This cannot refer to Absalom. These include Adam Clarke. We have already seen evidence in a previous article that the marriage was Biblically valid. David then ordered that Uriah be moved to the front-line of a battle, where he was killed. Since Bathsheba could not have been older than 20 at the time (since Ahithophel was 39 years old and Eliam was probably in his late 20s), which means that at the time of Solomons birth, she was between 911 years old, with 11 being the conservative estimate based on the conservative estimate for Solomons age (9 years). This was also the conclusion of Jewish and Christian commentators. Ironically, from an Islamic point of view, marriage at such a young age is prohibited (unless Bathsheba had somehow entered puberty as such an early age and was both socially and physically mature, which is unlikely). Some Bible dictionaries mention both Eliams without any additional information. Furthermore, as stated, David himself was 70 years old at the time of his death. But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; Of course, the statement is not intended for a universal law, and indeed was probably pointed especially at the bloody and deceitful men of whom the psalmist had been speaking. Ali Al-Ridha got upset and said: "Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un, you assign sluggishness in prayer to the prophet of God, and then accuse him of unchastity, and then charge him with the murder of an innocent man!" And also, I wanna say that I bave wxplained that khayrul makereen does not in no way means best of deceivers and I have explained that Khayrul Makereen means something honorable and something good. No, this is not a tu quoque fallacy, which is defined as: an informal fallacy that intends to discredit the opponents argument by asserting the opponents failure to act consistently in accordance with its conclusion(s).[79]. Called Ammiel, 1 Chronicles 3:5. In verse 1, David, who was nearing death, described Solomon as young and inexperienced: Then King David said to the whole assembly: My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young [naar] and inexperienced [rak]., According to Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, the Hebrew word naar can refer to a newborn child or a young man as old as twenty:[74], As for rak, it is usually translated as tender or weak, and is generally used for little children:[75]. This was also the conclusion of Jewish and Christian commentators. Known For: After Saul, David was the second king of the Israelite kingdom. This illustrates that Ahithophel was probably a young man (Source: This brings us to the most crucial point of our academic journey of determining Ahithophels age. The reader should recall that Hushai the Arkite was the double-agent in 2 Samuel 17 who persuaded Absalom to ignore Ahithophels advice on how to fight David. [2] Thus, Christians will reject the estimation of Abishag and Marys ages (approximately 12 years) because the Bible does not specifically state it and because the estimate comes from Jewish commentaries or historical evidence or even the early church fathers and not from the Biblical text.[3]. Psalm 55 is a prayer of David asking God to save him from his enemies. Share. Bathsheba was a daughter of Eliam and was probably of noble birth. He could have been as old as 11 years if we assume that the four years in 2 Samuel 15:7 refers to the time from Absaloms return from Geshur (2+3+2+4=11). WebNow king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat. First, the account in Chronicles omits the sordid stories of David and Bathsheba and Absaloms revolt, and only mentions some characters in passing, so we do not have much information about Bathsheba, Eliam, or Ahithophel. Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam (2 Samuel 11:3, Ammiel in 1 Chronicles 3:5). He confirmed Bathshebas words. He also gives 3 main reasons why it is not recommended to set a certain cutoff for basic rights, these being: This is more or less how medieval Islamic scholars dealt with the issue. 3 David sent someone and inquired about the woman. However, that is not what I am claiming. Bathsheba, also spelled Bethsabee, in the Hebrew Bible (2 Samuel 11, 12; 1 Kings 1, 2), wife of Uriah the Hittite; she later became one of the wives of King David and the mother of King Solomon. However, this does not appear to be a reasonable assumption. Both commentaries base their views on the supposition that the psalmist was still in Jerusalem at the time, whereas David found out about the Ahithophels involvement only after he had fled Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:31). So, either way, it seems that the name in 1 Chronicles 11:36 was a textual corruption, and thus, unreliable. Some Bible dictionaries mention both Eliams without any additional information. There is no reason to interpret the verse allegorically. Hebraicae, in loco), the father of Bath-sheba. When David was dying, Bathsheba successfully conspired with the prophet Nathan to block Adonijahs succession to the throne and to win it for Solomon. Its date and authorship must be left in the region of mere conjecture. [95] Holmans Bible Dictionary argues that the Chronicler may have confused the title of Helez the Paltite (2 Samuel 23:26) and that Ahijah the Pelonite was a textual corruption. God gave Bathsheba a son, Solomon. Second, the Chronicler seemed to indicate that Ahithophel was still alive when David was old and nearing death! There is an obvious contradiction. Surah 70 Verse 30 which Christians take out of context. He ordered enquiries and found out that she was Bathsheba, wife of Uriah. Based on the example of Barzillai, 80 years seems to have been the upper limit of life in Davids time. Considering she was old enough to be married yet still without children, Bathsheba was likely 16-19 years old in the story. for so we find with David, king of Israel, who learned from Ahitophel no more than two things, yet called him his master, his guide and his beloved friend, as it is said, But it was you, a man mine equal, my guide and my beloved friend (Psalms 55:14)., [52] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/psalms/55-23.htm, [53] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/psalms/55-23.htm, [54] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/psalms/55.htm, [55] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/psalms-55.html#23, [56] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/clarke/psalms/55.htm, So we find, if there be an appointed time to man upon earth, beyond which he cannot pass; yet he may so live as to provoke the justice of God to cut him off before he arrives at that period; yea, before he has reached half way to that limit. One competing interpretation may be that the subject of the psalm was Sauls murderous overtures towards David. Absalom summoned Ahithophel to come to Hebron from his hometown of Giloh (hence, Ahithophel was known as the Gilohite). As told in 2 Samuel 11-12, Bathsheba was married to Uriah, one of Davids mighty men ( 2 Samuel 23:39 ). Great. [1] https://quranandbibleblog.wordpress.com/2020/06/10/the-age-of-marriage-in-the-bible/. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. This could be shown with various degrees of nudity, depending on the pose and the placing of clothes or towels. They shall live as long as the Lord of life, the righteous Judge, has appointed, with whom the number of our months is; but he has determined to cut them off by an untimely death in the midst of their days., [58] https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/tod/ps055.cfm?a=533023, A wicked man never lives out half his days; for either he is cut off before he hath lived half the course of nature, or he is cut off before he hath lived a quarter of the course of his desires; either he lives not half so long as he would; and therefore let him die when he will, his death is full of terror, trouble, and confusion, because he dies out of season. "[4] According to Michael D. Coogan, the faulting of David is made clear in the text from the very beginning: "It was springtime, the time when kings go forth to war but David remained in Jerusalem" (2 Samuel 11:1); if David had been away at war, the incident would not have taken place. But Uriah was unwilling to violate the ancient kingdom rule applying to warriors in active service. [69] https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/smiths-bible-dictionary/ahithophel.html. Tomorrow Ill send you back. So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day. And the woman, Bathsheba, is married. [68] Similarly, Smiths Bible Dictionary states that he was approximately 32 years old and died around 1023 BCE (emphasis ours): a native of Giloh, was a privy councillor of David, whose wisdom was highly esteemed, though his name had an exactly opposite signification. In this article. So, we should follow Muhammads example and only allow marriage at an age that is appropriate for the time. It reads like a song of the time of Absalom and Ahithophel. According to the decree of God, he might have lived the other half; but he has not done it., [57] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/mhcw/psalms/55.htm, They are bloody and deceitful men (that is, the worst of men) and therefore shall not live out half their days, not half so long as men ordinarily live, and as they might have lived in a course of nature, and as they themselves expected to live. (2Samuel 16:23) (B.C. Oops, Im sorry, I thought you were Christian. Brother can you refute this also. The adultery scandal and the subsequent revolt by Absalom and Ahithophel would have required a clarification, but only if the author meant to refer to different people. [67] Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the average lifespan at the time was around 7080 years (note that this is a very generous assumption). Bath-sheba was the granddaughter of Ahithophel 2 Samuel 23:34., [90] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/2-samuel-11.html#3, [91] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/2-samuel-11.html#3, By a transposition of letters, he is called Ammiel, in 1 Paralipomenon iii. Why didnt you go home?, 11 The chest and Israel and Judah are all living in tents, Uriah told David. This does not directly affect the narrative concerning Bathsheba herself. Bathsheba (/bib/ or /bb/; Hebrew: , Ba-ea, Bat-Sheva or Batsheva, "daughter of Sheba" or "daughter of the oath")[1] was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, according to the Hebrew Bible. King David at once confessed his sin and expressed sincere repentance. Christians should try to be consistent. It should be noted that the Bible does not state Bathsheba was _ years old. Thus, it also means that he was between 4448 years old when he first encountered Bathsheba, who was 79 years old. Why would the author of 2 Samuel have mentioned Eliam in passing on two different occasions and yet have meant them to be two different people and not clarify it, especially since Bathsheba was the daughter of one Eliam, whereas another Eliam was part of Davids elite military unit? See my videos here: I agree that Rebekah was not 3 years old. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. But what if we can use the Bible to reliably estimate the age of another famous female character in the Bible: But how did the rabbis come to this conclusion if the Bible does not directly provide such information? He founded the Judaean dynasty and united all the tribes of Israel under This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bathsheba-biblical-figure, Jewish Women's Archive - Bathsheba: Bible, McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Bathsheba. on 2 Samuel 11:3, and 1 Chronicles 3:5) is that the two Eliams are the same person. I do not suffer from any misguided hope that all Christians will accept the facts presented in this article. And the arabic word Makr is used meaning plan, not deceive. xxiii. David was the first person to break this tradition. [29][30][31] Lawrence O. Richards states that the biblical text supports the innocence of Bathsheba, that David took the initiative to find out her identity and summon her, and that she was alone at the time and had no way to refuse the requests of a King. Updates? Before we begin, let us see what the Jewish scholars said about Bathshebas age when she gave birth to Solomon (dont worry, this is not the main evidence). Rather, by the onset of puberty, they were adults and were treated as such. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.[77]. The fact that David had to send several men to take Bathsheba may indicate that she was compelled to come to David. She returned to her own home (2 Samuel 11:4). This illustrates that Ahithophel was probably a young man (Source: https://bibleatlas.org/giloh.htm). This demonstrates her exalted status and share in the royal kingdom. David, (flourished c. 1000 bce), second ruler of the united kingdom of ancient Israel and Judah. Or Ammiel, [1 Chronicles 3:5] who was the son of Ahithophel, [2 Samuel 23:34] who might, for the dishonour done by David to his niece Bathsheba, be the readier to conspire against him, and to take part with Absalom., [22] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/isn/psalms-41.html#1, Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba., [23] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/lmg/2-samuel-15.html#1, The reason for this strong enmity was likely that Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba, [24] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mac/2-samuel-12.html#13, He was Bathshebas grandfather; and we are not going wrong, I think, in tracing his passionate hatred, and the peculiar form of insult which he counselled Absalom to adopt, to the sense of foul wrong which had been done to his house by Davids crime., [25] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tsk/2-samuel-23.html#34, Eliam: 11:3; 15:31; 17:23; 1 Chronicles 27:33,34, [26] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/2-samuel-12.html#14, What swept Ahithophel into the ranks of that great conspiracy? David, shooting at the bird, strikes the screen, splitting it; thus Bathsheba is revealed in her beauty to David.[14]. And Ahithophel began to counsel Absalom on how to destroy David. [100] Perhaps most controversial is his refusal to assign a particular age to serve as a cutoff. Nathan noted that Yahweh would punish David's house for Uriah's murder and taking his wife, and would let someone close ( rea) to David take away / seize ( laqach) all his wives and have him lie with / rape ( kab) them in broad daylight for everyone to see (2 Samuel 12:912). Since David died when he was 70 years old, it means that he was 50 years old when Bathsheba (911 years old) gave birth to Solomon. But, let us be even more generous and round it up to 80. The relationship between Bathsheba and King David did not begin well. " : ( ) " (, "Bathsheba's Story: Surviving Abuse and Loss", "Bathsheba at the Bath, object 1 (Butlin 390) "Bathsheba at the Bath", "Ahithophel in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia", "Is There a Queen in the Kingdom of Heaven? [74] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H5288&t=KJV, [75] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7390&t=KJV, [76] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/2-chronicles-24.html#15, [79] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_quoque. Note that this is the most conservative estimate. In the Book of Samuel, Saul, the first king of Israel, failed to reach a decisive victory against an enemy tribe, the Philistines. Learn how your comment data is processed. Strengths The recorded events of Davids life after his misconduct with Bathsheba cannot have occupied less than about twenty years; that is, he cannot have been at the time older than about fifty years. But the inference is really not a probable one. Regardless, most sources reasonably identify the two Eliams as the same person, including Naves Topical Bible,[82] Eastons Bible Dictionary,[83] the American Tract Society Bible Dictionary,[84] Faussets Bible Dictionary,[85] the Holman Bible Dictionary,[86] Hastings Dictionary of the Bible,[87] and the Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. Bathsheba is one of only five women listed in the ancestry of Jesus Christ ( Matthew 1:6 ). [17][18][19][20][21][22], Bathsheba (Barsabeh, Bathsabeh) is venerated in Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as a saint. Interestingly, the inspired text states that Ahithophels advice to Absalom was good but that Absalom instead chose to follow the bad advice of Hushai the Arkite (2 Samuel 17:14), who was in fact a double-agent sent by David. Because, Im a Sunni Muslim and Im planning to debunk all anti-islamic claims and anti-islamic arguments. 52, or the Ziphites, Ps. "Bath-sheba", "2 Samuel 11 - NIV Bible - In the spring, at the time when kings go off to", "Sting.com > Discography > Mad About You, 7", Current Ummah of Islam (Ummah of Muhammad), ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bathsheba&oldid=1147580428, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia without a Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, David, and Bathsheba (who is unnamed), are referenced, in the. The reason for this was: [f]or the Lord had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.. In an effort to conceal his sin, David summoned Uriah from the army (with whom he was on campaign) in the hope that Uriah would have sex with her and think that the child belonged to him. This was also the conclusion of the classical Jewish sources, such as the Targums and the Talmud, as explained in Gills Exposition of the Entire Bible: But it was thou,. I (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1988), p. 439. Based on this seemingly contradictory information, let us follow the conservative route, as always, and assume that Solomon was around 20 years old at the time of his ascension. The man said, She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.. David's punishment came to pass years later when one of David's much-loved sons, Absalom, led an insurrection that plunged the kingdom into civil war. 16:21), which sooner or later would have brought with it, according to Jewish law, the penalty of death; the motive for this advice being to remove Absalom, and thus to make a way for himself to the throne. [29] David J. Zucker writes that "[s]he is a victim of 'power rape'". He states that: an arbitrary age cutoff necessarily allows incompetent people to gain rights and privileges they probably shouldnt have.[101]. 8 Then David told Uriah, Go down to your house and wash your feet., Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. He never kept time or season with God, and surely God will not keep or regard his time or season., In the Jewish account threescore years was the age of a man, and death at any time before that was looked upon as untimely, The more sins we do commit, the more we hasten our own death; because as the wise man saith, The fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened (Pro 10:27); and the prophet David saith, Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; for sin is an epitomiser or shortener of everything: it consumes our wealth, it confines our liberty, it impeaches our health, and it abbreviates our life, and brings us speedily unto our grave., [61] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/psalms-55.html#23, But shall be cut off by an untimely and violent death., David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years., Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. What if someone was 90 years old at the time?, Yes, this is certainly possible, but where is the evidence from the Bible? A hadith quoted in Tafsir al-Kabir and Majma' al-Bayan expresses that Ali ibn Abi Talib said: "Whoever says that David, has married Uriah's wife as the legends are narrate, I will punish him twice: one for qazf (falsely accusing someone of adultery) and the other for desecrating the prophethood (defamation of prophet David)". David repented of his sins, and Bathsheba later gave birth to Solomon. It was most appropriate for the bride, groom and brides guardian to determine the appropriate age for intercourse. As Jonathan Brown explains: the medieval ulama considered the point at which a girl was fit for intercourse to be too varied to be firmly legislated for. Thus, while marriage at the onset of puberty was not unusual, the Bible indicates that both marriage and sexual intercourse were sometimes permitted at very young ages (though this does not appear to be the norm). The traditional ascription to David cannot on any ground be maintained. with 2 Samuel 23:34)., [14] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/2-samuel-11.html#3, Bath-sheba was the granddaughter of Ahithophel 2 Samuel 23:34., [15] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/2-samuel-12.html#1, He had no pity for the beautiful young Bathsheba whom he ordered to his bed. The son of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 23:34). In medieval typology, Bathsheba is recognized as the antetype foreshadowing the role of Ecclesia, the church personified, as David was the antetype for Jesus. )[25], Bathsheba's name appears in 1 Chronicles 3:5 spelled "Bath-shua", the form becomes merely a variant reading of "Bath-sheba". They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. WebHe was killed by Joab (1 Chronicles 3:1-2) after he mounted a rebellion against his aging father David. Bible: Child Marriage in Ancient Israelite times Paedophilia? Yes, this is certainly possible, but where is the evidence from the Bible? However, in 1 Chronicles the names are very different: Bathsheba is called Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel in 1 Chronicles 3:5. Or examples of sex slaves in the Bible (I remember Hagar and Jacobs slaves were used for sex to have babies). His astrological information had been, however, misunderstood by him; for in reality it only predicted that his granddaughter, Bathsheba, the daughter of his son Eliam, would become queen. Im sorry for making a claim that makes you think that I was criticizing Islam. [] Altogether it seems to us to relate to that mournful era when the King was betrayed by his trusted counsellor., [34] https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/smith_chuck/c2000_Psa/Psa_051.cfm?a=533001, Now David evidently wrote this psalm when he was fleeing from Absalom. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. He attempted to usurp the throne during the life of David (1 Kings 1:11ff). According to the chronology of 2 Samuel 1315, two years had passed since Amnon had raped his half-sister Tamar (Absaloms sister), Thus, the Talmud sages did not left out the 4 years that went by between Absalom and Davids reconciliation and the beginning of Absaloms revolt. The Targum is, but thou Ahithophel; of whom the words are literally to be understood, and so they are in the Talmud (u); and mystically and typically of Judas[30], Other commentaries, such as those of Matthew Poole,[31] John Phillips,[32] C. H. Spurgeon,[33] Chuck Smith,[34] E.W. [80] Some others do question the identification of Bathshebas father with Eliam the son of Ahithophel but do not provide concrete evidence. Rather, David laments being betrayed by: a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I enjoyed sweet fellowship[28]. This tends to be the go-to argument for problematic verses. Bathsheba was a faithful wife to David. Was David not praying to God for this to happen? Thus, Bathsheba could have been around 12-14 years old at the time of the birth of Solomon, which means that she was around 10-12 years old at the time David first encountered her. The messengers are sometimes confused with David himself, but most artists follow the Bible in keeping David at a distance in this episode. [a]ll the expressions used in this verse would probably be applicable to Ahithophel, and to the intimacy between him and David., This was also the conclusion of the classical Jewish sources, such as the Targums and the Talmud, as explained in, But it was thou,. It should also be pointed out that there is no indication that Bathshebas marriage to either Uriah or David was seen as abnormal or immoral. Change). he said "David was praying, when a beautiful bird appeared in front of him, and David left his prayer and went after the bird. Furthermore, God approved of David remaining married to Bathsheba, which resulted in the birth of Solomon, whom God loved. [76] Moreover, he did not live in the time of David but more than 100 years after him. Illustration of David and Bathsheba. BibleArtLibrary / Getty Images Bathsheba was King David's most famous and controversial wife, in part because their marriage came after an illicit extramarital affair at the height of David's reign over Judah and Israel (circa 1005965 BCE). For example, Willis Beecher states under the entry Ahithophel in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (emphasis ours): It is not strange that men have inferred that the son of Ahithophel was the father of Bathsheba. Satan is depicted as coming in the disguise of a bird. David pleaded with God to spare his child, fasting and spending the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground (2 Samuel 12:1617), but after seven days the child died (2 Samuel 12:18). In his commentary, Ibn Kathir stated that the age of marriage coincides with the age of puberty. 2 One evening, David got up from his couch and was pacing back and forth on the roof of the palace. 1055-1023.) Hence, this appeal fails to prove that the two Eliams in 2 Samuel were different people. shall not half their days; that is, shall be soon cut off, die in the flower of their age, come to an untimely end [] Absalom and Ahithophel came to tragic and unhappy ends; so did all the primitive persecutors, those cruel crafties.[55], Other commentators also explain the verse this way. The world was vastly different back then. Was it not inspired? Follow There is no hint that the writer is a king whose authority is threatened by a formidable insurrection. Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar.. While puberty could occur at such an early age, it is unlikely. And Im about to make articles as a form of ultimate refutations to your silly allegations. The oldest man in the Bible, after the patriarchs, was Jehoiada, who supposedly died at the age of 130 (2 Chronicles 24:15). Cmon bro, dont get me wrong. [The Septuagint calls him Eliab. In fact, the ages of women are not mentioned except in a few places (e.g., the age of Sarah when she gave birth to Isaac). Moreover, according to the Fausset Dictionary, Ahijah the Pelonite was probably a corruption of text. This is confirmed by most dictionaries, including Smiths Bible Dictionary,[6] the American Tract Society Bible Dictionary,[7] Fausetts Bible Dictionary,[8] the Holman Bible Dictionary,[9] Hastings Bible Dictionary,[10] the Morrish Bible Dictionary,[11] the Peoples Dictionary of the Bible,[12] and the Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature.