Women of the Bible: Character Study: Bathsheba: The Innocent Victim

When it comes to the Biblical account of BATHSHEBA, two questions should be asked: 

• Was it her fault that the king lusted in his heart for her?
• Was she responsible for her husband’s death?

Image credit:  Bathsheba Art

The Hebrew meaning of Bath Shebha is “seventh daughter” or “daughter of the oath”. Bathsheba was the mother of King Solomon. She was the wife of Uriah the Hittite who David had murdered to cover up his act of adultery with her. Bathsheba became pregnant by King David while her husband was away at war. The child that was conceived through that adulterous union died. David later made Bathsheba his lawful wife and she gave birth to Solomon, the last king to rule over a united Israel. After Solomon’s death, 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel revolted against the rule of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, and the kingdom was divided.

Throughout the years, many have debated whether Bathsheba was as guilty of adultery as King David. Was she deliberately bathing outdoors knowing that the king could see her from his balcony? When he summoned her, even though he was king, could she not have refused him? Could she not have pleaded with him not to defile her? Why didn’t she prick the king’s conscience and remind him that her husband was an honorable man and loyal to the king and not deserving of such treachery? Instead of sending word to the king that she was pregnant by him, why not send word to her husband that while he was away and she was all alone, the king violated her and now she was with child? Had she done any of those things the biblical account would clearly show who the guilty party was and Bathsheba’s biography would read differently. Some conclude Bathsheba is just as guilty as King David of committing adultery.

It should be noted that the scriptural account does not indicate that Bathsheba objected to being taken by King David. The scriptures also do not indicate that she DID indeed object but was taken against her will. What the bible story does reveal is that Nathan the prophet went directly to King David and accused him of the sin!!! Evidently, the God of King David had no problem figuring out who the guilty party was. And the prophet serving that God had no problem telling the king that his God was not pleased with his behavior. And the scriptures are clear to show David was the one punished, not Bathsheba.

Nathan compared Bathsheba to “a little ewe lamb”. She was taken and violated. Her husband was murdered. She bore an innocent child and lost the child. Defilement and grief on top of grief: she was an innocent who was wronged and hurt. How do we know this? Because the scripture says after all of this happened, David made her his legitimate wife and “comforted her”. I suppose it was the least he could do. Read all of her story and tread carefully before maligning the character of a decent and honorable woman. David paid the price for his sin.

• Bible References: BATHSHEBA – 2 SAM 11: 3; 12: 24; 1 KINGS 1:15, 28, 31; 2:13

Bathsheba: A Novel (The Wives of King David)

Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter

Women of the Bible : Rahab by Eikonik | Found on DeviantArt

Several years ago I wrote a blog post about the harlot/heroine Rahab.  Her story is told in the Bible book of Joshua.  When I published the post I searched diligently for an image depicting her encounter with the Jewish spies sent to spy out the land of Canaan.  (Josh 2: 1-7)  Found an image in the Wikimedia database.  A few years later, after publishing the post, I found an image on DeviantArt by an artist who shares wonderful depictions of events which occurred in ancient Israel - of people and of places.  


The artwork below (following the link and related image to my 2014 blog post) depicts the part of the biblical account where she hid the Jewish spies on her rooftop.  This is a perfect complement to my post previously published here at My Blog Stop! about the woman in the Bible known as Rahab the harlot. 

Women of the Bible: Rahab - The Noble Harlot

Image credit: See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

* * *

Image credit:

Rahabby eikonik

Related articles

• When Exactly is a Minority Group a “Problem”?
• Memorable Battles in the History of Ancient Israel
• Ethiopian or Philistine?

When is a Minority Group a Problem?

Sweden: Jews are not a "problem", as long as there's only a few of them ..." (Source) Odd quote to start off an article with. ( My opinion. ) But if you don't believe or don't read the Bible, then perhaps the statement is logical. (???)

Memorable Battles in Jewish History

SHILOH (not Jerusalem) was at one time the focal point of Israel's worship, where both the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant resided. The Jews took the Ark from Shiloh to Kiriath-Jearim to the battlefield because they thought it would being them victory. They were wrong!

Ethiopian or Philistine? Am I a Dog?

Published this post February 2015 and although the stats show it had a reasonable amount of views and even a few Plus Ones, the question has still not been answered. The question was prompted because of some dialogue in a Denzel Washington movie.

Real Lost Cities: Ophir or Atlantis?

King Solomon sent ships to Ophir to bring back almug (or algum) trees, along with gold and precious stones.

Research about Ophir's geographical location is scant. 

In short, no one seems to know where it is!

If it is ever found, it will probably be by accident, because everybody keeps searching for Atlantis. 

The last bit of recorded information we have about Ophir is that the ships that set sail to go there which were sent by another king, never made it to their destination!

So I can sort of understand why people would rather go look for Atlantis.  Atlantis disappeared. Not the folks who were looking for it!!!  (O.o)

• 1 Kings 9:28  - And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon. 

• 1 Kings 10:11  - And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. 

• 1 Kings 22:48  - Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber. 

Photo credit: Wikipedia: Solomon and the Plan for the Temple, as in 1 Kings 6, illustration from a Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company


* * *

Related articles

Where did Ophir go?

• The Lost Continents of Lemuria and Mu (circa71.wordpress.com)
• Most Expensive Hotel (celebritynetworth.com)
• True Stories of Ships Lost at Sea (hubpages.com)
• Atlantis (simonsylvester.wordpress.com)

* * * Anyway, I did manage to find two known places that have the name "Ophir", one in Colorado USA and the other in New Zealand.  Both representing 
magnificent splendor!!!

The world's first ghetto, 500 years later

Ethiopian or Philistine? Am I a Dog?

Published this post and although the stats show it had a reasonable amount of views and even a few Plus Ones, the question has still not been answered.

Can an Ethiopian change his skin? *

My answer is:
“Never been to Oklahoma but do like Sir Paul McCartney.”
(Yep. That’s right. DUH! Totally changed the subject.)

The question was prompted because of some dialogue in a Denzel Washington movie. Had the script been written and instead of saying “Ethiopian”, if the character had hurled his insult by threatening to call Mr. Washington’s character a “Philistine”, the scene in that film would have made sense to me. 


Most Bible students know the menacing Philistines were the enemies of the Israelites. There were constant struggles for control of the land of Canaan (an older name for Palestine). A study, just a quick study, of the people of Philistia might lead one to conclude that if they had not always been battling with the nation of Israel, they would have been at war with another group. They liked to fight!!


WHY? Because they could!!


The Philistines were skilled warriors; on land and at sea. In fact, they were once called Sea Peoples. Their navy consisted of fleets of the finest warships during that time, expertly manned by experienced soldier/seamen. As for their army? The infantry, i.e. trained foot soldiers, possessed superior weapons of iron and wielded them masterfully and mercilessly. 


For hundreds of years, the Philistines waged continuous war against the Israelites. David, Israel’s second king succeeded where the nation’s first king, Saul, had failed. Around 1000 B.C., he finally subdued these fierce fighting men and once crushed, their power began to decline. Other nations coming in afterward, would reap the benefits of David’s military efforts. Somewhere around 800 to 700 B.C., the Assyrians attacked and conquered cities of Philistia. Then between 597 and 586 B.C., when the Jewish people (Israelites) were exiled to Babylonia (as was foretold to them by their prophets), the Philistines were taken away as slaves too.


Not much is known about the origins of this ancient people and none of their literature has survived; just fragments of pottery and coffins, some images on Egyptian reliefs, and what is written about them in Old Testament scriptures. Historians and archaeologists have very little to reconstruct their past.  However, according to an article published in Science News, an ancient cemetery has been found that might yield some clues.

Bower, Bruce. "Ancient Cemetery Provides Peek into Philistines' Lives, Health." Science News. Society for Science & the Public, 22 Nov. 2016. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.  (https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ancient-cemetery-provides-peek-philistines-lives-health). 

Ancient cemetery provides peek into Philistines' lives, health


In our vernacular (American English), to call someone a “Philistine” is not a compliment. It is a term of contempt and means the person has uncultivated tastes or lacks culture (i.e. lacks refined behavior, good manners and/or social graces). That sounds very subjective. Perhaps the easiest way to explain the insult would be to take the question the Philistine giant, Goliath, asked a young shepherd boy, and superimpose it. Imagine that the person you’re staring down asks you this same question and you simply nod your head up and down as an affirmative response, because you don’t want to waste your breath.

“Am I a dog?” **

Image credit: Gebhard Fugel [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons



* Jeremiah 13: 23

* * 1 Samuel 17: 43

D.C.'s Bible Museum to debut with $42M worth of cutting edge technology

Washington, D.C.'s newest religious museum is set to unveil next year with a location only three blocks from the U.S. Capitol. Recently, The Museum of the Bible released information on the $42 million high-tech experience visitors will experience.