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2 Samuel 11 – In Defense of Bathsheba
2 Samuel 11:2 – Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.
The common interpretation has Bathsheba lacking in modesty because she was bathing in the open, or in a place open enough for the king to see her in clear view from his palace rooftop. Being a cunning and conniving woman, as the theory goes, she carefully timed the evening hour when the king would be taking his evening walk on the rooftop of his palace. She then must have moved in the most seductive manner to arrest his attention when he was in his most vulnerable moments, after the afternoon nap.
This common interpretation is based upon assumptions. First, that she was she was bathing in the open. Second, that she was unclothed while bathing in the open. Three, she sent willingly. I would like to challenge these assumptions.
Was Bathsheba bathing in the open?
It was customary in those days for women to bathe and do their washings at the wells and they did so in the evening when it was the cooler. It certainly was not an open display in bright day light as assumed. David walked on his roof in the evening – at dusk. The Scriptures do not say that Bathsheba was bathing in the open, only that David from the roof saw her. It is possible to be seen without trying to be seen.
In defense of Bathsheba, let’s look at who she was. I know that understanding a person better does not prove innocence, but it might disprove our right to assume.
She was probably the granddaughter of Ahithophel (father of Bathsheba and son of Ahipthophel have the same name). Ahithophel was a high-powered advisor to King David, whose advice was considered as the advice of God (2 Samuel 16:23). Apparently her pedigree was known to David’s messengers and himself as well (2 Samuel 11:3).
Her husband, Uriah was a commander and armor bearer to the chief commander Joab (according to Josephus); and one of the most respected warriors (2 Samuel 23:39). He was also a man of integrity as seen by his refusal to go home while his fellow soldiers and the Ark of the Covenant were in the field (2 Samuel 12:11).
It is possible such a well-connected family would have a private well within the compound of their own and she was bathing in her own enclosed courtyard which would be entirely private and legitimate. She did not have totally enclosed bathrooms with indoor plumbing like we have, but an open courtyard for the well to receive rainwater from the sky. Even if she did not have a private well of her own, it would be a public well where men were not allowed to peer. It was to be taken in faith that there would be no trespassers and even if there were, the responsibility lay in the trespassers to respect such privacy and not peek in, for it was the way of life for the women to be taking a bath at the wells while doing her washings of the day. I sincerely doubt she was doing anything out of the ordinary of the customs and culture of her time.
In the East, it was improper for one neighbor to look over the battlements of his house into the inner court of the adjacent building.
Was Bathsheba bathing naked?
It is assumed, and not stated in the Scriptures that she was naked. It was not necessarily so in those times and she could very well have bathed with a cloth wrapped round about her, as some Asian women still practice today. Also, the word for “bathe” was also used of ceremonial washings (Exodus 29:4). It is the same word used of David washing after his son died (2 Samuel 12:20). And it is the same word used to describe what David told Uriah to do when he said to wash your feet (2 Samuel 11:8).
Even if she was, Bathsheba would not have known whether the King was in the palace or would be taking an evening walk on the rooftop. After all, wasn’t the king supposed to be with her husband fighting the war?!
Looking at the above circumstances, it is possible if not probable that the presumption that she was a loose woman is totally unsubstantiated and unjustified. Thus, a closer look, especially at the culture and customs of those days reveals that she had been very much misjudged through the generations.
Did Bathsheba go willingly?
2 Samuel 11:4 – David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.
In that society’s governmental system, the King was the absolute authority. If Bathsheba was summoned to the King’s palace, then she came to the palace or risked execution for defying the King. Clearly, this is a case of one man abusing his power to satisfy his own lustful desires.
The text supports that historical backdrop because it says David took Bathsheba. This is defined as “to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.”
And when the sin was over, Bathsheba “purified herself from her uncleanness” (2 Samuel 11:4).
More striking in my opinion than knowledge of the customs or history is the total lack of condemnation of Bathsheba. Never had there been any one time we see in the Scriptures that God spoke against Bathsheba on this matter; but instead God directed all His displeasure and judgment against David. When God spoke through the Prophet Nathan about her, He considered her an innocent ewe of a poor man, an innocent and helpless sheep and not anything like an evil serpent or something (2 Samuel 12:1ff). A sheep is one animal that God would identify with His very own, His people and His Son.
Not matter how we interpret this, whether Bathsheba was complicit or not, David should have turned his eyes away. The sin is not in “seeing,” but in “looking.”
Matthew 5:28 – but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
So why this defense of Bathsheba? We men need to take more responsibility for ourselves instead of so quickly finding blame in others. I think the fact that males have been the major interpreters helps explain why so much blame has been put on Bathsheba. Having said that, women, take responsibility for the way you dress and act too. If both men and women take more responsibility for themselves, there will be less irresponsibility going on between them.
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