King David was old and advanced in years; and although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm. So his servants said to him, 'Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king, and be his attendant; let her lie in your bosom, so that my lord the king may be warm.' So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The girl was very beautiful. She became the king’s attendant and served him, but the king did not know her sexually.
David's courtiers sought a pretty young girl to keep their old and dying king warm at night. Considering the number of wives and concubines David already had, it seems somewhat odd that no such woman was already in his harem. Despite being sought for her beauty, she does not become David's lover, but more his nurse or caretaker. Considering David's previous prowess with women, the inability to have relationship with this young woman seems degrading.
1 Kings 1:15:
So Bathsheba went to the king in his room. The king was very old; Abishag the Shunammite was attending the king.
1 Kings 2:17:
He said, 'Please ask King Solomon-he will not refuse you-to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.'
Her relationship to David embroils Abishag in political intrigue. Adonijah approaches Bathsheba , asking that she ask Solomon to give Abishag to Adonijah as a wife. Bathsheba agrees. 1 Kings 2:21-22:
She said, 'Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.' King Solomon answered his mother, 'And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom as well! For he is my elder brother; ask not only for him but also for the priest Abiathar and for Joab son of Zeruiah!'
Bathsheba approaches her son, as agreed. Yet Solomon views the request as a threat to his throne. Possession of one of King David's concubines would add to Adonijah's claim to the throne. The request, obviously, is refused.
Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, 'Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king and our lord David does not know it? Now therefore come, let me give you advice, so that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in at once to King David, and say to him, 'Did you not, my lord king, swear to your servant, saying: Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne? Why then is Adonijah king?' Then while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.
This strange scene raises several questions. Why did Nathan go to Bathsheba instead of approaching David himself? Did David really promise that Solomon would be king? Was Nathan acting on the Lord's command?
1 Kings 1: 15:
So Bathsheba went to the king in his room. The king was very old; Abishag the Shunammite was attending the king. Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king, and the king said, 'What do you wish?' She said to him, 'My lord, you swore to your servant by the LORD your God, saying: Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne. But now suddenly Adonijah has become king, though you, my lord the king, do not know it. He has sacrificed oxen, fatted cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the children of the king, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the commander of the army; but your servant Solomon he has not invited. But you my lord the king--the eyes of all Israel are on you to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his ancestors, that my son and I will be counted offenders.
Surprisingly, in all the catalogs of Bathsheba's devious deeds, this conversation is usually forgotten. Here we see a woman using verbal manipulation to gain her own end. She reminded David of a promise he supposedly made--and elaborates far more than Nathan had instructed. She indicates that not only has Adonijah claimed the throne, but he has excluded Solomon from any form of participation. Then she added that not only Solomon would be endangered, but she would also be threatened. While Michal and other women had become pawns in political intrigue, Bathsheba has turned the tables. She makes David her pawn in gaining power not only for her son, but for her through her son.
1 Kings 1:22:
While she was still speaking with the king, the prophet Nathan came in.
Nathan completes his plan, and verifies everything Bathsheba has said.
1 Kings 1:28-31:
King David answered, 'Summon Bathsheba to me.' So she came into the kings presence, and stood before the king. The king swore, saying, "As the LORD lives, who has saved my life from every adversity, as I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, "Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne in my place," so I will do this day.' Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and did obeisance to the king, and said, 'May my lord King David live forever!'
Again, we are left to question Bathsheba's motives. Did David originally make such a promise, or had she and Nathan acted fro their own benefits? In both accounts, they stressed their own exclusion from Adonijah's activities. Obviously, since she was making plans for her own son to ascend to the throne, it seems unlikely that she truly wished David would live forever, particularly as this was not phrased as a prayer to God!
We learn in chapter two that David has died.
1 Kings 2:13-19:
Then Adonijab son of Haggith came to Bathesheba, Solomon's mother. She asked, 'Do you come peaceably?' He said, 'May I have a word with you?' She said, 'Go on.' He said, 'You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel expected me to reign; however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, for it was his from the LORD. And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.' She said to him, 'God on.' He said, Please ask King Solomon--he will not refuse you--to give Abishag the Shunammite as my wife' Bathsheba said, 'Very well; I will speak to the king on your behalf.'
Adonijab goes to Bathsheba hoping she will use her influence on the king to gain his request. His approach to her almost seems like a political advance, and in fact it was. As with Reuben sleeping with his father's concubine, Adonijab wants his father's concubine to gain political advantage. Why he thought Bathsheba would help him gain this advantage is unclear, though he does seem aware that she has something to do with his lose of the throne. She promises to go to the king and speak on Adonijab's behalf.
1 Kings 2:19:
So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijab. The king rose to meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat on his right.
Bathsheba approached her son. The king not only rises to meet her, but bowed down before her. The verse tells us the extent of Bathsheba's personal power at the time. The king of Israel bowed down to her ; then he had a throne brought for his mother which he placed at his right. Being on the right was a place of honor, and an indication of shared power.
1 Kings 2:20-25:
Then she said, 'I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.' And the king said to her, 'Make your request, my mother; for I will not refuse you.' She said, 'Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijab as his wife.' King Solomon answered his mother, 'And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijab? Ask for him the kingdom as well! For his is my elder brother; ask not only for him but also for the priest Abiathar and for Joab son of Zeruiah!' Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, 'So may God do to me, and more also, for Adonijab has devised this scheme at the rest of his life! Now therefore as the LORD lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of my father David, and who has made me a house as he promised, today Adonijab shall be put to death.' So King Solomon send Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he struck him down, and be died.
Solomon does not grant Bathsheba's request. He lays blame for the intrigue solidly at the feet of Adonijab. He sees the request as a challenge to his throne.
1 Chronicles 3:5:
and during that time, he had thirteen more sons. His wife Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel gave birth to Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon.
Bathsheba might have just been a forgot name in history, just another scandal in a scandal ridden monarchy. But, like many other women of dubious sexual history in the Old Testament, she has an important part in one of the major events in history.
Matthew 1:6:
and Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah
A woman with a shady past, linked with adultery and murder, was part of our Lord's heritage.
Ahimaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath, Solomon's daughter, as his wife).
Verse 7 explained that Israel had twelve officials under Solomon, each responsible for providing food for the king and his retinue for one month out of the year. Basemath, Solomon's daughter, was married to one of those officials.
1 Kings 22:42: "Jehoshapthat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi."2 Chronicles 20:31:
So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
"The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A, and are used by permission. All rights reserved."
Women of the Bible Old Testament Women-1 Kings
