Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to provide a literary interpretation based on the foundations of Feminist Criticism towards the Bathsheba narratives, found in 2 Samuel 11-12 as well as 1 Kings 1-2. The objectification, victimization, and passiveness of Bathsheba and her role as an agent in the narrative of 2 Samuel will be investigated, as well as the perhaps more positive portrayal of her and her role as an active character complete with traits of cunning, jealousy, and loyalty as seen in 1 Kings.
Feminist Possibilities
Throughout history, Bathsheba has been portrayed in many different ways. Most of these ways appear to shed a rather negative light on the character of Bathsheba in one way or another. Art and cinema have portrayed her as both a harlot and a rape victim, objectifying her to the extreme.[1] She has been labeled as one of the “bad girls of the Bible.” While some might argue that this title suits her actions, others may point out that titles and portrayals such as these further objectify this woman and bring about an even greater injustice. The latter would perhaps say that objectification of a woman such as Bathsheba throughout the history of art and cinema is the result of male oppression in these systems and in society as a whole. Bathsheba is often portrayed as a lewd whore leading David astray. In Henry King’s 1951 movie David and Bathsheba she is portrayed as one who despised her husband for his lack of love and conspired to entice David. [2] One might call the Bathsheba of this movie David’s stalker, a wicked temptress. She has been portrayed little better in other films.[3]
While media has tended to portray Bathsheba on rather negative terms, Bathsheba may be viewed on many numbers of levels. Winkelman argues that Bathsheba should not be viewed as a seductive temptress and that her bath was purely innocent. He points out that traditionally Bathsheba’s washing has often been interpreted as a menstrual purification ritual. However, he states that washing was not required for a woman after her period during this time, and was only a part of later rabbinic tradition.[4] Quoting Tikva Frymer-Kensky, he says “that bathing and purification are two separate events, not necessarily pertaining to each other or even Bathsheba's menstrual cycle,”[5] and that “’…in the Bible—women do not seem to wash after menstruation', clarifying that time, not water, brings an end to menstruation.”[6] Her bath as menstrual cleansing has often been interpreted to show that she was not pregnant before David had sexual relations with her, but Winkelman argues that her washing was a different act of self-sanctifying that showed her identification with the Israelite deity.[7] He compares her washing with the washing of other women in the Bible, who bathed for the sake of bathing and not for menstrual purification. He compares Bathsheba with Pharaoh’s daughter and Ruth. Both of these women became the mothers, so to speak, of the great leaders of Israel, Moses and David after having washed themselves. In the same way, Bathsheba is shown to have washed herself prior to becoming the mother of one of the great leaders of Israel, Solomon.[8] All three of these women are non-Israelites, but are shown to be worthy of mothering the great leaders of Israel, in part through the way they wash themselves. He writes, “Bathsheba's ethnicity is addressed later, but note Bathsheba washes and becomes a mother of Israel, exactly like Pharaoh's daughter and Ruth.”[9] In this way, Bathsheba should not be viewed in a negative light, but ought to be seen as one who is prepared or sanctified and ready to be used by God as the mother of a great leader of Israel. [10]Her sanctification and identification with the Israelite deity is evident even in the midst of the sexual abuse suffered upon her by David.[11]
Bathsheba may be viewed on many numbers of levels. This is especially true when it comes to the literary theory of Feminism, which recognizes both the negative and the positive views of Bathsheba. Feminism seeks in a way to liberate the female from her bondage to male-dominated thought in literature, society, work, the home, and other places.[12] Literarily, Feminism may be applied to the Bathsheba narratives in the Bible, bringing about a number of different views and interpretations of both the character of the figure Bathsheba herself, as well critiques on the male characters in the narratives, such as David, as well as different analytical interpretation, critiques, and suggestions about the writer or writer of the narratives themselves.
Feminism may be approached in a number of different ways. One may apply feminist interpretation to the story of David and Bathsheba in order to portray Bathsheba as a helpless victim of David, pointing to this as an example of the oppression of women throughout history by men in order to say that women must at last be liberated from male domination. One may use Feminism to portray Bathsheba as a very clever woman who positioned herself in just the right place at the right time in order to gain political influence. One may seek to use Feminism in the hope of showing that while Bathsheba was a helpless victim, at first she overcame these difficulties and rose to become the most prominent woman in all of Israel, eventually causing her own son to be placed on the throne.
Analysis of the Text
Charles Bressler provides a list of questions for one to consider when reading a text through the lens of Feminist Criticism. The first of these questions is “Is the author male or female?”[13] To answer this question in regard to the Bathsheba narratives, one must make an investigation into the authorship of the Deuteronomistic History. It would appear that the Deuteronomist is the one who compiled these stories into his greater history as well as the one who wrote many parts of this history. While it is unclear who the exact author is, we may attribute these stories to the Deuteronomist.
Another question to ask oneself when engaging in a Feminist interpretation of the text is “Is the text narrated by a male or female?”[14] Traditionally, it would seem that the Deuteronomist is the male narrator for these accounts. However, it is difficult to say this with absolute certainty. Some would argue that this story is really the voice of a woman showing how women were mistreated. However, it makes more sense to say that the narrator is male because the society in which these stories were written was a male dominated society. Also, while the text involves women, the narrator never gives the reader insight into what is going on in the minds of the women characters. The narrator does give quite a bit of insight, though, into the minds of the male characters.
Another question to ask in this Feminist investigation of the text is “What types of roles do women haven in the text?”[15] Bathsheba herself is really the only woman within the initial narrative involving her. However, David’s other wives are also briefly mentioned by Nathan. The role of Bathsheba in this first story seems to be of a passive nature. Bathsheba is seen bathing by David who lusts over her and has her brought to his palace in order to sleep with him. After this encounter with the king she is sent home and soon realizes she is pregnant. She then speaks her only words in this story and sends a messenger to David saying, “I’m pregnant.” After this Bathsheba has no role in the story until after her husband is led to his death by David, and David takes her to be his wife after she mourns for her husband. She gives birth to David’s son, but Yahweh puts the child to death as a sort of punishment for David’s sin. She is then seen being comforted by David for the loss of her child. Eventually she gives birth to another son, Solomon, or Jedidiah. Bathsheba is not the focus of this story, but rather David. This story is about David’s sin and its consequences for David, and not about how Bathsheba herself was wronged and what this did to her.[16] She is not much of a character in this story, but only fulfills the role required of her in order to make the story worth reading.
In the story involving Bathsheba in 1 Kings 1, she is seen as a much more dynamic character. She is not a passive object, but a person with intellect who uses her wisdom to insure that her son’s right to the throne is maintained. In contrast to the first story in which David used his royal position to manipulate a helpless Bathsheba, Bathsheba uses her royal position to manipulate a helpless David. Another female character in this story is Abishag, a beautiful young woman who is used by David’s attendants in order to provide him with warmth. In a way, she is treated as an object by her male superiors. Adonijah even tries to use her to gain access to the throne. Adonijah also attempts to use Bathsheba in this attempt, but his plan backfires due to the cleverness of Bathsheba. Adonijah wishes to marry Abishag in order to be able to claim rights to the throne, but he must submit his request to Bathsheba. Bathsheba then uses this opportunity to provide Solomon with an excuse for getting rid of his rival half-brother. Robert Vasholz writes, “Bathsheba's request, then, on Adonijah's behalf,exposed him as still being a serious threat to Solomon and one that needed to be dealt with.” He continues, “Here was a very wise woman (and mother) whose acumen not only helped her son to secure his reign, but who also demonstrates wisdom as a virtue of God's kingdom.”[17] Some, however, would argue that it was really the intelligence of Nathan that secured Solomon’s inheritance of the throne and that Nathan was using Bathsheba in order to save his own life. However, it would seem that while Nathan suggests the plot to Bathsheba, there is evidence that she was fully capable of coming up with various elements of it on her own. No longer is she the passive and silent woman seen in 1 Samuel 11. She is a woman with an agenda, conspiring with Nathan get from David what they want, perhaps even “taking advantage of David’s feebleness to ‘plant’ a memory so that he will act in the manner that they wish.”[18] This interpretation is possible due to the fact that David is never before recorded as having said that Solomon would take over for him as king.
Another question which ties into the previous one is “Are the female characters the protagonists or secondary and minor characters?”[19] In 1 Samuel 11, Bathsheba is definitely a secondary or minor character. She is only there as an agent of plot, and not as a character herself. She barely speaks, and she has no significant role other than being used by David. Adele Berlin writes, “All this leads us to view Bathsheba as a complete non-person. She is not even a minor character, but simply part of the plot. This is why she is not considered guilty of adultery. She is not an equal party to the adultery, but only the means whereby it was achieved.”[20] He goes on to say that she should not even be considered as a type in the story, but merely an agent. He says, “The plot in 2 Sam. 11 calls for adultery, and adultery requires a married woman. Bathsheba fills that function. Nothing about her which does not pertain to that function is allowed to intrude into the story.”[21] In 1 Kings 1, however, Bathsheba would appear to be a main character, alongside Nathan, Solomon, and Adonijah. David takes on a lesser role at this point. Berlin writes, “Bathsheba's function as an agent in 2 Sam. 11-12 is in marked contrast to Bathsheba as a character in 1 Kings 1-2. Here she is a "real" person, a mother concerned with securing the throne for her son. She emerges in these episodes as one of the central characters, important in affairs of state as well as in family matters…”[22] However, Berlin does recognize that while Bathsheba is not an agent anymore, there is a woman portrayed in the same way in this story that Bathsheba was portrayed in 2 Samuel. This woman is Abishag, who does not speak, but is only used by the other characters as a means to get what they want.[23]
Another question to ask when applying a Feminist hermeneutic to the text is “Do any stereotypical characterizations of women appear?”[24] In 1 Samuel 11 it could be argued that the first sight of Bathsheba is a stereotypical one. It portrays her as a beautiful woman bathing and becoming the object of lust for David. One may argue that she fills the stereotypical role of female as sex object in her introduction. It could also be argued that both Bathsheba and Abishag fulfill the stereotypical roles of women to a certain extent in 1 Kings 1. Both of them seem to a part of what one might refer to as David’s royal herem, a stereotypical position for some women in ancient near eastern stories.[25] Bathsheba could be seen as the head of the royal herem as David’s favorite wife, a position sometimes referred to as “gebirah.”[26] Bathsheba is also very rarely referred to by name early on in the narrative. She is identified as “Uriah’s wife,” thus indicating that her social status is based upon her husband. She is not necessarily considered her own person apart from her husband. She belongs to him, and often when she is referred to in the story she is referred to only as his wife, or the daughter of Eliam. The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible indicates that “Bathsheba is among five women included in the Gospel of Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, all of whom are listed by their own names, except for Bathsheba, who is identified as ‘the wife of Uriah’.”[27] This refers back to the way to which she is referred in 2 Samuel. It continues, “By using the language of 2 Sam 11:3, 26; 12:10 and 15, the genealogy indirectly recalls the story of David’s abuse of power and Bathsheba’s vulnerability.”[28]
Another question to ask oneself is “What are the attitudes toward women held by the male characters?”[29] In the first story, David’s attitude towards Bathsheba is evident. He sees her bathing, wants to have sex with her, and uses his power to get what he wants. After their sexual encounter, she is sent back to her home. He appears to be done with her. When he finds out she is pregnant he makes various attempts to cover up what he has done. He tries to get Uriah to have relations with his wife, but Uriah refuses, perhaps suspecting David’s scheme.[30] David’s servants do nothing to protect Bathsheba from David, except for mentioning to him that she is a married woman. Later, after David has caused Uriah’s death, he waits until Bathsheba’s period of mourning for her husband is over before taking her to be his wife. Later, when the child of their iniquity dies, David is seen tending to Bathsheba and comforting his grieving wife. This attitude seems to be an improvement over the lust originally seen in David. Psalm 51 is attributed to David after he had sinned with Bathsheba. Within this psalm is seen great remorse for what has taken place. The psalmist, speaking for David, writes, “Have mercy on me, O God…” and “Against you, and you only have I sinned.” This would seem to indicate that David sees his sin as something not committed against Bathsheba or Uriah or even Joab, but as only against God. Garland and Richmond say that “David still seemed not to understand the enormity of what he had done to others. What about Bathsheba? What about Uriah? But his sin against them was his sin against God, and God offers forgiveness to the repentant and humbled David.”[31] This appears to be a distorted view of his sin, as if he does not realize that his sin is not just between him and God, but one that affected the lives of other people as well, including Bathsheba. Another interpretation of these words attributed to David in this psalm would say that in saying that He has sinned against God alone, he is saying that the root of all sins against other people is sin against God. [32]One may also argue that in equating is sin against Bathsheba with sin against God he is elevating Bathsheba to the position of God, or at least identifying her with God. The 1 Samuel 11 story says that “What David had done greatly displeased the Lord.” God took David’s actions against Bathsheba as actions against himself. In this way, God is seen identifying with the woman of Bathsheba. God is seen suffering alongside a woman who was abused by a man. At the same time, however, God causes Bathsheba’s child to die, causing her even more suffering, although this causes David to also suffer greatly, since he “loved the child.”
In 1 Kings 1, the attitudes towards female characters by male characters may also be seen. Abishag is used as an object by which David is warmed. Adonijah views her as a way of gaining control of the kingdom, and it is unclear whether or not he actually loves her. Nathan’s opinion of the female characters is also unclear. He goes to Bathsheba in order to warn her of the danger she and Solomon are in, but it is unclear whether this is out of compassion or if he realized that his own life was also in danger. Bowen writes, “In this episode she is not the one to initiate the approach to David. She is coaxed (or manipulated?) by Nathan, who counsels that she must do this in order to save her own life.”[33]
David appears to be non-responsive to the beautiful Abishag warming him in his bed, but this seems to be because David is too old to be sexually aroused. David receives his wife Bathsheba, however, warmly, and confirms that Solomon will be king after him. Solomon appears to regard his mother with the utmost respect, showing her the proper royal courtesies upon her entry into his presence. However, Solomon also appears angry when she presents Adonijah’s request to him. It is unclear whether he thought his mother was stupid for making this request on Adonijah’s behalf, or whether his anger was towards Adonijah himself. Either way, he uses this new knowledge provided by Bathsheba to deal with his half-brother and rival. It may also be that Solomon was merely putting on a show of anger in response to this request and that he had been looking for an excuse to do away with Adonijah and recognized the cleverness of his mother in bringing Adonijah’s request to his attention. In this way, Solomon may have viewed his mother as an intelligent woman and a loyal mother.
Another question to ask oneself when applying Feminist criticism to the Biblical text is, “Is feminine imagery used? If so, what is the significance of such imagery?”[34] In the Bathsheba narratives, there does not seem to be much feminine imagery used. However, 2 Samuel 11 does go so far as to point out the great beauty of Bathsheba and how her great beauty is what attracts David to her. A person’s beauty is only sometimes referred to in the Bible to describe a character. Bathsheba is describes as beautiful, but David appears to be as well elsewhere. Saul was also describes as a good-looker, as well as David’s son Absalom, among others, such as Rachel who was compared her sister Leah, who “had weak eyes,” or was not beautiful. Beauty at times seems to convey that a character has admirable traits. However, while a beautiful character may have admirable traits, sometimes they may also have negative traits. Bathsheba’s beauty does not seem to indicate anything of her character, but only a physical feature taken in by David in his objectification of her. However, Michael Avioz writes that “Nonetheless, the description of Bathsheba’s beauty is part of the positive casting of her character. Here beauty is not used as temptation as described in Proverbs. This is in contradistinction to the claims of several researchers that Bathsheba seduced David.”[35] In 1 Kings 1 Abishag is also described as beautiful, but nothing is mentioned of her character. In comparison with David’s other wives, Bathsheba stands in contrast with Michal. Michal is often seen taking initiative and sometimes takes on roles that men traditionally take – she announces her love for David, she rescues David from his enemies, etc. She is not described as beautiful, but is seen to be somewhat masculine.[36] Bathsheba on the other hand is portrayed in a very feminine way, and for the biblical writer her femininity seems to be portrayed in her silence, her passivity, and her physical beauty.[36]
Conclusion
In conclusion, the story of Bathsheba has been interpreted in a number of different ways throughout the centuries. Many of these interpretations have portrayed the character of Bathsheba in a negative light. This Feminist interpretation of the text shows that Bathsheba was not necessarily a woman seeking to take advantage of David, but rather David’s victim. While some say that Bathsheba exposed herself to David in order to somehow gain a royal position, this interpretation seems to be weak. Bathsheba does not even appear to be a character with a personality in the 2 Samuel story, but only a type, or an agent for the narrator to use in his overall picture of David. However, in 1 Kings, Bathsheba does take on the role of a more full-fledged character. In that story, she is shown to be intelligent and having a will of her own, despite Nathan’s promptings. While she is still shown to be subject to other men, she uses her influence to get what she desires from David, just as he had originally used his influence to get what he desired from her. In this way, one may come to the conclusion that although women may be oppressed Bathsheba is one who eventually overcomes.
_____________________________________________________________________________
[1] E. Winkelman, et al. "The sanctified 'adulteress' and her circumstantial clause: Bathsheba's bath and self-consecration in 2 Samuel 11." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 32, no. 3 (March 1, 2008): 339-352.
[2] Garland, David E., and Diana S Richmond Garland. "Bathsheba's story: surviving abuse and loss." Family and community ministries 21, no. 3 (December 1, 2008): 22-33.
[3] Even in children’s films which are careful to not portray excessive amounts of promiscuity, she is still often seen as an object. Veggietales’ King George and the Ducky, seeking to avoid adult subjects portrays David as an anthropomorphic cucumber and Bathsheba as a rubber duck, an object.
[4] Winkelman., Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Christian tradition even place Bathsheba, along with Ruth and other foreign women, in the genealogy of Jesus.
[11] Winkelman., Ibid.
[12] Charles E. Bressler, Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice (Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall).
[13] Bressler., Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Berger, Yitzhak. "Ruth and the David-Bathsheba story: allusions and contrasts." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33, no. 4 (June 1, 2009): 433-452.
[17] Vasholz, Robert I. "The wisdom of Bathsheba in 1 Kings 2:13-25." Presbyterion 33, no. 1 (March 1, 2007): 49.
[18] (eds.) Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. The Jewish Study Bible. (Oxford: Jewish Publication Society, TANAKH Translation): 672
[19] Bressler., Ibid.
[20] Berlin, Adele. "Characterization in biblical narrative: David's wives." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament no. 23 (July 1, 1982): 69-85.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Bressler., Ibid.
[25] Cushman, Beverly W. "The politics of the royal harem and the case of Bat-Sheba." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 30, no. 3 (March 1, 2006): 327-343.
[26] Bowen, Nancy R. "The quest for the historical gĕbîrâ." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 63, no. 4 (October 1, 2001): 597-618.
[27] (gen. ed.) Katharine Doob Sakenfeld. The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible A-C, Volume 1 (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press):2006.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Bressler., Ibid.
[30] Berger., Ibid.
[31] Garland and Richmond Garland., Ibid.
[32] (ed.) Michael E. Lawrence. The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IV. “The Book of Psalms: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections” by J. Clinton McCann, Jr. (Abingdon Press: Nashville, TN): 1996.
[33] Bowen., Ibid.
[34] Bressler., Ibid.
[35] Avioz, Michael. "The motif of beauty in the books of Samuel and Kings." Vetus testamentum 59, no. 3 (January 1, 2009): 341-359.
[36] Ibid. (a) He also notes that Michal’s brother Jonathan also possesses some physical beauty and that although he is a warrior his sister is at times portrayed as even more masculine than he.
[37] Ibid.
