Bathsheba.
Bathsheba, or Bilqis, was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, according to the Hebrew Bible. She is most known for the biblical narrative in which she was summoned by King David, who had seen her bathing and lusted after her. She was the mother of Solomon, who succeeded David as king, making her the Queen mother.
History[]
Origins[]
Bathsheba was born into the house of Ahithophel, to his son Eliam (later called Ammiel) late in the reign of King Saul. Ahithophel was a political operative in David's administration. Bathsheba is, according to one narrative, the daughter of a failed relationship between a Peri and a human, the human in question being Eliam himself.
At one point in her life she was married to Uriah the Hittite, likely arranged by her father as was the standard in the culture. Her husband was an elite member of the military, noted as one of David's thirty best men. Her father was part of the same group as Uriah, perhaps explaining how it came for Uriah to be married to her. Bathsheba was able to spend the first year of her marriage with Uriah who was waived of any military obligation he may have had.
Exposure[]
David's first interactions involve David, while walking on the roof of his palace, seeing a very beautiful woman bathing. He ordered enquiries and found out that she was Bathsheba, wife of Uriah. He desired her and later made her pregnant.
In an effort to conceal his sin, David summoned Uriah from the army (with whom he was on campaign) in the hope that Uriah would have sex with her and think that the child belonged to him. But Uriah was unwilling to violate the ancient kingdom rule applying to warriors in active service. Rather than go home to his own bed, he preferred to remain with the palace troops.
After repeated efforts to convince Uriah to have sex with Bathsheba the king gave the order to his general, Joab, that Uriah should be placed on the front lines of the battle, where Uriah would be more likely to die. David had Uriah himself carry the message that led to his death. After Uriah had been killed, David married Bathsheba.
Arranged Marriage[]
David's action was displeasing to the Lord, who sent Nathan the prophet to reprove the king. After relating the parable of the rich man who took away the one little ewe lamb of his poor neighbor, and exciting the king's anger against the unrighteous act, the prophet applied the case directly to David's action with regard to Bathsheba. The king at once confessed his sin and expressed sincere repentance. Bathsheba's first child by David was struck with a severe illness and died, unnamed, a few days after birth, which the king accepted as his punishment. Nathan also noted that David's house would be punished for Uriah's murder.
Bathsheba later gave birth to David's son Solomon. In David's old age, Bathsheba, based on David's promise, secured the succession to the throne by Solomon, instead of David's elder surviving sons by his other wives, such as Chileab, Adonijah, and others. David's punishment came to pass years later when one of David's much-loved sons, Absalom, led an insurrection that plunged the kingdom into civil war.