Bathsheba

Bathsheba

According to the Hebrew Bible, Bathsheba (). Her father is identified by some scholars with Eliam mentioned in she is indirectly mentioned as an ancestor of Jesus.

In Qur'an and Islamic tradition

The only passage in the Qur'an connected to the story of Bathsheba is sura xxxviii. 20-25:

:"And has the story of the antagonists come to you; when they climbed the wall of the upper chamber, when they came in to David? And when he feared them, they said, 'Fear not; we are two antagonists, one of us hath wronged the other, so judge justly between us. . . . This my brother had ninety-nine ewes and I had one. Then he said, "Give me control of her," and he overcame me in his plea.' David said, 'Verily he hath wronged thee by asking for thy ewe as an addition to his ewes, and verily most partners act injuriously the one to the other, except those who believe and work righteous works; and such are few.' And David supposed that we had tried him; so he sought pardon of his Lord and fell, worshiping, and repented. And we forgave him that fault, and he hath near approach unto us and beauty of ultimate abode."

From this passage one can judge only some similarities of Nathan's parable. The Muslim world has shown an indisposition, to a certain extent, to go further, and especially to ascribe sin to David.

Baidawi would seem to favor that view, but other commentators reject it. Baidawi (in loc.) remarks that this passage signifies only that David desired something which belonged to another, and that God rebuked him by this parable.

At the very most, Baidawi continues, he may have asked in marriage a woman who had been asked in marriage by another, or he may have desired that another should abandon his wife to him, a circumstance which was customary at that time.

The Biblical story of Uriah is then regarded as a slander, filled with unnecessary violence and immorality, not the sort of thing that would happen to a man who is close to God.

According to some sources of Islamic tradition, David marries Bathsheba after the death of Uriah, and she becomes the mother of Solomon. To Muslims, the legendary Bathsheba herself is a not a very known figure, being generally called simply the wife of Uriah. See Al-Tha'labi, "ḳiṣaṣ-anbiyya," pp. 243 et seq., ed. Cairo, 1298; and Ibn al-Athir, i. 95 et seq., ed. Cairo, 1301.

Critical view

Her name, which perhaps means "daughter of the oath," is in I Chronicles 3:5 spelled "Bath-shua," the form becomes merely a variant reading of "Bath-sheba." The passages in which Bath-sheba is mentioned are II Samuel 11:2-12:24, and I Kings 1, 2.—both of which are parts of the oldest stratum of the books of Samuel and Kings. It is part of that court history of David, written by someone who stood very near the events and who did not idealize David. The material contained in it is of higher historical value than that in the later strata of these books. Budde would connect it with the J document of the Hexateuch.

The only interpolations in it which concern the story of Bathsheba are some verses in the early part of the twelfth chapter, that heighten the moral tone of Nathan's rebuke of David; according to Karl Budde ("S. B. O. T."), the interpolated portion is xii. 7, 8, and 10-12; according to Friedrich Schwally (Stade's "Zeitschrift," xii. 154 et seq.) and H. P. Smith ("Samuel," in "International Critical Commentary"), the whole of xii. 1-15a is an interpolation, and xii. 15b should be joined directly to xi. 27. This does not directly affect the narrative concerning Bathsheba herself. Chronicles, which draws a kindly veil over David's faults, omits all reference to the way in which Bathsheba became David's wife, and gives only the names of her children.

The father of Bathsheba was Eliam (spelled "Ammiel" in I Chronicles 3:5). As this was also the name of a son of Ahithophel, one of David's heroes (II Samuel 23:34), it has been conjectured that 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.

ee also

*Bathsheba at Her Bath

References

*


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • BATHSHEBA — Uxor Uriae, postea Davidis et mater Solomonis, Sulp. Severus, l. 1. c. 66. Qua tempestare Bersaben quandam, mirae feminam pulehritudinis, stuprô compertam habun. Haec viri cuiusdam uxor, qui tum in castris erat, fuisse traditur. Ubi secutus… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Bathsheba — f Biblical name, meaning ‘daughter of the oath’ in Hebrew. This was the name of the woman who became the wife of King David, after he had disposed of her husband Uriah, and mother of King Solomon (2 Samuel 11–12). It was popular with the Puritans …   First names dictionary

  • Bathsheba — Biblical wife of King David, mother of Solomon, from Heb. Bathshebha, lit. daughter of the oath, from bath daughter …   Etymology dictionary

  • Bathsheba — [bath shē′bə, bath′shi bə] n. [Heb batsheva, lit., daughter of Sheba, daughter of the oath] Bible the mother of Solomon by King David, whom she married after he had sent her first husband, Uriah, to death in battle: 2 Sam. 11 …   English World dictionary

  • Bathsheba — /bath shee beuh, bath sheuh /, n. 1. the wife of Uriah and afterward of David: mother of Solomon. II Sam. 11, 12. 2. a female given name: from a Hebrew phrase meaning daughter of the oath. * * * ▪ biblical figure also spelled  Bethsabee,  … …   Universalium

  • Bathsheba — noun a) The wife of Uriah and later of David. 3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? b) of biblical origin. I was kinda sweet on her my own self.… …   Wiktionary

  • Bathsheba — En el Viejo Testamento Bathsheba ( la séptima hija o la hija del juramento ), la hija de Ammiel, fue la esposa de Uriah el Hitita y luego del Rey David. Ella es la madre del Rey Salomón. En 1 Crónicas 3:5 es llamada Bath shua. 2 Samuel 11:1 a… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Bathsheba — The wife of Uriah the Hittite, she was observed bathing by David and much desired, and seduced. So he arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle and married Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:27). Nathan the prophet rebuked David. Bathsheba gave birth to… …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • Bathsheba — Original name in latin Bathsheba Name in other language Bathsheba State code BB Continent/City America/Barbados longitude 13.21667 latitude 59.51667 altitude 9999 Population 1765 Date 2013 05 05 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Bathsheba — (fl. 11th 10th cent BCE)    Israelite woman, wife first of Uriah, then of David. When David, from his rooftop, saw her bathing, he had Uriah her husband killed in battle by placing him in the front lines. Bathsheba was the mother of Solomon (II… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

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