Anonymous 17th-century painting.Īfter repeated efforts to convince Uriah to have sexual intercourse with Bathsheba failed, king David 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. Rather than go home to his own bed, he preferred to remain with the palace troops.ĭavid 'seducing' Bathsheba. But Uriah was unwilling to violate the ancient kingdom rule applying to warriors in active service. 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.

David and Diana Garland regard David's action on Bathsheba as an example of rape in the Hebrew Bible. He desired her and later made her pregnant. He ordered enquiries and found out that she was Bathsheba, wife of Uriah. David, while walking on the roof of his palace, saw a very beautiful woman bathing. Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite.ĭavid's first interactions with Bathsheba are described in 2 Samuel 11, and are omitted in the Books of Chronicles. An Eliam is mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:34 as the son of Ahithophel, who is described as the Gilonite. Jean-Léon Gérôme's depiction of Bathsheba bathing watched by David.īathsheba was the daughter of Eliam ( 2 Samuel 11:3, Ammiel in 1 Chronicles 3:5).

Bathsheba the witch pdf