David and Batsheva: An Oral History

7/27/2019 David and Batsheva: An Oral History

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There were two men in one city....

)(:

In the spring, when kings go out to war, David sent Joab, his officers, and all the Israelites out to destroy the

Ammonites. Joabs army surrounded their capital city, Rabbah.

Israelite Soldier- David used to lead us out to war, but now we barely see him

Yoav- It had been decided that David would take a more administrative role, shall we say

.one was rich...

David I have heard the same rumors you have, and I can assure you, those who say I have sinned are mistaken.

)(:

One evening he got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his house. From there he saw a woman

bathing. She was very beautiful.

Batsheva I went up to the roof, to bathe, as I normally did. I had no idea anyone was watching me at the time.

King's Messenger: The king sent me to go up and find out who was bathing on the roof

N- Did you have any idea why?KM- It's not my job to ask those questions.

N- Who was she?

KM Batsheva, wife of Uriah Hachiti. One of the king's guard.

...The other was poor...

N- Is that all he asked you to do?

)(:

David sent messengers to go and bring Bathsheba to him. She had just purified herself.. She went to David, he

slept with her, and then she went back to her house.

KM- I'm not at liberty to say.

David What you have to understand is that we have all of our soldiers divorce their wives before going out to battle. You

know, in case they go missing or are captured. Standard procedure.

...The rich man had much sheep and cattle...

Batsheva: A messenger came to me. He told me the king wanted to see me. What choice did I have? I went. I was brought to

his chamber, and there he was, with those piercing blue eyes....those eyes. What they say about those eyes.....it was all true.

N: Was there any further interaction between David and Batsheva after that?

)(:

5 Later, Bathsheba became pregnant. She sent word to him saying, I am pregnant.

KM: I'm definitely not at liberty to say.

.The poor man had nothing, except one small lamb...

David: I'll be the first to admit that things became complicated... I needed Uriah's cooperation to settle the situation.

Yoav: I received an urgent message from David demanding Uriah back from the front. I went over to him and told him, Uriah,

the king wants you to go home. He thought he had done something wrong.

Uriah: I didn't understand what could be so urgent that it couldn't wait until after the campaign was over. I'm a soldier. My

job is to be out there with my fellow soldiers, being ready to fight, and I was being called away from that. It made no sense to


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me.

...Which he had bought and raised like one of his children...

David: I thought that what I asked of him was reasonable

Uriah: I came in expecting some kind of military tribunal. Instead, David just asked me how I was, how the people were doing,

how the war was going, and then told me to go get some rest, go back to my house and to my wife.

.From his bread it ate, from his cup it drank...

N: Did you?

: ( )

But Uriah did not go home. He slept outside the door of the kings palace, as the rest of the kings servants did.

Uriah: Nope

David: Unfortunately Uriah was not receptive to my suggestions.

N: Why not?

Uriah: The war doesn't end just because I'm called away from it. My commander and fellow soldiers are all out there, ready to

fight, and David wants me to go home and sleep with my wife? I'm sorry, I can't do that.

N: Did you say this to him?

Uriah: Of course. He used to be a solider, from what Ive heard. He used to lead us into battle. I thought hed understand.

...It was like a daughter to him...

N: How did he react?

U: He told me I could go back the next day.

N: What did you do?

)(:

David said to Uriah, Stay here today. Tomorrow I will send you back to the battle. Uriah stayed in Jerusalem until

the next morning.

U: I hung around. Just like he asked me to.

.And a traveller came to the rich man...

B: As far as I know, Uriah was out at battle the entire time. I havent seen him since he left.

PALACE GUARD: I remember vividly, after Uriah left, David pacing up and down the roof. He kept looking out at the city

every couple of seconds, and it seemed his gaze was following Uriah as he walked around the city.

N: Did you go back to your wife?

U: Why should I?

D: I found Uriahs lack of cooperation problematic.

.And he didnt want to take from his own sheep to make a meal for the traveller....

PG: I thought I saw Uriah looking back at the palace, the ghost of a smile on his face.N: Did you have any more interaction with David after that?

U: Yes. He called me in and I thought it would be for some type of military instruction. Instead, I walk in and hes sitting

there, a table in front of him piled high with food, a huge bottle of wine in its center. He invites me to come eat and drink with

him. What choice did I have? I eat, and hes constantly refilling my wine goblet. I ended up drinking a lot of wine.

N: Did you go back to your wife after?

: ( )

Then David called Uriah to come and see him. Uriah ate and drank with David. David got him drunk, but Uriah still

did not go home. That evening, Uriah again slept at the palace with the rest of the kings servants.


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U: For G-ds sake, why is everyone so concerned with my relationship with my wife? I mean, how many wives does David

have that he has to be so concerned about mine?! I come back here from fighting a war, and all anyone wants to talk about is

my wife. Why was I even called back?! Im just glad to be done with all of this. Im just about to leave, actually.

D: Sometimes when faced with rebellion, a king must do what is necessary.

.So he took the poor mans lamb....

U: All I have to say is, this letter to Yoav had better be important.

: ( )

The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.

Y: You think Im going to tell you the content of a letter from David sent to me in strict confidence? Thats hilarious. But

between you and me, I bet you can guess.

: ( )

In the letter David wrote: Put Uriah on the front lines where the fighting is the hardest. Then leave him there alone,

and let him be killed in battle.

D: Uriah was a loyal and dedicated solider, but what choice did I have?

N: Do you know what the letter is about?

U: No idea.

N: Are you going to open it?

U: Are you crazy?! Im a soldier. I was given military orders. I will obey them. I will give this letter to my commander, because

that is what David has ordered me to do. What choice do I have?

ISRAELITE SOLDIER: I saw Uriah come back from Jerusalem. We were all curious as to why he had been sent for. He

handed Yoav a letter. Yoav read it and immediately put the letter away.

Y: I wasnt happy about it either. But my job is to preserve the kingdom. The king ordered it. It had to be done. What choice

did I have?

IS: He looked toward Uriah and pointed to the wall. Uriah nodded, a stone, grim expression on his face. He turned towards

the wall and charged. He fought valiantly, but he had no chance.

...and he made it for the traveller....

Y: I relayed a message to the king, apologizing for the casualties incurred by our momentary lapse in military strategy. I also

told him that Uriah Hachiti was among the dead. He didnt seem all too upset about it.

D: Fact is, in any war, there will be casualties. Thats just how life goes. Being king means making these decisions. You cant

let it get you down. Well just have to fight harder next time.

: ( )

Bathsheba heard that her husband Uriah had died, so she mourned for him.

B: Finding out that my husband was dead it was one of the worst moments of my life. I just slumped down and cried.

D: My marriage to Uriahs wife was totally legitimate, having occurred after Uriah Hachiti was killed. Anyone who says

otherwise is mistaken.

B: So after my mourning for my husband, there was a knock at my door. It was the messengers of the king, and soon I was

Davids wife.

: ( )

After her time of sadness, David sent servants to bring her to his house. She became Davids wife and gave birth to

a son for David. But the Lord did not like what David had done.

D: Yes, I suppose if one were inclined to judge me that in certainly seems like I have done something wrong. But its simply

not true. Uriah divorced his wife, Batsheva, before going off to war. Any contact between Batsheva in myself before our


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marriage was thus completely legal.

: ( )

And now the sword shall never leave your house, for you have disrespected me by taking the wife of Uriah HaChiti

to be your wife

AMNON: Listen, we all know my fathers not perfect. Im not either.

: ( )

And Tamar approached Amnon for him to eat, and he grabbed her and said Come, sleep with me my sister!

D: And, yes, I did place Uriah in a dangerous situation. But first of all, someone has to go out on the front lines. And this

time, it was Uriah. Im sorry he died. Thats war for you.

AVSHALOM: Amnon will pay for what he did to my sister.

( )

:

Then Absalom gave this command to his servants, Watch Amnon. When he is drunk and feeling good from the

wine, I will give you the command. You must attack Amnon and kill him. Dont be afraid of being punished. After all,

you will only be obeying my command. Now, be strong and brave.

D: Even if you want to say that I somehow did so on purpose, the fact is that he disobeyed a direct order from me three

times. I cant run a kingdom with rebellious soldiers. Even if I did do it, he deserved his own death.

: ( )

Absalom did that to all the Israelites who came to King David for judgment. In this way Absalom won the hearts of

all the people of Israel.

AV: You all know that my father is weak, he is a coward, and he is corrupt. Make me king and I shall rule with justice!

D: My point is, I am the king. I have to make decisions. Life and death decisions, for the good of the kingdom.

: ( )But now the baby (from Batsheva) is dead, so why should I refuse to eat? Can I bring the baby back to life? No.

Some day I will go to him, but he cannot come back to me.

I have to do what must be done to preserve the nation...

: ( )

And King David heard about all of this, (Amnons rape of Tamar), and it upset him greatly

...the throne...

: ( )

(After Amnons death), And it was when the messenger had finished speaking, the sons of the king came and

raised their voices and cried, and the king and all his servants cried very hard

My nation...

: ( )

(After Avshaloms uprising) David walked up the path to the Mount of Olives. He was crying, his head was covered,

and he went without sandals on his feet. All the people with David also covered their heads and were crying as they

walked with him

... my throne


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: ( )

The king became very upset. He went upstairs to the room over the gate, crying as he walked, O my son

Absalom! My son Absalom, I wish I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son!

...You were saying, Natan?

N: ..What should be done to that man?

D: That man? That man is despicable! I understand that he had a guest, that he needed to prepare food for this guest, butnecessity is no excuse! If he had looked harder he would have seen that he had other choices! Instead he chose to abuse his

power and to take something that belonged to someone else. Why are his concerns more important than the poor mans?

Especially when you consider how much the poor man loved this lamb. He should pay dearly for this lamb, forty times its

value! He should be punished severely for his actions!

N: That man is you!

( )

And David said to Natan, I have sinned to G-d

Documents

David and Batsheva: An Oral History