David and Bathsheba: #metoo Before The Hashtag

In the Twitter world, Matt Smethurst of The Gospel Coalition tweeted the following:

https://twitter.com/MattSmethurst/status/1179912370103160832

To which Rachael Denhollander responded:

In point of fact, Denhollander has a good point. Sadly, her view is not shared across the board among people who ought to know better. Over the years, I have, on many occasions, heard the David-Bathsheba “affair” portrayed as a case where Bathsheba bathed in plain sight in order to be seen by King David. The commentaries include everything but a winking eye, and poor David—he just couldn’t control his lusts!

I kid you not. Even in a Bible Study Fellowship presentation 23 years ago, a guest presenter provided exactly that take. And this was a fairly learned group of men.

Allow me to burst that bubble….and this, ladies and gentlemen, is not rocket science. (I’m going to use ESV for the translation, although–to be honest–it doesn’t matter. Pick any translation you wish: on this matter, it’s clear as daylight.)


Picking up 2 Samuel 11, starting at verse 1:

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

The chapter begins with a layout of the background:

  • It was Spring.
  • It was a time during which kings typically went to battle. And we know that David is himself a warrior who has established himself as an Israelite king to be feared and respected among her neighbors.
  • The Israelites were enjoying military success.
  • But David–a warrior-king–did not go with his troops.

In other words, David was not doing his job.

Picking up verse 2:

It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.

While the ESV translation says “late one afternoon”, the Hebrew literally translates “in an evening”. (NASB indicates “when evening came”, KJV says, “in an eveningtide”, and NIV indicates, “in an evening”. For once, the NIV is actually closer to the literal Hebrew rendering.)

So let the record show, when David saw Bathsheba bathing, it was evening. This is an important detail.

Picking up verse 3:

And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

Keep in mind that, at this time, David is married. In fact, he has at least two wives of whom we know by name: Michal (Saul’s daughter) and Abigail. When he saw Bathsheba, the proper response would have been to look away and go back to his official business, meditating on God’s Law, of which he wrote so eloquently in the Psalms.

But instead, he decided to entertain his lusts. In so doing, he asked his men about her. And their response was to the general effect of, “Uhmmm….your Majesty…she’s married, and you know both her husband and her father.” (Based on what transpired, he knew that Uriah was one of his most valiant soldiers.)

Had he dropped the matter there, all would have been well. Except he didn’t stop with that veiled admonition. We learn this in verse 4:

So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.

Now I’ve heard some commentarors use this passage to show that the David-Bathsheba “affair” was a consensual one, and that she was at least partially at fault. What gets lost in that take is that the passage does not say that.

Let’s just say that, if you’re a woman whom a king wants, and that king sends his men for you, you have two acceptable responses: “Yes, I will happily serve His Majesty” and, “which clothes does His Majesty prefer that his women wear?” Bathsheba had no choice; due to the power differential, “consent”–as we understand it–was simply not possible.

Moreoever, verse 4 gives us an additional, and important detail as to what Bathsheba was doing in the first place:

  • “Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.”

In Old Testament Israel, women were deemed unclean during that wonderful time of the month that Aunt Flo dropped in for a week. At the end of that week, women ceremonially washed themselves and were then declared clean. That is what Bathsheba was doing!

When women are sexually assaulted, a common response–albeit an unfair one–is to question the degree of victimhood of the woman:

  • What was she wearing?
  • Was she a prostitute?
  • Was she acting seductively?
  • Did she really want it and then just claim rape now that “buyer’s remorse” has set in?

2 Samuel 11:1-4 is not implying that those responses are legitimate in such cases; at the same time, those 4 verses are telling us that such a response–even if you think it is valid–isn’t in play here.

  • It was evening;
  • Bathsheba was bathing as part of her monthly purification.

In other words, Bathsheba was doing everything “by the book”. She was being discreet. In spite of her proximity to very powerful people, she is acting so as to not be easily-seen. She is the one minding her own business.

Contrast that with the way the passage presents David.

  • David wasn’t doing what he should have been doing.
    • He should have been on the battlefield with his troops, but he remained in Jerusalem instead;
    • Even in Jerusalem, it was evening and he should have been attending to his wives or other official business;
    • When he saw Bathsheba, rather than turn away from his lust, he chose to entertain those lusts by asking about her;
    • In spite of a veiled warning, David sent his men and took Bathsheba, at which point “he lay with her.”

In point of fact, the Scriptures put 100% of the blame on King David and none of it on Bathsheba.

This was not an “affair”; affairs are consensual acts of infidelity. (This is why the Law commanded death for both offenders in such cases.)

This was not consensual; in fact, it was a #metoo assault long before the hashtag arrived.

6 thoughts on “David and Bathsheba: #metoo Before The Hashtag

  1. ” Over the years, I have, on many occasions, heard the David-Bathsheba “affair” portrayed as a case where Bathsheba bathed in plain sight in order to be seen by King David. The commentaries include everything but a winking eye, and poor David—he just couldn’t control his lusts!”

    This is definitely a wrong interpretation. As in “poor David couldn’t control his lusts”. I mean God sent Nathan to rebuke David and promised not to kill him when he confessed his sin and repented.

    “Did she really want it and then just claim rape now that “buyer’s remorse” has set in?”

    Buyers remorse I think can be true. And according to due process can be separated from actual sexual assault.

    “When women are sexually assaulted, a common response–albeit an unfair one–is to question the degree of victimhood of the woman”

    Its unfortunate but I think false rape allegations do result in such a thing occurring. Like everything else it doesn’t suddenly emerge out of nowhere in a vacuum. Like many forms of unfairness may have been a consequence of unfairness the other way around.

    For example the practice of the murder of widows through the practice of Sati:
    https://unknownmisandry.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-origin-of-widow-self-immolation.html

    Was because so many women were murdering their Husbands. And the Brahmins devised this tradition to put a stop to that. No doubt resulting in many innocent women be immolated along with the guilty.

    As always the best process of sorting things out is due process and proper investigation.

    • No question. False accusations always muddy the waters and hurt the real victims, as the latter tend to be disbelieved.

      I’ve always said that, when accusations surface, you have to assume they could be true, and have qualified parties investigate. They could be true/credible, they could be false and dismissable, they could be true but unverifiable. In the latter case, the hope is that, eventually, the bad guy gets found out and punished accordingly. And sometimes that happens.

      But the liars are the ones who ruin it for everyone.

      • That’s the problem with modern social media like twitter. That have been witchhunts before the evidence even has come in and the suspect was nailed down.

        Man got fired from job. Commits suicide afterwards due to a false accusation that ruined his life and even his own family turned against him:
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsDeU0_gaGk

        “I’ve always said that, when accusations surface, you have to assume they could be true, and have qualified parties investigate. They could be true/credible, they could be false and dismissable, they could be true but unverifiable. In the latter case, the hope is that, eventually, the bad guy gets found out and punished accordingly. And sometimes that happens.”

        Agreed. Whilst we may be repeating ourselves. Its good to remind ourselves about this fact. On buyers remorse, I think buyers remorse due to the guilt of sin of fornication outside of wedlock is a reality.

        Of course its sexual sin. However it has been the case that accusations have resulted from this fact as I have read. Unfortunately I cannot recall what news story.

  2. You know. The best way to avoid most of the possibilities of #MeToo is to obey the Pence Rule. Men should in essence avoid associating with any woman unless he is negotiating with the Father for the hand of one of his daughters in marriage or necessary business dealings or anything absolutely necessary for day to day.

    Of course Islam takes it to ridiculous levels. But a certain level may be sane.

    Reduce the chances of false accusation or temptation among ordinary men.

    • These days, it’s easier than that.

      (1) Keep security cameras in your office, so you can record all meetings;

      (2) Use a recording app on your smartphone when you meet privately with someone in other avenues (i.e. restaurants, conferences, etc.);

      (3) Save all online correspondence.

      Even then, ultimately, it begins with you and me ensuring that our own motives are right and that we are walking the straight-and-narrow. Jesus never feared speaking with women privately or even publicly.

      (Yes, there are false accusers out there, but (a) it’s actually not common, and (b) the vast majority of those can be blunted by basic prudence. In church settings, a “2 person rule” or, if you are a minister, having all meetings recorded on video/audio should suffice.)

      An assault–even an affair–is not a spontaneous occurrence: it takes lust, forethought, and purposeful action. It is never an accident that “just happened”.

      In almost every #metoo–even #churchtoo–incident that I’ve read about, the accused was guilty.

      • “(1) Keep security cameras in your office, so you can record all meetings;

        (2) Use a recording app on your smartphone when you meet privately with someone in other avenues (i.e. restaurants, conferences, etc.);

        (3) Save all online correspondence.”

        That would work. Although I think avoidance is due to the hassle of dealing with accusations that arise anyway even when such a thing is solid. So they avoid even hiring women.

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