Rachael Sandoz

Bathsheba Character Sketch

1. What life-situation placed this character into the biblical narrative?

a. Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittie and daughter of Eliam. When King

David was on his roof, that is when he spotted her bathing on top of her own

roof. He found her beautiful and had his messengers bring her to him. They then

slept together and Bathsheba found out she was pregnant. David panicked and

schemed to bring Uriah home to sleep with Bathsheba. Then the child would

seem to be Uriah’s. However, his plan failed and instead David sent Uriah to the

front lines to be killed. Bathsheba mourned and married David, giving birth to

her son. (2 Samuel 11)

2. How was their relationship with God demonstrated?

a. Though Bathsheba doesn’t have a voice in the narrative, it can be seen in her

relationship with David. She had a child out of wedlock and was married to

David, the right thing to do. When her child died, God blessed her with her new

son, Solomon. In 2 Samuel 12:24, it is mentioned that God loved Solomon. In

God’s disappointment of David, he still took care of him and Bathsheba. David

loved God and God loved him and his son back, as mentioned in the Bible. This

can imply that Bathsheba could have also had a close relationship with God

because of the blessings to her husband and her child.

3. How could this person’s personal spiritual condition be described?

 a. Bathsheba’s spiritual condition is good, but it is definitely flawed. She went along

with David’s plan to trick Uriah into sleeping with her to claim that the child was

theirs instead of David’s. She also should not have slept with David, though it is

being debated if consent was involved or not. However, after those events and

marrying David, her spiritual condition started to improve. God loved her

husband and her son, blessing each of them. Bathsheba must have also had a

good standing with God because of being the one to continue the line of David.

4. How did God use this person in the scheme of redemptive history?

a. Bathsheba was used in the scheme of redemptive history because she is included

in the lineage of Christ. By having a child with David and being his wife, she is

one of the five women listed in the genealogy of Christ. Bathsheba gave birth to

her son, Solomon, who was the following king after David.