck this child would be son, a contender for his throne. David had taken her husband but she had given her this - a chess piece. So today she would mourn her husband, but tomorrow, tomorrow she would begin to plan.
Authors Note:
I really wanted to focus on what it must have been like for Bathsheba to be coveted by King David.
The Bible is wholly unclear as to whether she consented to the adultery - although it should be noted that refusing a King during this time would be almost impossible - and we really don't know much else about her. Her designation as an object of lust is evident in the artwork depicting her, often nude, often on the rooftop, often watched by David at a distance. David gets to be Israel's greatest King and Bathsheba is one of his greatest mistakes. She is even punished for her part in the adultery with the death of her firstborn child. But she perseveres through it - after being plucked from her roof she becomes Queen where she raises her son Solomon to become King, despite not being the eldest son upon David's death. Bathsheba made the best out of a complicated and probably unwanted situation and carved out a life for herself amongst a King that killed her husband and cursed her family - seems pretty Badass to me.