Bathsheba

Theology of Work + Jonah Podcast

My short article for the Theology of Work Commentary, “David’s Rape of Bathsheba and Murder of Uriah” went live today. From their website: “The vision of the Theology of Work Project is that every Christian be equipped and committed for work as God intends.” It was an honor to contribute to this important project.

Here’s a quote from the article: “When we call this incident adultery or impugn Bathsheba’s actions, we are not only ignoring the text, but we are essentially blaming the victim. However, when we call it rape and focus on David’s actions, we not only take the text seriously, but we validate the stories of other victims of sexual abuse. Just as God saw what David did to Bathsheba, so God sees what perpetrators do to sexual abuse victims today.”

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My interview on the book of Jonah for the podcast of Michael Eisley just went live today. Among his many other ministry roles, Dr. Eisley served as the president of Moody Bible Institute.

Here is an earlier podcast, I recorded with Dr. Eisley on 1, 2 Kings (my Zondervan commentary on Kings will come out in 2021).
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Bathsheba and the Wife of Cain

So, did Cain really marry his sister? What happened between David and Bathsheba–was it adultery or rape?

In my next book, Prostitutes and Polygamists: A Look at Love, Old Testament Style, I discuss the wife of Cain in my discussion of incest and the sexual encounter between David and Bathsheba in my discussion of rape and adultery. (I think it was rape, not adultery.)

As I was perusing the Society of Biblical Literature blogs today, I came across two highly relevant blogs on these two women. These blogs are written by Old Testament scholars who are able to take some of their research and express it in language that is easily understandable to all readers of the Old Testament. If you’re interested in these women, check these two blogs:

Bathsheba by Sara Koenig

Whom Did Cain Marry? by Eva Mroczek

Painting, “Bathsheba Bathing” by Jean Bourdichon (1457-1521).

David and Bathsheba: Who’s to blame? (2 Sam. 11)

Who’s to blame for the adulterous affair between David and Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11)?

1) Bathsheba. David was innocent, a man after God’s own heart, seduced into committing adultery by the temptress Bathsheba.

2) David. Bathsheba was innocent, the powerless wife of Uriah, who’s away at battle. She was forced to have sex with the king to fulfill his lust.

Take the poll and/or comment: 1) Who’s to blame? 2) Why?

Results will show up in my next book.