how old was king david when he married bathsheba

At the time of Absaloms revolt he deserted David (Psalms 41:9 ; 55:12-14). However, that is, Perhaps Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite is different from Eliam, the father of Bathsheba.. Furthermore, as stated, David himself was 70 years old at the time of his death. This does not directly affect the narrative concerning Bathsheba herself. bloody and deceitful mendo not come up to. The reality is that they were the most likely the same person. WebFrom the roof he saw a woman bathing. A minority of scholars questioned the application of the psalm to Ahithophel. The bottom line is that there is no evidence to support the claim that there were two Eliams. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah for 7 years and 6 months, and in Jerusalem he reigned for 33 years over all Israel and Judah. David then ordered that Uriah be moved to the front-line of a battle, where he was killed. He was 70 when he died. Note that this is the most conservative estimate. Other commentaries, such as those of Matthew Poole. The material contained in it is of higher historical value than that in the later strata of these books. 1 Chronicles omits all reference to the way in which Bathsheba became David's wife, and gives only the names of her children in 1 Chronicles 3:5Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. We can see from the example of Barzillai that people could have lived into their 80s at that time, but this seems to have been the upper limit. So, we should follow Muhammads example and only allow marriage at an age that is appropriate for the time. 2 Samuel 11:3 states that Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam. xxiii. Some have also questioned whether Ahithophel would have been old enough to have a granddaughter. Surah 70 Verse 30 which Christians take out of context. 52, or the Ziphites, Ps. Rather, my argument is that there was nothing Biblically wrong or immoral about Muhammads marriage to Aisha and that it was common practice in virtually all cultures for people to marry young (usually by the onset of puberty). He lived well past half [the] days of the normal lifespan. He founded the Judaean dynasty and united all the tribes of Israel under As an opportunity to feature a large female nude as the focus of a history painting, the subject was popular from the Renaissance onwards. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Only a minority of scholarly sources questioned this attribution, but the reasons they provided were weak (see note #49). Eliam. When he realized that Absalom had not taken his advice on how to fight David, Ahithophel knew that the conspiracy against the king would fail. Bathsheba, also known as Bathshua, is a character that appears in the Hebrew Bible (2 Samuel 11, 12; 1 Kings 1, 2). Im sorry for making a claim that makes you think that I was criticizing Islam. Omissions? They will vociferously deny that Bathsheba was around 7 years old (or perhaps as old as 9) when she first encountered David and they will deny that she was the granddaughter of Ahithophel. [3] An Eliam is mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:34 as the son of Ahithophel, who is described as the Gilonite. Psalm 55 is a prayer of David asking God to save him from his enemies. 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). another great academic article. 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). [71] After returning to Jerusalem, Absalom lived there for another 2 years. [16] Bathsheba acts as intercessor for her subjects, delivering their petitions to the King: "Pray ask King Solomonhe will not refuse youto give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife". Using Psalm 55:23, it would mean that Ahithophel could not have gone past the age of 45 years (note again that this is the, Even if David slept with a 7-year old, that does not mean that God approved of it!, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king over Israel Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing, Notice that the sin was in killing Uriah the Hittite. The assumption is then that these 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. When she came to him, he had sex with her. God sent the Prophet Samuel to Bethlehem David repented of his sins, and Bathsheba later gave birth to Solomon. One of Davids faithful soldiers (2 Samuel 23:39. 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). According to tradition, he was 58 years old. In the case of Ahithophel, not only was his wise council rejected by Absalom (55:9), he also committed met a violent and untimely death by suicide (55:23). [66] Saul also lived into his seventies. But what if we can use the Bible to reliably estimate the age of another famous female character in the Bible: Bathsheba? [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. This tends to be the go-to argument for problematic verses. He desired her and later made her pregnant. A Mosque in the area of Medina, possibly: This page was last edited on 31 March 2023, at 21:50. While there, the prophet Nathan tells David in 2 Samuel 12:8: "I would give you twice as much over," which This is confirmed by 1 Kings 15:5, which states (emphasis ours): David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lords commands all the days of his lifeexcept in the case of Uriah the Hittite.. Bullingers Companion Bible Notes,[17] Gary H. Everetts Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures,[18] George Haydocks Catholic Bible Commentary,[19] the Jamiesson-Fausset-Brown Commentary,[20] John Trapps Complete Commentary,[21] Ironsides Notes on Selected Books,[22] L.M. Yet, as with the attribution of the psalm to Ahithophel, the interpretation of verse 23 was largely unified among the commentators. 12 Then David told Uriah, Stay here one more day. [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). Budde later connected it with the Jahwist document of the Hexateuch. 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, Then King David said to the whole assembly: My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young [, Based on this seemingly contradictory information, let us follow the, Your argument is based on a selective interpretation of Psalm 55., You are taking Psalm 55:23 too literally!, Maybe people could live even longer than 80 years of age at the time of David! 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)". Great. 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. 34,) was one of Davids valiant men, [92] https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/2-samuel-11.html#3, Eliam. a native of Giloh, was a privy councillor of David, whose wisdom was highly esteemed, though his name had an exactly opposite signification. Grants Commentary on the Bible,[23] Alexander McLarens Expositions of Holy Scripture,[24] R.A Torreys Treasury of Scripture Knowledge,[25] The Biblical Illustrator,[26] and The Pulpit Commentary.[27]. Strengths An argument has been founded on this to account for the hostility of Ahithophel to king David, [89] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/2_samuel/11.htm, Eliam Or Ammiel, 1 Chronicles 3:5, the component words being placed in an inverse order. I am the author, and I have already debunked IC on Rebekah. David was married to Ahinoam, Abigail, Maacha, Haggith, Abital, and Eglah during the 7-1/2 years he reigned from Hebron. Since this is now firmly established, we may ask what relevance it has in determining Bathshebas age at the time of her marriage to David. One competing interpretation may be that the subject of the psalm was Sauls murderous overtures towards David. 5. And the claim that Allah is a moon God has been debunked many times. [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. David, shooting at the bird, strikes the screen, splitting it; thus Bathsheba is revealed in her beauty to David.[14]. Indeed, the account in 2 Samuel 1517 shows a man who was quite active, thereby suggesting that he was not an old man. [68] Sanhedrin 69b, https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.69b.11?lang=bi. Then if you perceive in them sound judgement, release their property to them.[104]. That Ahithophel had then a married grand-daughter is less probable than that there were in Israel two Eliams.[81]. And Ahithophel began to counsel Absalom on how to destroy David. In my view, we should leave it to the experts (e.g., physicians and psychologists) to determine what is an appropriate age for maturity, if there is one. This elite group also included Uriah the Hittite (v. 39). She returned to her own home (2 Samuel 11:4). 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.. 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 Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Her feast day is 27 November (01 Tahsas). Psalm 55 is a prayer of David asking God to save him from his enemies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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? However, that is not what I am claiming. [] 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. This cannot refer to Absalom. This is not the Muslims problem because we do not believe in the Bible as a reliable source of information. 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. The report came back: Isnt this Eliams daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4 So David sent messengers to take her. King David once saw Bathsheba bathing on her terrace. you have contributed so much great eye opening articles making Muslims and Christians aware of such controversial subjects. You Muslims believe Muhammad is a role model for all times!, In my view, we should leave it to the experts (e.g., physicians and psychologists) to determine what is an appropriate age for maturity, if there is one. Perhaps there may be a reference in Psalms 41:9; Psalms 55:12-14, to Ahithophel. 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. 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]. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. [61], Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that Ahithophel must have died at a relatively young age. The two apparently had no intentions of further complicating their sin by forming an adulterous marital union. The table below shows a summary of this information and calculations of ages for David, Ahithophel, Solomon, and Bathsheba, based on the chronology of 2 Samuel 1117. We will use two main sources for this: 2 Samuel and Psalm 55 (though other books will also be used). [5] According to 2 Samuel 23, Eliam was among the Thirty elite warriors under Davids command. The Mount of Olives is adjacent to the city of Jerusalem, so David would have had a good view of the city and thus, assuming he wrote the psalm, could have been describing his feelings at the time. In this article. The Shocking Truth About Bathshebas Marriage to David in the Bible. There is disagreement among the experts as to what age that should be. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. There is simply no reason to make assume otherwise, other than to avoid the embarrassment of finding out Bathshebas true age. 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 Im not a non-Muslim. In Israel, the king had the power to control and to obtain people and objects. I (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1988), p. 439. As shown, David was declaring that those who had betrayed him and were trying to kill him will not live out half their days. Called Ammiel, 1 Chronicles 3:5. This does not mean that Muslims should marry their 9-year old children in modern times, because as stated above (see objection #5), people we would consider children in our times were not necessarily considered as such in ancient times. However, this does not appear to be a reasonable assumption. Could you also so a video refuting Islam Critiqued on the age of Mary. 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. [78] Finally, in Acts 13:22, God is quoted as testifying about David as a man after my own heart. In the evening Uriah went out to sleep in the same place, alongside his masters servants, but he did not go down to his own home. It is even in Sahih International. Follow 10 David was told, Uriah didnt go down to his own house, so David asked Uriah, Havent you just returned from a journey? So, if Ahithophel was less than 40 years of age at the time of his death (let us conservatively assume he was 39 years old), and he was Bathshebas grandfather, then how old could Bathsheba have been around this time? In addition, Gills Exposition of the Entire Bible explains, based on the Talmudic interpretation, that (emphasis ours): bloody and deceitful mendo not come up to the half of the ordinary term of mans life, which is threescore years and ten.[54], Heb. According to Karl Budde the interpolated portion is 12: 7, 8, and 1012; according to Friedrich Schwally and H. P. Smith, the whole of 12: 115a is an interpolation, and 12:. The success of Absalom would probably have been fatal to Bath-sheba; it would certainly have barred Solomon, Ahithophels great-grandson, from the throne. By the way, can you visit my website and comment below about what you think of my articles? This article has offered a novel contribution to the seemingly unending and unnecessary debate between Muslims and Christians on the appropriate age of marriage and the baseless criticisms of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) for his marriage to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). hmm wasnt Bathsheba married before she was pregnant with Solomon and also didnt she also lose a child before giving birth to Solomon I mean come on abduls She was especially loyal to her son Solomon, making sure he followed David as king, even though Solomon was not David's firstborn son. This illustrates that Ahithophel was probably a young man (Source: https://bibleatlas.org/giloh.htm). Are these prayers also meant to be interpreted allegorically? 2 Samuel 5:4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.. 1 Chronicles 23:1 So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. 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. In a previous article, I demonstrated that the Bible generally allowed marriage and sex at the onset of puberty (with the exception of Numbers 31:18 which seemingly allowed sex even before puberty). God gave Bathsheba a son, Solomon. David roused himself to action. 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. Heb. If David was a sinner who had slept with a 7-year old, how could God describe him as a man after my own heart? This verse is crucial. 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. King David became king at the age of 30. However, this was clearly not the norm (even if true). That Ahitophel is the subject of Psalm 55:12-14; Psalm 55:20-21, is contrary to all we know of the history of the rebellion of Absalom (, There is no hint that the writer is a king whose authority is threatened by a formidable insurrection. shall not half their days; that is, shall be soon cut off. According to Psalm 90:10: Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures;. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges concurs: Much of the Psalm is sufficiently appropriate to Davids circumstances to account for its having been regarded as an expression of his feelings at that bitter crisis: but a closer examination makes it difficult, if not impossible, to suppose that it was actually written by him. Psychologist Dr. Robert Epstein has made the controversial suggestion that young people, regardless of how young, should be allowed to make decisions about marriage and sex provided that they demonstrate that he or she knows about the risks of sexis physically and emotionally mature, and so on, an arbitrary age cutoff necessarily allows incompetent people to gain rights and privileges they probably shouldnt have., The norm that the ulama did come to consensus on was only a general guideline: they prohibited sexual intercourse for girls not able to undergo it, on the basis that otherwise sex could be physically harmful. He identified Ahithophel in the commentary on verse 12: Ahithophels perfidy and villany troubled David more than all the rest., [40] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/psalms/55.htm, the general sentiment of commentators has always been that Ahithophel is intended. Change). Therefore, Christians now have the problem of having to find excuses to justify Davids sexual intercourse with Bathsheba and Yahwehs approval of it. There is virtual consensus among the commentators that the meaning of this phrase is that Davids betrayers would not live half as long as people normally lived at the time. There is disagreement among the experts as to what age that should be. 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. Table 1: Age comparisons between David, Ahithophel, Solomon, and Bathsheba at different times. Called Ammiel, 1 Chronicles 3:5. Yes, David must have been in his late 30s to his early 40s and Bathsheba would have been young but of age, not an adolescent. And Im about to make articles as a form of ultimate refutations to your silly allegations. And Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) knows best! If you want, I can just make a website refuting your baseless claims. [28], David summoned Bathsheba for sex. Bathsheba would have been between 16 and 19, because she was doing the ritual bath outlined in Leviticus 15::19-30 for women who have their period already (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+15%3A19-30&version=NIV). From this rapid survey of the general calamity, David turns to the chief supporter of the rebellion, his former chief counsellor. But Uriah was unwilling to violate the ancient kingdom rule applying to warriors in active service. This could be shown with various degrees of nudity, depending on the pose and the placing of clothes or towels. Not only was this marriage permitted, it resulted in the birth of yet another beloved figure, Solomon. David's genealogy in 1 Chronicles 3 says that he had 19 sons by his wives and concubines and one daughter, Tamar, whose mother isn't named in scripture. [35], Along with Eve, Bathsheba was almost the only female whose nude depiction could easily and regularly be justified in Christian art, and she is therefore an important figure in the development of the nude in medieval art. Would David have called Ahithophel a man mine equal (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/psalms/55.htm). Radio Victory Djs, Articles H