Introduction: The line of Messiah Jesus began with Abraham, then Isaac, followed by Jacob and Jacob’s son Judah. Of course each man had children by his wife; except for Judah’s twin sons Pharez and Zerah who were born to his daughter-in-law Tamar of Canaan (see Genesis 38). Rahab was a prostitute in pagan Jericho before she became a believer in the God of Israel and married Salmon of Judah. Their son Boaz married Ruth, a woman of Moab who also had become a believer in the God of Israel. Each of them had at least one son who, in God’s plan, was going to be the link, generation to generation, in preparing the way for the Messiah to come to earth. Matthew 1 gives a list of these generations, 14 each from Abraham to David, David to the last kings of Judah, and from the Babylonian Captivity to Joseph, the foster father of Messiah Jesus.
This message focuses on Bathsheba, one of King David’s wives, whose son Solomon became king after David died. One act of David’s appointed Solomon as king, and made Bathsheba, incredibly, another mother of the Messiah!
1 Bathsheba’s life with her original family
Text, 2 Samuel 23:34. KJV: 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
Not much is known about Bathsheba’s early life and her original family. According to the text, Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam, and granddaughter of Ahithophel the Gilonite. Giloh was southwest of Jerusalem, maybe halfway between Bethlehem and Hebron in Judah’s hill country.
A few things are revealed about Eliam and his father, Ahithophel. Ahithophel was known for his wisdom, perhaps maybe his shrewdness. The writer of 2 Samuel recorded that Ahithophel was David’s counselor (2 Sam 15:12) but when Absalom, David’s son, rebelled against his father, Ahithophel seemed to be one of the first to join Absalom (2 Sam 15:31). Ahithophel also gave some counsel to demonstrate once and for all the breach between David and Absalom was beyond repair (2 Sam 16:20-23). Later, when Ahithophel’s advice to take a small group of soldiers to kill David was rejected, Ahithophel went home and committed suicide (2 Sam 17). How this affected Bathsheba, being in the middle of a conflict between her husband and her grandfather is nowhere addressed but could not have been easy to deal with.
Eliam, Bathsheba’s father, is mentioned even less, four times in the Old Testament and three of these list him, by name only, as one of David’s “mighty men”. What he did, and how he reacted to David’s affair with his daughter is kept hidden. It would have been tense, at best, if Eliam was still alive when this took place.
Bathsheba did have a husband, Uriah the Hittite, who was also one of David’s mighty men (2 Sam 23:39). How Uriah came to join David, and how he was able to marry Bathsheba, and if he ever became a believer in the God of Israel is again left unspoken. Given the record of his “last stand” at the Battle of Rabbah in 2 Samuel 11, Uriah seems to be a soldier’s soldier. He was loyal to his king and to his adopted land, even though he paid with his life because of his king’s evil doings.
To summarize Bathsheba’s life with her original family, we know of her father and grandfather, and that she was married to one of David’s mighty men. But that wasn’t the end of the story.
Not by a long shot.
2 Bathsheba’s life as part of David’s family
Text, 2 Samuel 11:1-5, KJV: 1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. 2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 3 And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
These few verses begin the saddest and worst period of David’s life—and Bathsheba’s. Briefly, David stayed in Jerusalem while Joab and the rest of the army went back to fight at Rabbah in Ammon (site of today’s Amman, Jordan). David looked, lusted, and lay with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. The result was an unplanned pregnancy—and Bathsheba was still married to Uriah at this time. In the rest of chapter 11, the story is told how David tried to clear himself but eventually sentenced Uriah to death. Per the king’s orders, Joab sent Uriah and some others to where the fiercest combat was taking place. Then they were to withdraw so that Uriah would fight and die alone.
Eventually, word got back to David—and, apparently, Bathsheba as well—and David married Bathsheba. Perhaps they thought “all was well” and nobody would find out.
They were never so wrong.
2 Samuel 12 has the classic account of Nathan the prophet and his rather direct message to David. When David heard the story from Nathan, David pronounced sentence not knowing what he demanded would be applied directly to him. The rest of 2 Samuel reflects the results of David’s greatest sin.
Even worse, Bathsheba wasn’t going to be spared either. The child which David had fathered with her became sick and eventually died. This son of theirs was only a few days old when he died. David’s expression of faith is remarkable (“I shall go to him. . .”) but how this death affected Bathsheba is never recorded. To say the least, she probably felt the pain just as strongly, or even worse, than any mother who lost a newborn child. True, she and David had at least three other sons (see 1 Chronicles 3:5, where she is called “Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel”) but nothing could ever heal the hurt of losing her child.
The rest of Bathsheba’s life with David is passed over in relative silence. Whether she was allowed to live with David or if she remained at the house she shared with Uriah is not known. Even so she still had an important role to play in her son Solomon’s future.
3 Bathsheba’s life as part of Solomon’s family
Text, 1 Kings 1:15-21, KJV: 15 And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king. 16 And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou? 17 And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. 18 And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: 19 And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called. 20 And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.
Years before, Bathsheba had survived Absalom’s rebellion and had lived long enough to see David’s last days. She also saw something much worse: it was during David’s last days, when he was still king but everybody knew it wasn’t going to be that way for much longer. According to 1 Kings 1:5-10, Adonijah, David’s (apparently) oldest surviving son, decided to get a head start on his own kingdom. Like Absalom, Adonijah found chariots and horsemen, and 50 men to run before him. Like Absalom, Adonijah seemed to think that popular support would gain him the kingdom. Unlike Absalom, Adonijah had no (recorded) plans to get rid of David, his father. Maybe he thought nature would take its course, removing David so that he wouldn’t have to take any (punitive?) action.
Nathan the prophet got word of this and promptly informed Bathsheba. He told her what to say and that he would come in after she had spoken to David to confirm her words. The text cited here gives Bathsheba’s plea to David, something along the lines of “Did you know about this? And didn’t you promise me that our son Solomon would be king? Please don’t let anything happen to us because after you pass away, there could be some bad things in store for me and for your son Solomon.”
Nathan the prophet came in and confirmed what Bathsheba had said. Bathsheba seems to have been taken away or in some way not in David’s presence (verse 28—how could she be called to come into the king’s presence if she was already there?) Then David confirmed his promise to Bathsheba that indeed Solomon would be the next king. David then had Solomon publicly anointed king by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet. The people rejoiced now that they knew David had publicly announced his successor (verses 32-40). Bathsheba’s involvement doesn’t seem to go any farther than bringing word to the king about Adonijah’s plot. But she did warn the king about the plot, and her courage was rewarded. Solomon became king.
But even after Solomon became king, Bathsheba wasn’t relegated to obscurity—at the first. Solomon gave her one of the highest displays of respect ever shown to a woman: he rose up to meet her, bowed down before her, and had a seat made for her so she could sit down at his right hand (see 1 Kings 3:19). Solomon may have regretted this, however, when his mother came to him with a request from his oldest brother—none other than Adonijah himself. Adonijah’s request is hard to decipher: was he only asking for one or the most beautiful women around, or did he have something else in mind? Since Abishag had served with David, did he think that he could acquire status (or more) if she became his wife? To say the least, things went wrong, quickly and Adonijah paid with his own life for his request.
What happened to Bathsheba after this is not known. She isn’t mentioned in Scripture after this by name except as “David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias” in Matthew 1:6. Scripture does not even record her age when she died, where she was buried, nor what happened to the other children she bore with David. Even so, she had the privilege of being not only the wife of Israel’s greatest king, but also one of the mothers of the Messiah!
Conclusion: Bathsheba’s personal faith is not clearly stated. Certainly she engaged in some questionable behavior but once she and David were married, she seems to have remained faithful and committed to him and their children. When it seemed Adonijah was about to grab the kingdom for himself, Bathsheba and Nathan approached David to alert him about that situation, prompting David to take immediate action. She saved herself and her son from an uncertain fate, but still remained in the line of Messiah—and one of those women fortunate enough to be part of the Messiah’s family tree!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
