Ruochen Feng
THEO 10002
Professor Fitzgerald
Nov. 24th. 2016
David, the rapist and murderer in the Bathsheba Affair
David, the second king of Israel and Judah, is a capable leader and a heroic figure in the Hebrew Bible. Despite his great public success, David lives a tumultuous private life, which can be seen, for example, from the Bathsheba Affair. In this story, the Bible provides an ambiguous narration, thus people have been continuously pondering for the question that who is actually the guilty person in this incident.
In this paper, I argue that David is the rapist and murderer in the Bathsheba Affair, while Bathsheba is the innocent victim taken by the powerful king. In the following paragraphs, I will first argue that David is the …show more content…
When Bathsheba told him about the pregnancy, David immediately sent word to Joab: “send me Uriah the Hittite” (2 Samuel 11:6). Upon Uriah’s arrival, David encouraged him to go back home and sleep with Bathsheba so that he would believe that the child is his own. David told Uriah to first go home and “wash your feet” (2 Samuel 11:8). Then, he invited Uriah to “eat, drink and lie” (Kim and Nyengele, 97). Unfortunately, both plots failed because Uriah, the faithful soldier, refused to sleep with his wife while other people were still fighting in the war. As a consequence, David wrote a letter to Joab in the next morning to “set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting” (2 Samuel 11:14). Under the circumstances, I argue that David would have had the option to confess his sin to Uriah rather than murder him. He could have financially helped Uriah and Bathsheba to raise the child, or brought the innocent baby to his house. However, giving up all the chances to stop sinning, David eventually chose to kill Uriah. As the center of power, David aggressively removes anything that impedes the fulfillment of his desire (Kim and Nyengele, 113). Therefore, both Bathsheba and Uriah are innocent victims of David’s moral
THEO 10002
Professor Fitzgerald
Nov. 24th. 2016
David, the rapist and murderer in the Bathsheba Affair
David, the second king of Israel and Judah, is a capable leader and a heroic figure in the Hebrew Bible. Despite his great public success, David lives a tumultuous private life, which can be seen, for example, from the Bathsheba Affair. In this story, the Bible provides an ambiguous narration, thus people have been continuously pondering for the question that who is actually the guilty person in this incident.
In this paper, I argue that David is the rapist and murderer in the Bathsheba Affair, while Bathsheba is the innocent victim taken by the powerful king. In the following paragraphs, I will first argue that David is the …show more content…
When Bathsheba told him about the pregnancy, David immediately sent word to Joab: “send me Uriah the Hittite” (2 Samuel 11:6). Upon Uriah’s arrival, David encouraged him to go back home and sleep with Bathsheba so that he would believe that the child is his own. David told Uriah to first go home and “wash your feet” (2 Samuel 11:8). Then, he invited Uriah to “eat, drink and lie” (Kim and Nyengele, 97). Unfortunately, both plots failed because Uriah, the faithful soldier, refused to sleep with his wife while other people were still fighting in the war. As a consequence, David wrote a letter to Joab in the next morning to “set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting” (2 Samuel 11:14). Under the circumstances, I argue that David would have had the option to confess his sin to Uriah rather than murder him. He could have financially helped Uriah and Bathsheba to raise the child, or brought the innocent baby to his house. However, giving up all the chances to stop sinning, David eventually chose to kill Uriah. As the center of power, David aggressively removes anything that impedes the fulfillment of his desire (Kim and Nyengele, 113). Therefore, both Bathsheba and Uriah are innocent victims of David’s moral