029 Bathsheba: Her story is not adultery but abuse

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(TW: Rape, sexual assault, abuse of power, murder)

Start with the text, and the story starts to sound very different. We walk through 2 Samuel 11–12 line by line and confront the hard truth: Bathsheba was not a seductress or a co-conspirator; she was a woman overpowered by a king who chose to abuse his authority. From ancient bathing practices to royal protocol, we dismantle common myths and show how the power gap makes consent impossible. The Hebrew details matter, and so does the narrative’s moral center: what David did was evil in the eyes of the Lord.

We explore how Deuteronomy’s city-and-field framework helps modern readers understand rescue, consent, and why Bathsheba had no defender within the palace. Then we trace David’s escalating choices—coverup attempts, manipulation, and the engineered death of Uriah that cost other soldiers their lives. Nathan’s parable reframes everything: the rich man steals the poor man’s lamb, and God links this theft to a kind of murder. That biblical image is a trauma-informed insight long before we had the term, revealing how sexual assault destroys something vital in a person’s life.

Yet the chapter also carries a thread of hope. After judgment and grief, Bathsheba bears Solomon, and God names him Jedidiah—beloved of the Lord. In a world where a woman’s future rests in her children, that name becomes a promise to her that she is seen and her child is cherished. Our goal is to give listeners a clear, faithful reading that centers survivors, names abuse without euphemism, and honors God’s justice and mercy.

If this episode helped you see Bathsheba’s story with fresh clarity, share it with a friend, subscribe for the next part of our mini-series with Liz Day, and leave a review to help others find the show. Your reflections and questions shape where we go next.

Get the PDF download: “Evidence That Bathsheba’s Story Is Rape, Not Adultery.” Link in the episode description and on our website

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