7. David and Bathsheba
When David was pacing on the roof of his palace he observed a woman in a nearby garden in the process of bathing. According to 2 Samuel, David inquired about her and learned that she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Disregarding the commandment about coveting thy neighbor’s wife, David sent for her, and “she came in unto him, and he lay with her”. The woman, Bathsheba, returned to her house after the encounter, and again according to 2 Samuel, “And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child”. David then sent about to hide the evidence of his sin, bringing her husband home from battle, and commanding him to return to his house.
Although Uriah returned upon David’s command, he did not go into his own house, and thus did not have intimate relations with his wife, which David could have used to mask his own fatherhood of Bathsheba’s child. David then ordered Uriah’s commander to place him at the forefront of battle, ensuring that Uriah the Hittite was killed in combat. David sent Uriah back to the battle carrying the message which led to his death. Bathsheba then became another of David’s wives, and though the biblical account claims David repented for his sins regarding Bathsheba and Uriah, their first child died shortly after birth. Bathsheba later bore David’s son Solomon, who succeeded him as King of Judah.
