David and Bathsheba: Another Consideration

 
DAVID AND BATHSHEBA
 
“It happened, late one afternoon, when David arouse 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. 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?’ 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).” (2 Sam 11:2-4, ESV)
 
One of the most famous stories of personal failure in scripture is that of David and Bathsheba. Typical commentary about the encounter place Bathsheba bathing in the nude in the courtyard of her own home, but is that really what scripture conveys? I credit Mark with the following insight.
 
Mark was recently reading the story of David and Bathsheba and noticed the phrasing in relationship to Bathsheba, “Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.” This translation from the ESV implies that the purifying of Bathsheba came prior to her relationship with David. This is different from the wording of the NASB, “He lay with her: and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house,” (2 Sam 11:4). The NASB implies an original bath which caught the eye of David, followed by a subsequent bath after her relationship with David. The ESV implies a single bath taken for “purifying herself”, i.e., the act of mikvah.
 
Most translations support the English Standard Version including the KJV, “For she was purified from her uncleanness” and the Tanak, “She had just purified herself after her period.” Rather that scandalously bathing to entrap David, as is sometimes the interpretation, Bathsheba was performing the commandment of a faithful Jew and purifying herself. This understanding is supported by commentary from the publishers of the ArtScroll,
 
“The bathing that David had witnessed was her ritual immersion, as required for a woman following menstruation.” (The Prophets (The Rubin Edition), 2002 Edition, page 265)
 
The fact that Bathsheba was purifying herself after her monthly cycle removes any doubt as to her condition at the time of her encounter with David. Further, the mikvah where Bathsheba purified herself offered witnesses to the fact that she was not pregnant. This made the matter much more urgent for the king when she told David, “I am pregnant,” (2 Sam 11:5). Without these witnesses at the mikvah, the matter might have been easily concealed. So where did Bathsheba mikvah? Somewhere in the proximity of David's palace.
 
David lived in a palace in the City of David. Some archeologists place the palace of David in the northeastern slope, at the highest point in the city. In addition, it was common practice for kings to build the tallest structures both for protection and status. One example of this approach comes from Josephus during the times of the apostles. According to Josephus, “King Herod Agrippa could look out from his Hasmonean Palace…and view the sacrifices at the Azarah, at the altar of the Second Temple. This incensed the Jews, who then built a wall extending the height of the western rear wall of the Temple proper in order to block the view.”  (www.temlemount.org/theories.html).
 
David’s palace was adjacent to Mount Moriah and overlooked one of the ascents to the future Temple and the location of mikva’ot for priests and pilgrams who would enter the temple complex. However, at this time, the temple had not been constructed and the ark resided in a tent “which David had pitched for it” (2 Sam 6:17), in the city of David. The exact location of this tent is unknown, but it would be reasonable to expect that it was in close proximity to the palace of David. It would also be reasonable to expect mikva’ot in the proximity of the tent containing the ark so that those who carried the ark or ministered before the ark could maintain a state of holiness.
 
Mikva’ot required for purification were primarily public structures since few homes could afford access to the “living water” required for purification. It is probably into a mikva’ot close to the palace of David that Bathsheba went to purify herself. From David’s vantage point, “walking on the roof of the king’s house,” he had opportunity to look down on all the structures, including mikva’ot, within the City of David. On the roof, David was standing on the highest point of the tallest structure built on the highest geographic elevation in the City of David.
 
Rather than bathing to attract the attention of David, as some have speculated, Bathsheba should be seen as a faithful Jew purifying herself in a public mikva’ot “late one afternoon,” according to the commandments. In this context, Bathsheba was doing exactly what she was commanded to do. This can be a lesson for us. Sometimes bad things happen even when we are performing acts of worship and obedience consistent with the word of God.
 
Had David looked down on the mikvah before or just this one time? Scripture does not say. Although thousands of woman presumably passed through this mikvah monthly, Bathsheba was the one in the wrong place at the wrong time that caught David’s eye. David’s actions are unrighteous as seen in the rebuke of Nathan and the punishment of God on David and his household. However, the actions of Bathsheba should not be seen as sinful since she had been acting righteously and had no power to resist the will of David. For this reason, Bathsheba was permitted to be the mother of Solomon and elevated by name, along with her righteous husband Uriah, in the genealogy of the Messiah, (Matt 1:6).
 
(Scott and Mark - Austin)