She belongs in a novel, this intriguing woman about whom we know so little, but who figures so largely in the story of David.

We actually meet her twice, and each segment shows us a different woman. In the first, she is a soldier's wife, innocently bathing on the roof of her home. I know, there are commentators who say she should have known that the king's palace overlooked her home. My response to that is to quote the ominous verse 1 of 2 Samuel 11: "In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle..." David remained in Jerusalem. He should not have been at home. We will never know why, but he is obviously bored, lacking male companionship. Having seen the beauteous Bathsheba, he sends for her. She cannot refuse.

We all know what follows. She becomes pregnant and sends word to David. He then tries desperately to cover his tracks by sending to the front lines for Uriah, her husband, on a flimsy pretext, hoping he will go home sleep with his wife, and thus cover up the whole sorry story. Uriah is not an Israelite, but a Hittite, probably a mercenary, but he knows the unwritten rules for the military. He sleeps in the courtyard because he has not right to go to his wife when his men in the field are deprived of
that joy. What an honorable insight.

A second desperate action by David, getting Uriah drunk, has the same result. The man's principles are inviolable. Finally David sends him back to war, carrying a letter to his commander in which the king outlines the perfect battle plan. Attack the enemy, make sure Uriah is in the front line, then withdraw from the fray and...

The general does it; Uriah is killed, and the hypocritical David responds: "Do not let this matter trouble you for the sword devours now one and now another." After a suitable period of mourning, Bathsheba is sent for by David; she enters his
household and bears a son.

No chapter in the Bible quite matches the poignancy of chapter 12. David is faced with his sin by the prophet Nathan and the awful realization of what he has done finally enters his head and his heart.

The agony of David's prayers and fasting for the sickly baby follow. Bathsheba is only mentioned after the child's death when we are told: "Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba, and went to her, and lay with her; and she bore a son and he named
him Solomon."

Bathsheba is used in this story but her role is not yet over. David's criminal treatment of her places her in his palace. There is more to come from this enigmatic woman. Read her story and grieve for women in our world still being treated with less
than full dignity.

Bible reference: 2 Samuel 1 - 12