Difference between revisions of "David and Batsheva/2"
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<point><b>Uriah's death</b> – These sources absolve David of guilt in Uriah's death in various ways:<br/> | <point><b>Uriah's death</b> – These sources absolve David of guilt in Uriah's death in various ways:<br/> | ||
<ul> | <ul> | ||
− | <li><b>Rebellious</b> – According to the Bavli, Uriah was considered a rebel against the king due to his referring to Yoav as "my master".<fn>See his words in verse 11, "הָאָרוֹן וְיִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוּדָה יֹשְׁבִים בַּסֻּכּוֹת <b>וַאדֹנִי</b> <b>יוֹאָב</b> וְעַבְדֵי אֲדֹנִי עַל פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה חֹנִים וַאֲנִי אָבוֹא אֶל בֵּיתִי".  Since the title "my master" should have been reserved for David, calling Yoav by such a name was disrespectful.  It is also possible that the tone of the entire sentence was problematic, as Uriah's words implied that David should be criticized for relaxing in the palace and not joining the  battle.</fn> Malbim instead claims that the rebellion lay in Uriah's refusal to return home after David told him, "רֵד לְבֵיתְךָ וּרְחַץ רַגְלֶיךָ".‎<fn>Malbim reads David's words as a command to go home and not return to the war, rather than a friendly suggestion to take a short respite before returning to the front.</fn> | + | <li><b>Rebellious</b> – According to the Bavli, Uriah was considered a rebel against the king due to his referring to Yoav as "my master".<fn>See his words in verse 11, "הָאָרוֹן וְיִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוּדָה יֹשְׁבִים בַּסֻּכּוֹת <b>וַאדֹנִי</b> <b>יוֹאָב</b> וְעַבְדֵי אֲדֹנִי עַל פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה חֹנִים וַאֲנִי אָבוֹא אֶל בֵּיתִי".  Since the title "my master" should have been reserved for David, calling Yoav by such a name was disrespectful.  It is also possible that the tone of the entire sentence was problematic, as Uriah's words implied that David should be criticized for relaxing in the palace and not joining the  battle.</fn> Malbim instead claims that the rebellion lay in Uriah's refusal to return home after David told him, "רֵד לְבֵיתְךָ וּרְחַץ רַגְלֶיךָ".‎<fn>Malbim reads David's words as a command to go home and not return to the war, rather than a friendly suggestion to take a short respite before returning to the front.<br/>R' Yaakov Medan suggests, regarding these words, that were Uriah to return home and seclude himself with his wife, the child Batsheva would eventually bear would be assumed to be Uriah's. Since this did not occur, there would be speculation as to the father, David's acts would become known, and David's position would be endangered. See "מגילת בתשבע," Megadim 18-19 (1993): 92-93</fn> According to either reading, Uriah was deserving of death for his disrespect/disobedience.  David's sin lay not in killing him, but only in doing so outside of proper judicial procedure.</li> |
<li><b>Legitimate casualty of war</b>– The Rid asserts that a king has a right to endanger his men in the front line, and can not be held accountable if they die there.  This, though, ignores the fact that David did not simply send Uriah to war but told Yoav to abandon him with the intention that he be killed.</li> | <li><b>Legitimate casualty of war</b>– The Rid asserts that a king has a right to endanger his men in the front line, and can not be held accountable if they die there.  This, though, ignores the fact that David did not simply send Uriah to war but told Yoav to abandon him with the intention that he be killed.</li> | ||
<li><b>No messenger for transgressions</b> – It is also possible to suggest that David was not held accountable since he did not directly harm Uriah; it was Yoav who put Uriah in position to be killed in battle (אין שליח לדבר עבירה).<fn>See below, however, that Radak argues that even if in general one maintains that "אין שליח לדבר עבירה" David's position as king made it difficult for anyone to defy him, so his acting via a messenger did not absolve him of guilt.  The repeated use of the verb "שלח" throughout the story (eleven times in Chapter 11 alone) might come to reinforce this point.</fn></li> | <li><b>No messenger for transgressions</b> – It is also possible to suggest that David was not held accountable since he did not directly harm Uriah; it was Yoav who put Uriah in position to be killed in battle (אין שליח לדבר עבירה).<fn>See below, however, that Radak argues that even if in general one maintains that "אין שליח לדבר עבירה" David's position as king made it difficult for anyone to defy him, so his acting via a messenger did not absolve him of guilt.  The repeated use of the verb "שלח" throughout the story (eleven times in Chapter 11 alone) might come to reinforce this point.</fn></li> |
Version as of 13:15, 8 January 2018
David and Batsheva
Exegetical Approaches
Overview
In evaluating David's actions with Batsheva, commentators find themselves in a quandary. On one hand, a simple reading of the text suggests that David committed two of the most severe of crimes: adultery and murder. On the other hand, since David is understood to be a righteous figure, chosen to head the monarchic dynasty, it seems unfathomable that he would act in such a manner. How can one be true to both the text and the idealized portrait of David?
R. Yonatan in Bavli Shabbat opts to exonerate David, claiming that he transgressed neither prohibition. To do so, though, he needs to make certain assumptions which are not explicit in the text and reinterpret other passages. Abarbanel, in contrast, maintains that one cannot ignore the simple understanding of the chapter. He prefers to say that David sinned egregiously, but also repented sincerely, and therein lay his greatness. Ralbag takes a middle position, claiming that David was guilty of murder but technically innocent of adultery. He nonetheless chastises David's behavior as immoral.
Not Guilty of Adultery or Murder
Though David's actions deserved censure, he did not violate the Biblical prohibitions of adultery or murder.
- Rebellious – According to the Bavli, Uriah was considered a rebel against the king due to his referring to Yoav as "my master".2 Malbim instead claims that the rebellion lay in Uriah's refusal to return home after David told him, "רֵד לְבֵיתְךָ וּרְחַץ רַגְלֶיךָ".3 According to either reading, Uriah was deserving of death for his disrespect/disobedience. David's sin lay not in killing him, but only in doing so outside of proper judicial procedure.
- Legitimate casualty of war– The Rid asserts that a king has a right to endanger his men in the front line, and can not be held accountable if they die there. This, though, ignores the fact that David did not simply send Uriah to war but told Yoav to abandon him with the intention that he be killed.
- No messenger for transgressions – It is also possible to suggest that David was not held accountable since he did not directly harm Uriah; it was Yoav who put Uriah in position to be killed in battle (אין שליח לדבר עבירה).4
- Divorced – R. Yonatan in the Bavli (followed by many sources) asserts that in David's era those who went to battle divorced their wives so as to prevent them from becoming "chained women" (עגונות)5 if the soldier were not to return from war.6 The sources disagree regarding the nature of the divorce:
- Full divorce – According to R. Tam,7 marriages were fully dissolved before the husband left to war. If so, when David approached Batsheva she was no longer a married woman and there was no possible issue of adultery. The sin lay in the fact that David knew that the divorce was given only for technical reasons and that under other circumstances the couple would have stayed married.8
- Conditional – According to Rashi and the Rid, in contrast, the divorces were conditional on the husband not returning home. As such, when David slept with Batsheva her status was unknown, and it was only after Uriah's death that she was retroactively considered divorced. This understanding absolves David of technical guilt, but leaves his actions as still very problematic from a moral perspective.
- Illegitimate marriage – Alternatively, this approach could posit that Uriah was a Gentile as his title "the Hittite" implies.9 If so, Batsheva was never legally married to him and David was not committing adultery when he had relations with her.
Guilty of Adultery and Murder
David sinned egregiously, committing both adultery and murder.
Guilty of Murder but not Adultery
David did not technically transgress the prohibition against adultery, but he was fully culpable of murdering Uriah.